Bad news for employees using meal cards!

This amount, which was set at 121 liras last year, was increased to 187 liras for 2024. Industry representatives have requested that the daily meal allowance be raised to 300 TL for 2025 and stated that meal cards should be adjusted to be used exclusively in the food and beverage sector.

'USAGE AREAS OF MEAL CARDS SHOULD BE RESTRICTED'

Ramazan Bingöl, Chairman of the All Restaurants and Tourism Association (TÜRES), stated that increasing the meal allowance exemption amount would improve employee welfare and boost vitality in the sector. Bingöl also argued that the usage areas of meal cards should be restricted. He claimed that cash meal allowances, in particular, are being used in other sectors, which harms the food and beverage industry.

Criticizing the situation, Bingöl said, "A large portion of the meal amounts given as cash is being used in areas unrelated to the food and beverage sector. This situation has led to businesses losing regular customers and prices constantly rising. Consequently, pricing behaviors in the sector have deteriorated and informality has increased."

Bingöl stated that the regular income of businesses in the sector needs to be increased, and for this, he proposed that the meal allowance exemption be raised to at least 300 TL for 2025. Furthermore, he demanded that meal cards be used only in the food and beverage sector and that cash meal allowances be brought back into the sector's economy. He also noted that these changes would not only restore order in the sector but could also create tens of thousands of new jobs. Mentioning the growth potential in the sector, Bingöl said, "Every 20 new regular customers allow for the employment of 1 new worker."

The food and beverage sector is known as a labor-intensive industry, and businesses frequently resort to price increases due to high costs. Bingöl stated that the reason this sector does not grow in the long term is that meal allowances are not raised to sufficient levels. Industry representatives argue that these steps would make business costs more manageable and thus allow for the employment of more young people.