Many employees in Germany also receive a lavish special payment with the November salary. But not everyone receives this Christmas bonus. According to a survey conducted by the Hans Böckler Foundation, only half of the employees in Germany benefit from this.
The Federal Statistical Office had reported on another data basis a few days ago, however, that among the wage workers almost 87 percent received Christmas bonus - this year, an average of 2632 euros. According to the latest data of the WSI internet portal "Lohnspiegel.de" of the Böckler Foundation, however, only 76 percent of the collective wage employees - and 42 percent of the other employees receive the coveted special payment. In total, it is then 53 percent, who can count on a Christmas bonus.
There are several factors that determine whether workers receive Christmas bonuses. "The best chance of getting a Christmas bonus is if the company is bound by a collective bargaining agreement," says Thorsten Schulten, head of the Foundation's WSI Tariff Archive.
Christmas bonus: Harder claim as profit sharing
Collective agreements are far from being valid for all employees. Labor market researchers have been seeing a "creeping erosion" of collective bargaining for years. According to the most recent data from the Nuremberg Institute for Employment Research (IAB), 46 percent of employees worked in companies with industry-specific tariffs last year. Since 1996, the proportion according to the information has fallen nationwide by 21 percentage points. In addition, there are corporate and company agreements for about 8 percent of employees.
According to the Böckler Foundation, there are also differences between men and women - as well as between East and West Germany. For example, women and workers from the new federal states also receive a rare Christmas bonus. However, this is mainly due to the lower collective bargaining coverage of employment relationships between these groups. Working time can also play a role. For example, according to the survey, full-time employees also receive Christmas bonuses more often than part-timers.
According to the data of the Böckler Foundation, many companies without a collective bargaining agreement declare that they are guided by the contracts. "With the Christmas money obviously only a few do that," said Schulten. "And even if collectively-paid employers pay Christmas bonuses, their amount does not necessarily correspond to the tariff claim." The collectively agreed Christmas bonus is the hardest claim, while, for example, profit-sharing could be cut off again at any time.
