New rules on using tickets-restaurant

SUPERMARKETS are to stop customers from buying day-to-day groceries with tickets-restaurant from the beginning of March.

The government has announced new restrictions on how the meal vouchers are used, following complaints from restaurants who said they were losing out.

From March 1, supermarkets and hypermarkets will only be allowed to accept the vouchers as payment for sandwiches and ready-to-eat meals and salads.

According to France Info, big stores have until now applied their own rules on the use of tickets-restaurant - some accepting several of them as payment for a full week's shopping. They could be banned from accepting the vouchers entirely if found to be ignoring the new rules.

Many French employers provide tickets-restaurant to staff to contribute towards the cost of their lunchtime meal in a tax-efficient way.

Employees are entitled to one voucher for every day worked, up to a value of €8.65. Up to 60% is paid for by the company and is exempt from social charges.