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Introduction to this document

Luncheon vouchers clause

If you provide staff with luncheon vouchers, you need to expressly refer to this benefit in their written statement of employment particulars.

Statutory requirement

For employees (and workers) who began their employment on or after 6 April 2020, their written statement of employment particulars (or a more detailed employment contract, if that’s what you issue) must now include details of “any other benefits” you provide that aren’t already covered elsewhere in the statement. Both contractual and non-contractual (discretionary) benefits are covered by this requirement, as are fringe benefits such as luncheon vouchers and staff discount schemes. You also can’t refer the employee to another document, such as a staff handbook, for the relevant information on benefits either; you have to put sufficient detail in the statement itself.

A pragmatic approach?

That said, with complex benefits such as life assurance and private medical insurance, where the details are often set out in long policy documents, you might nevertheless decide to take a pragmatic approach, and accept the risk of technical non-compliance, by providing as good a summary as possible of the benefit in the written statement and then still referring to the other documents. Make sure though that, whatever approach you do adopt, you always clearly specify which benefits are contractual and which are non-contractual.

Luncheon vouchers

Luncheon vouchers are easier to deal with in the written statement because they aren’t a complicated benefit. Normally, you simply agree to provide a particular value of vouchers to the employee each calendar month, pro rata for part-time staff, and they tend to be discretionary. So, our Luncheon Vouchers Clause simply sets out the agreed monthly value to be provided to the employee and makes clear that there’s no contractual entitlement to them and so, at your absolute discretion, you can amend or discontinue them at any time. That’s all you really need to say.