Decree 11.678/2023, which updates the Workers’ Food Program and modifies some points of Decree 10.854/2021, was published and has been in force since August 31, 2023. The Workers’ Food Program (PAT), established by Law No. 6.321/76 – as amended by Law 14.442/22, which is based on guaranteeing nutritional conditions for workers in exchange for tax incentives, has undergone significant changes, with new rules on the administration of the benefits established by the program:
- Portability: All institutions that offer meal vouchers and food vouchers must make it possible for employees to port the amounts. The Decree states that it will be possible to use your Food or Meal Voucher card at any establishment that accepts this form of payment, regardless of the card’s flag – known as interoperability. However, the details of both issues are being discussed by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security and the Central Bank.
- Employee decision: Theemployee is the one who decides and requests the change to the card they want, at no additional cost and without the company’s intermediary, but in direct communication with the benefit operator.
- Prohibition of cashback: The decree stipulates that no company may offer a rewards program in which the employee receives back, in cash, part of the amount paid when purchasing a product or contracting a service (called cashbacks) by preference.
The new guidelines will apply from August of this year, and although it does not present specific transition rules, it directly alters the decree regulating the Workers’ Food Program (PAT) – Decree No. 10,854/2021, the only one used until then to regulate the benefits offered by companies supplying food and meal cards to PAT beneficiary companies.
The text clarifies some of the main issues surrounding the changes to the PAT, with emphasis on the portability of values, because in addition to broadening workers’ options as to which benefits provider they will use, they are also able to compare and choose the provider that offers the best service and conditions for using the benefit.
The employee will be able to keep the benefit with another provider or banner other than the one initially chosen by the employer. This was already provided for by Law 6.321/76 (PAT), as amended by Law 14.442/2022, with Decree 11.678/23 detailing and indicating legal means for implementing the rules and making portability viable.
The text is informative in nature and highlights the most relevant points of Decree 11.678/2023, with legal consultation and legal opinion being absolutely essential for conducting the matter and applying the guidelines.
