La Flexible Compensation can generate great advantages, but also risks if not managed well. The most common mistakes are concentrated in six key pointsDo not review the plan annually, do not put it in writing, withdraw it without following legal procedure, do not correctly control the use of Ticket Restaurant, do not document the criteria for access to benefits, and exceed the legal limit of 30% of salary in benefits in kind.
Avoiding these pitfalls is essential for maintaining a flexible, secure, and compliant plan.
One of the most frequent — and most quietly consequential — mistakes is allow the flexible benefits plan to continue without review. When a company fails to carry out an annual plan update, it runs the risk of the plan becoming consolidated as a more beneficial condition within the individual employee's contract. This means that, over time, the plan loses the flexibility that defines it: it is no longer a dynamic management tool, but an acquired right that the company cannot easily modify or withdraw.
The solution involves incorporating into the HR calendar a Mandatory annual plan review. This review does not have to involve large changes, but it must be formally reflected through the necessary changes or authorisations each year. In this way, the company maintains the initiative and flexibility that characterise this type of remuneration.
SolutionReview and make changes or authorisations each year.
Flexible Remuneration is, above all, an agreement between the company and its employees and as such, must be perfectly documented. However, many organisations implement the plan verbally or without sufficient documentary evidence, which leaves them in a position of total vulnerability to potential legal claims. If an employee decides to challenge the withdrawal or modification of the plan, the company without documentation will not be able to defend itself effectively.
The best practice is to put everything in writing from the outset: the plan's policy, the access criteria for each product, the justification for the groups included, the changes made each year, and the communications sent to employees. All this documentation becomes the Legal shield for the company against any claim.
Furthermore, in 2026 the Directive 2023/970 of the European Union demands that Flexible Benefit plans be transparent, documented, and subject to internal control, and above all, accessible to all employees.
SolutionTo leave everything in writing to have a legal defence and comply with the new fiscal and legal changes
When a company decides to discontinue the Flexible Remuneration plan without following the proper procedure, it can trigger legal action from both the works council and the affected employees. The unilateral withdrawal of a benefit that has been applied continuously can be classified as a substantial modification of working conditions, which activates collective and individual rights of opposition.
To avoid this scenario, when no pre-established update forecast exists, the company must resort to the procedure of Article 41 of the Workers' Statute. This legal channel allows to modify working conditions with guarantees for all parties, and its correct monitoring protects the company from subsequent challenges.
Solution: Follow the procedure in Article 41 if no update is foreseen.
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The Ticket Restaurant it is the star product of Flexible Remuneration, but also one of the ones that causes the most problems when not managed correctly. For this benefit to maintain its tax exemption, its use must comply with three critical conditions:
The use of the voucher outside these conditions — for example, during weekends or low periods — tax problems for both the employee and the company.
In 2026, the Labour Inspectorate is intensifying checks in this area, even using artificial intelligence tools to widen its scope. The solution involves implementing control systems that automatically verify compliance with these three critical conditions before authorising the use of the benefit.
Solution ImplementControl systems that verify the 3 critical conditions.
A Flexible Benefits Plan may include products or benefits that are not available to all employee groups. This is perfectly legitimate, but only if the company can justify it. European Directive 2023/970 regarding pay transparency has significantly strengthened companies' obligations in this matter: Flexible Benefit Plans have become auditable and verifiable documents., and the burden of proof lies with the company, which must demonstrate that it does not discriminate in access to these benefits.
If access criteria are not documented, the company is unable to demonstrate that its plan is equitable. The solution is To establish and record in writing the reasons why certain groups access certain products and others do not, ensuring that these criteria are objective, proportionate, and auditable.
SolutionDocument why certain groups access certain products.
There is a legal limit that many companies do not take sufficiently into account: benefits in kind cannot exceed 30% of the employee's gross salary. When this threshold is exceeded, the company commits a legal breach that can lead to penalties and the loss of tax advantages associated with the scheme.
This error most frequently occurs in situations involving salary changes, new hires, or when expanding the product catalogue without reviewing the overall impact. The most effective solution is to have automatic control integrated into the plan management platform, which prevents the amount allocated to Flexible Remuneration% from exceeding 30% of the employee's gross salary in any case.
SolutionAutomatic control to prevent more than 30%from being allocated to Flexible Remuneration.
To avoid these errors and simplify plan administration, solutions like Edenred Flex allow for the agile, secure, and compliant management of flexible remuneration, facilitating control, traceability, and access for all staff.
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