Dilemma
“I often work evening shifts at the office, and my employer has outsourced the catering to a nearby restaurant. That's why I always eat for free during evening services. The food is usually incredibly disgusting and the restaurant has clearly put it together with little effort and for the lowest possible cost. Is it right to complain about that?”
Man (25), name known to the editors
No
Employers are not legally obliged to provide food during evening shifts. “So you are basically responsible for your own meals,” says Eugène van 't Hooft. As a policy advisor on social affairs strategy at the employers' organization VNO-NCW and MKB Nederland, he focuses, among other things, on vitality policy in companies. “It is quite special that this person receives free meals from his employer. To be honest, I'm surprised about that.”
Van 't Hooft sees that large employers in particular now have dining facilities in the office. Some companies have a small supermarket in-house or chilled water stations. There are several restaurants at ASML.
Van 't Hooft notices that more companies want to promote the health of their staff. “Employers organize a healthy company lunch or a lunch walk so that employees keep moving.”
According to Van 't Hooft, companies have become more aware of the importance of the health of their employees in recent years. This is partly because there is more awareness about work stress and burnouts. “To prevent long-term absenteeism among employees, companies try to promote the health of employees, among other things, with healthy meals.”
Because there is no legal obligation to provide employees with meals (this is regulated in some collective labor agreements), according to Van 't Hooft, dining facilities at companies are usually not free. It is therefore not inconceivable, he thinks, that the man in question brings his own food if the company food does not taste good.
Yes
Although there is no obligation to do so, it is important to provide healthy food as an employer, says Van 't Hooft. If this is not the case, he thinks, it is important for this person to discuss the quality of the food with the employer.
The man in question could discuss his problem with the human resources department or works council, says Van 't Hooft. That's certainly better than complaining about it without trying to change it, he thinks.
If the company food is not tasty, then it is not tasty, says FNV Horecabond director Edwin Vlek, and you must let us know. Not only to the employer, but also to the restaurant that does the catering, he thinks. “Catering people want to make guests happy, so they prefer to hear the truth.”
The employer also pays the restaurant for the food, says Vlek, so it is logical to expect some quality in return. At the same time, the restaurant may say that it cannot make a better meal for the money it receives from the employer. “If the caterer only receives 2 euros per meal, the choice is limited. Then the employer would have to increase the budget.”
Employees often complain among themselves if they are dissatisfied with the meals at work, Vlek sees. Eventually they will start bringing their own food. The employer should not want that either. The caterer makes a profit, and the employer loses. “The employer and the restaurant often make agreements about how many people will come to eat,” says Vlek. “If only a quarter of the employees use the staff meals, you basically continue to pay the full price. It is not the case that the quotation is automatically adjusted if some of the employees no longer show up to eat.”
In the Netherlands, we often say out of politeness that something was tasty, only to later leave an angry review online, says Vlek. “And if something is free, people certainly don't dare to complain about it.” But for financial reasons it is also important for the employer to hear about this, Vlek thinks.
According to Van 't Hooft, employers are doing their best to make their company attractive to employees due to the tight labor market. For example, by advertising healthy or vegetarian meals in vacancies. “If not enough changes after a conversation about meals, this man may have to move on to another employer. There are many employers who are doing a lot in this area.”
So
Employers are not obligated to you regarding meals. Certainly not to provide it for free. But that doesn't have to mean you have to keep your mouth shut. Both the restaurant and the employer benefit from hearing that there is dissatisfaction about the meals. Complaining among themselves and then bringing your own food will certainly not bring about change.
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