Belgium's 'Arizona' coalition government will phase out the 'echo vouchers', which give many companies their employees as an extra-legal benefit.
Now, more than half of companies in the country are looking for an alternative.
Eco vouchers are an extra-legal benefit and intended for the purchase of "products and services of an ecological nature." It means employees receive them on top of their salary and do not have to pay taxes or social security contributions on them. Moreover, this makes these vouchers less expensive for employers, and at the same time allows employees to keep more money.
According to research by HR expert Acerta, 55.8% of companies award eco vouchers – making them the most popular voucher among entrepreneurs by far, even ahead of the meal vouchers. Meanwhile, one-third of employees (32.2%) receive the vouchers – slightly less than the meal vouchers (which are received by 44.45% of employees in Belgium).
Not easily convertible
As a result, the phasing out of these vouchers poses a challenge for companies, especially if they want to ensure that the purchasing power of their employees is not affected.
"The coalition agreement on the abolition of various forms of advantageous vouchers – only the meal voucher will be retained – still needs to be incorporated into legislation," said Acerta Consult legal expert Tom Dirix in a press release.
"Not only will the eco voucher be phased out, but the 'gift voucher' and the 'sports and culture voucher' will also disappear. However, these are much less popular, so the impact will be felt less there," he said. "Drawing a line through the popular eco voucher without providing an alternative for the purchasing power of employees seems unlikely."
In this perspective, the Federal Government is also looking to the unions and other social partners to find an alternative through consultation. "Simply transferring the benefit to, for example, meal vouchers is not possible."
Some companies do allow converting eco vouchers to meal vouchers, but situations differ both in terms of the sector and the company, Dirix explained. "There are situations in which employees receive both eco vouchers and the maximum amount of meal vouchers, but also cases in which only eco vouchers are awarded. Simply converting the benefit of eco vouchers into similar benefits without further ado is not possible."
