If you had £7.50 to buy lunch with what would you get?

[Lovelysummerdays]

I’m allowed to get reimbursed for lunch at work as out and about. General rules are no grocery shops, you have to eat in, so no takeaways. I’ve generally had coffee and cake somewhere but I’m going to be huge if I eat cake everyday. I stopped off at KFC today and had a rice box which was quite nice and probably slightly healthier than cake. Are there any decentish meals from fast food places for £7.50 or less?

@SheilaFentiman well technically the OP could have taken her KFC home to eat later. Who would know 🤔

Work probably has to demonstrate to HMRC that they are making reasonable efforts to ensure the subsistence payment is used for food and drink consumed in work hours. Otherwise it is probably treated as a different kind of benefit for tax purposes (salary in kind of £7.50 a day which would then require NIC etc paid)

This is the way they have chosen to do it. It’s annoying but understandable.

And since KFC mostly sells hot food, it’s quite unlikely OP would take it home cold every day!

I agree with subway salads. They're actually really decent. I tend to have chicken tikka, tuna or ham with all of the salad and then one of the better sauce options rather than mayo.

Greggs - I’d get a meal deal and then a pack of doughnuts or something to take home to share. Or a meal deal and an extra coffee to go in a thermal cup.

Or I’d find whatever local place was the nicer to sit in and then order what I could afford even if it wasn’t a full meal. In fact I’d probably try a different place each time until I’ve tried them all (as it doesn’t sound like you have that many to choose from), and then go back to my favourites.

M&S cafe

If you’re trying to be healthy, maybe Leon or a salad or soup from Pret. Or Itsu salad.

I’d probably look at local spots and find some sort of burrito wrap or something

Leon or Pret.

I'd have gone to Eat. for soup, but they shut down 😔

Hard agree about the pret salmon on rye and McDonald’s wrap of the day.

weird rule about eating in though! Bumps up the price …

Soup from a local cafe. That would be healthy if homemade.

Are there any sandwich or spud shops, the kind of places where they have the big board of options and make up the sandwich for you there and then?

Meal deal for £4 or whatever they cost now and snack for the tedious car journey home.

The first and last time I looked at buying a Subway salad, I walked out because it looked way past its best.

But it's a stupid rule that causes difficulties in practice. Unless you work in a town centre you might struggle to find somewhere that is eat in. And even if it is an eat in place, it doesn't prove you actually ate the food there.

Places I get work lunches include supermarket cafes incl M&S, Itsu, Wasabi etc, carveries, fish and chips, some McDs, KFC etc or if time and location right (rare) IKEA cafe.

I struggle because I'm often short on time so it's more often what can be quickly eaten in the car, rather than what I'd actually like to eat.

My work is similar. Have to be away from usual place of work to claim. Must be over 8 hrs and it’s £6.50.
i always choose Pret if there is one but have to pay extra. Usually I just claim a £3 coffee and bring a sandwich.

OP, if your receipt is over £7.50, are you able to claim £7.50 or do you have to keep it under?

Pret salad or roll and glass of tap water.

I have similar in my job. I work with adults in the community. I've been in more cafes this past year than in my whole life before!

ITSU Super Salmon Light (though price varies depending where you are). With plenty of wasabi.

Which cafe is that?

@Funkyslippers £4 meal deals are from the supermarkets/Boots/M+S etc.... which apparently the OP isn't allowed to do.

If you go over you can claim £7.50

My go to is sushi from Wasabi or Itsu, they usually have an eat in option. Leon is also a great idea or a burrito from Toritilla, I love that place.

You can't buy food to take away from a supermarket, but could you spend it in say Sainsburys cafe if you ate in?