The cafeteria system in Hungary is a specific form of flexible benefits, which became widespread across the country in the 90's due to their preferential taxation. They are found in most sectors, within small and large companies, as well. The cafeteria system is popular among employees, not only because of the flexibility, but also because some of the elements may contribute to the monthly expenses. Over the years the regulation of the cafeteria kept changing in line with the governments' objectives in economic and social policies from time to time. In 2012 there is a major shift in the regulation of the benefits. This is the analysis of the evolution of the cafeteria system from 1996 until today, especially the drivers of the key changes and the how the key players adapted to the changes. We are also looking into the expected directions over the next few years.

There are a number of approaches to measure national competitiveness. However, in these reports human capital typically appears indirectly. The author's purpose is to uncover how human capital contributes to competitiveness of economies and to propose an approach to identify the most effective improvement opportunities for countries, illustrated on the example of Hungary. The analysis is based on the data of the Global Talent Index Report (2011)

The authors first review the most important features of the cafeteria system (goals, typical 'stakeholders' and strategic HR issues). Then they examine the evolution of the system of flexible benefits since 1996, when the first such systems appeared in Hungary. Authors also analyze how the main drivers caused the changes, and how the key players of the cafeteria systems adapted themselves to these movements. The reader can also find insight into the major changes for 2012 and the potential impact of these changes on benefit policies of Hungarian firms. They also touch upon the findings of empirical surveys that the cafeteria systems are significantly influenced mainly by the size of organizations and to a lesser extent by form of ownership.

A cikkben a szerzők először áttekintik a cafeteria-rendszer legfontosabb jellemzőit (célját, tipikus „stakeholdereit” és HR-stratégiai kérdéseit). Ezt követően megvizsgálják, milyen átalakuláson ment át a béren kívüli juttatások rendszere 1996-tól – az első ilyen rendszerek magyarországi megjelenésétől – napjainkig. Áttekintik azt is, milyen mozgatórugók idézték elő a főbb változásokat, és ezekhez a piaci szereplők hogyan alkalmazkodtak. Szintén vizsgálják a 2012-re vonatkozó legfőbb változásokat, és ezek lehetséges kihatásait a cégek juttatási politikájára, valamint elmutatnak néhány alternatívát az új feltételek közötti lehetőségekre és kihívásokra. Empirikus felméréseik tükrében kitérnek arra is, hogy főleg a szervezeti méret és kisebb részben a tulajdonforma szignifikánsan befolyásolja a cafeteria-rendszerek alkalmazását. _________ The authors review firstly the most important features of the cafeteria system (goals, typical “stakeholders” and strategic HR issues). Then they examine the evolution of the system of flexible benefits since 1996, the first appearance of such systems in Hungary. Authors also analyze how the main drivers caused the changes, and how the key players of the cafeteria systems adapted to these movements. The reader also can find insights about the major changes for 2012 and about the potential impact of these changes on benefit policies of Hungarian firms. The contribution shows some alternative opportunities and challenges driven by different influencing factors. They also touch upon the light of empirical surveys, that the cafeteria systems are significantly influenced to a lesser extent by the form of ownership and to a bigger extent by the organizational size.