The agency worker on their first day today does not know the area, is not in the team kitty, has no canteen badge and gets no meal allowance from you. Most of the time they have not brought anything either. On sites with lots of temporary staff and contractors, that covers a large share of the people who work there every day.
Most food arrangements hang on the headcount: the canteen badge, the meal voucher or the team’s order list. Anyone who comes through an agency or works for a subcontractor automatically falls outside. Why vouchers do not change that is covered in meal vouchers and food at work.
In a warehouse with many agency workers, this is daily life; see a smart fridge for a warehouse. On a logistics site, drivers and subcontractors come on top; see a smart fridge for logistics.
| Approach | Works for agency staff | Work for you | Weak point |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canteen with a badge | Only with a temporary badge | Creating and cancelling badges | Forgotten on day one |
| Meal vouchers | No, unless through the agency | Admin | No food on site |
| Ordering via the team | If someone remembers | A colleague | New people are left out |
| Open-access fridge | Yes, with a bank card or the app | Restocking, guided by sales data | Only pays off with enough people |
The bottom row is what we make, so read it with that in mind.
With a bank card or the app, anyone can open the fridge, with no registration and no badge from your side. If you want to give your own staff a subsidy, that works through the badge, while contractors simply pay for themselves. How it is set up is covered in paying at a smart fridge.
Temporary teams are often mixed, and anyone who finds nothing for themselves in the range ignores the fridge. That is why halal, kosher, vegetarian and vegan are part of the range. What we do and do not guarantee on that front is covered in halal vending.
The fridge stands on the route from the changing room to the floor, so nobody has to look for it.
By bank card or app. No badge, registration or kitty needed.
A meal for the break and something small for later, including halal, kosher, vegetarian and vegan.
Any hour people are working, even when the rest of the site is closed.
Add those four points to the day-one induction, together with where the break room and microwave are. It takes a minute, and the new starter knows straight away where to go on their break.
What a fridge on your site costs depends on the total number of people per day, contractors included. The factors are in what a smart fridge costs.
That depends on the rules in your country and sector and on your agreements with the agency. Have it checked by your HR or employment adviser. Either way, an agency worker can buy something at an open-access fridge from the very first day.
Yes. A subsidy runs through the badge, so only people with a badge get it. Contractors then pay for themselves by bank card or app, at the same fridge.
That is an agreement between you and the agency, and we take no position on it. In practice, a badge issued by the agency can be linked just like your own staff’s.
By seeing it: a fridge on the route from the changing room to the floor gets noticed. Mention it in the day-one induction too, together with where the break room and microwave are.
Yes. Anyone with a bank card or the app can buy. On sites with lots of subcontractors, such as during a shutdown or a refurbishment, they are often the very group that uses it most.
Eight short questions about your site, including contractors and agency staff. We will tell you whether an open-access fridge suits you.
Takes about 90 seconds · no obligation · no contact details until the last step