Transport voucher: how to request and use the benefit

Depending on the situation you are in, you may be looking for a job with different benefits, such as transportation vouchers, meal or food vouchers, allowances and others.

But what we're going to talk about today is transportation vouchers, a very important benefit for getting around a company's employees.

What is a transport voucher?

This is one of the mandatory benefits provided for by the CLT that the company needs to pay to its employees, different from other optional benefits such as food voucher and health plan.

It is the employer's obligation to provide transport vouchers to employees who use public transport to get to and from work, regardless of the salary.

The law that regulates the use and obligation of transportation vouchers appeared in 1985, and was decreed by the president of the time, José Sarney.

But nowadays the law that regulates this benefit emerged in 2021 under the decree 10,854, according to this law, payment of transport vouchers in cash is prohibited and this decree does not apply to private companies.

When should the company pay VT?

If you have employees working in your company as CLT, it is mandatory that you offer transportation vouchers regardless of the distance they need to travel to get to your company.

So regardless of whether he is a full-time, temporary, domestic, night-shift employee or any other employee regulated by the CLT, he needs to receive the VT.

How much is discounted?

The transport voucher discount varies according to current labor legislation and the internal rules of the employing company.

The law allows 6% to be deducted from the base salary to cover expenses, but if the value of the benefit does not reach 6% it can cover the amount corresponding to expenses.

For example, for someone who receives a salary of R$1,500, the discount of 6% would be R$90 reais, and if even with this discount the value of the transport voucher is higher, it is the company's responsibility to cover it without other discounts.

It is important to remember that the transport voucher discount is regulated by law, and any improper discount can be challenged in court by the worker.

How do I request a transport voucher?

The worker must request the benefit directly from the employer, who is responsible for providing the transportation voucher.

To request a transport voucher, the employee must inform the employer of the number of tickets needed to travel from home to work and vice versa.

This information is necessary so that the company can calculate the value of the benefit and provide the right number of tickets to the employee.

The employer can provide the transport voucher in the form of a magnetic card, a single ticket or in cash, this will largely depend on the companies and public transport that the worker uses to travel.

In some cases, the company may provide a document that confirms the need for the worker to collect the vouchers, but it largely depends on the transport used.

If the employee chooses to receive payment in cash, he or she must present proof of purchase of transport tickets to receive the benefit amount.