Furthermore, this system allows companies to continue taking advantage of tax deductions for the payment of per diem, since in practice there are no legal differences between these cards and traditional restaurant vouchers, although it is worth clearing up some doubts about its implementation.
Why an electronic card?
The first thing we must do is clarify that electronic payment methods, under the concept of which restaurant vouchers were introduced in 2012, are regulated by Law 21/2011 of July 26 , so telegram korean list currently both tools have the same control and identical legal responsibilities on the part of the companies that provide the service.
There are no differences in the payment method either, as both are prepaid methods . That is, the card must be loaded with credit before being used and the check is provided after payment of the agreed amount, and likewise, both can only be used in hospitality establishments.
So, the difference does not come so much from a greater guarantee, but from better control . This is because the cards, similar to those provided by financial institutions, can be configured by companies, even being activated exclusively at specific times and work days and not paying more than the maximum per meal or day that has been marked, to avoid abusive or distorted use.
However, it will be the company that can decide the margin of freedom when using the card, giving the same facilities as those present with paper checks.
However, cards allow us to check balances online, as well as add more funds to these accounts, which increases convenience when managing allowances, while reducing the costs required to do so.
All of this simplifies the administrative burden (goodbye to handing out checks), optimizing the related costs and allowing employees to always have access to their funds automatically.
Regarding the payment of allowances in payrolls, it also has the advantage of being able to guarantee that they will be used for the purpose for which they are paid . We cannot forget that during the crisis the number of companies that use the payment of allowances as a way of avoiding paying taxes on parts of what should be the base salary has increased, so these cards would clear up doubts about their legal use thanks to their transparency.
Why not?
Electronic cards should gradually become more popular due to the advantages they offer, although last year a situation arose that caused a lot of uncertainty when the balances of thousands of cards from one of the companies that provided the service were blocked , something that would not have been possible with the paper ticket system.
However, this risk has more to do with the financial health of the companies with which we contract the card than with the payment system itself. In fact, we are talking about an extraordinary case that should not overshadow the real benefits of the cards. In fact, some companies have tried to compensate for the blow that this notorious case has caused.
Can they be introduced unilaterally?
Companies wishing to change the way they pay per diem can rest easy, as changing the payment of per diem to restaurant vouchers or prepaid cards does not represent a substantial modification of working conditions, as clarified in June of this year by the Supreme Court, so it can be done unilaterally .
The employee might think that the limitations imposed by the use of electronic cards (such as not being able to pay beyond the established daily balance, losing the difference if the maximum amount set is not used) represent a worsening of their salary conditions, but the truth is that better cost management is part of the power of business management as long as the amounts set are not modified.
After all, the diet is not a salary as such, but rather a compensation system for the expenses incurred by the employee in connection with his or her work, so changing the way these costs are managed is the sole responsibility of the company.