Christmas bonus – collective agreements and actual payments
Published: 20 February 2012
According to data published in a press release on the Christmas bonus (in German) [1] in November 2011 by the Collective Agreement Archive [2] of the Institute for Economic and Social Research (WSI [3]) within the Hans Böckler Foundation (Hans Böckler Stiftung [4]), 55% of all employees in Germany receive an additional annual payment in the form of a Christmas bonus. It also shows that 16% receive a profit share and another 19% some other annual bonus payment.[1] http://www.boeckler.de/6936_38215.htm[2] http://www.tarifvertrag.de/[3] http://www.wsi.de[4] http://www.boeckler.de/
Data published in November 2011 by the Hans Böckler Foundation (WSI) shows that more than half of all German employees receive an additional annual payment in the form of a Christmas bonus. The data also shows that far more workers who are covered by a collective agreement receive a Christmas bonus than employees who are not covered. Most sectoral collective agreements provide a Christmas bonus, but the collectively agreed rates vary considerably between industries.
What the data show
According to data published in a press release on the Christmas bonus (in German) in November 2011 by the Collective Agreement Archive of the Institute for Economic and Social Research (WSI) within the Hans Böckler Foundation (Hans Böckler Stiftung), 55% of all employees in Germany receive an additional annual payment in the form of a Christmas bonus. It also shows that 16% receive a profit share and another 19% some other annual bonus payment.
The data is based on an evaluation of some 16,000 online questionnaires filled in by employees in the German Wage Indicator Project between July 2010 and June 2011.
The study reveals that 71% of employees who are covered by a collective agreement receive a Christmas bonus, compared to only 43% of employees not covered by collective agreements. Whereas 60% of respondents in western Germany said they received a Christmas bonus, only 39% of respondents in eastern Germany reported such a payment. Women are less likely to receive a Christmas bonus, with 53% reporting such payments compared to 57% of men. Two-thirds of the employees in establishments with more than 500 employees are said to receive a Christmas bonus, compared to only 48% in smaller workplaces with less than 100 employees (Table 1).
| Percentage | |
|---|---|
| All employees | 55 |
| Men | 57 |
| Women | 53 |
| Western Germany (all) | 60 |
| Eastern Germany (all) | 39 |
| Covered by collective agreement | 71 |
| Not covered by collective agreement | 43 |
| Size of workplace: | |
| below 100 employees | 48 |
| 100 to 500 employees | 63 |
| more than 500 employees | 67 |
Note: Data are based on online questionnaires filled in between July 2010 and June 2011.
Source: WSI
According to an evaluation by the WSI Collective Agreement Archive, agreements which provide for a Christmas bonus exist in most industries. Most often the bonus is fixed as a percentage of the average monthly wage. The amount, however, varies considerably between the sectors – see Table 2 below. In some industries there are also marked differences between eastern and western Germany.
| Industry | Western Germany | Eastern Germany |
|---|---|---|
| Banking1 | 100 | 100 |
| Sweet products industry | 1002 | 100 |
| Printing | 95 | 95 |
| Chemicals3 | 95 | 65 |
| Public sector4 | 60–90 | 45–67.5 |
| Insurances | 80 | 80 |
| Retail | 62.55 | 506 |
| Wood and plastic processing | 57.57 | 60 |
| Metalworking | 25–558 | 20–509 |
| Construction industry | waged employees: 93 hourly wages salaried employees: 55% | 0 |
| Hotel and restaurants Bavaria/Saxony | 50 | €499 |
Notes: 1) Possibility to negotiate a voluntary works agreement on a flexible profit-based annual bonus payment in a range between 90% and 120% of monthly salary. 2) Possibility to negotiate a voluntary works agreement on a variable profit-based annual bonus payment in a range between 70% and 130% of monthly salary. 3) Possibility to negotiate a voluntary works agreement on higher or lower annual bonuses in a range between 95%–125% in western Germany and 50%–80% in eastern Germany. 4) Plus €25.56 per child 5) Bremen, Schleswig-Holstein, Lower Saxony: 60% 6) East Berlin: 52.5% 7) Possibility to negotiate a voluntary works agreement on an annual bonus payment in a range between 37.5% and 77.5% of monthly salary depending on economic situation of company. 8) Bargaining region Osnabrück: 27.5%–57.5%; South-Württemberg-Hohenzollern 30%–60% 9) East Berlin and Brandenburg: 25%–55%
Source: WSI, November 2011
Wide variation between industries
Employees in banking and the sweet products industry are entitled to an annual bonus equivalent to 100% of their monthly salary. In printing and in the western German chemicals industry the rate is set at 95%. In many bargaining areas in the metalworking industry the level of payment is linked to seniority. Employees with at least three years’ of employment receive the maximum rate of 55% of their monthly wage. These comparably low rates, however, have to be seen in connection with a relatively high holiday bonus in most bargaining areas in metalworking.
In eastern Germany employees are often entitled to a Christmas bonus that falls below the western German level, and some employees, such as eastern German construction workers, are not entitled to any Christmas bonus at all.
A number of collective agreements contain so-called opening clauses that allow a deviation at company level from these rates under certain conditions. In many, but not all, cases these deviations require the consent of the bargaining parties, which are usually trade unions and employer associations.
Heiner Dribbusch, Institute of Economic and Social Research (WSI)
Eurofound recommends citing this publication in the following way.
Eurofound (2012), Christmas bonus – collective agreements and actual payments, article.
This website is an official website of the European Union.
All official European Union website addresses are in the europa.eu domain.
See all EU institutions and bodies