Latin American Per Diem Meal Allowance and Broadband Subsidies During the Pandemic
Some Latin American employers offer per diem meal allowances as a regular part of their employee benefits package for a broad spectrum of employees. Now that many employees are working from home, we asked our Latin American experts to explain, if during the pandemic, are employers continuing this benefit, and have they added allowances to pay for home internet access or broadband?
Four countries – Brazil, Colombia, the Dominican Republic and Mexico – provide some insight.
Brazil
- Meal allowances – These are provided as usual, and if an employee is working from home, these benefits cannot be cut. They are part of union agreements.
- Broadband subsidies – Companies must provide hardware and access to information employees need to do their jobs, and employers paying for broadband at home has no hard and fast rule. That is something directed by a company’s internal policy or agreement with employees.
Colombia
- Meal Allowances – Subsidies for food are not normally provided nor are they now.
- Broadband subsidies – Utilities and broadband costs are not subsidized for any employee.
Dominican Republic
- Meal allowances – These are normally provided for employees, but not for those working from home.
- Broadband subsidies – Employers are providing USD $50-$100 per month to employees who must work from home to help offset broadband costs.
Mexico
- Meal allowances – It is not common for employers to offer any food allowances for employees working from home, in addition to the one included in their compensation programs. That being said, six out of 10 Mexican employers grant meal tickets as part of their compensation programs and this has a legal cap of one monthly UMA (Unit of Measurement and Actualization), which is at this time $2,641 MxP per month.
- Broadband subsidies – Employers are not providing subsidies for utilities like broadband.
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