Christmas bonus for employees: who is entitled to it and who is not
Created: 11/11/2022, 7:00 p.m
By: Carina Blumenroth
In December, some employees have one more reason to be happy because they receive a Christmas bonus.
But how is that actually regulated?
Some employees receive a special bonus at Christmas.
The extra money is often used directly for Christmas presents.
However, by no means all employees receive a Christmas bonus, because there is no legal entitlement to this.
Christmas bonus: There is no fixed legal entitlement, but there are exceptions
You do not have a direct entitlement to a Christmas bonus – however, an entitlement may arise.
© Ingeborg Knol/Imago
Employers are not obliged to pay employees a Christmas bonus, but this can be different under certain conditions.
For example, if a Christmas bonus is anchored in the collective agreement, then this must be paid.
Payment must also be made if the following points are present.
When to pay Christmas bonus
company agreement
Anchoring in the employment contract
voluntary performance (commitment) by the employer
Entitlement based on operational practice: This means: If the employer voluntarily gives the same amount of Christmas bonuses three years in a row without reservation, an entitlement to this benefit arises.
Claim based on the Labor Equal Treatment Act
Christmas bonus: Employers want to protect themselves with a clause
As their own protection, some employers add the following sentence to employment contracts or wage slips: "The Christmas bonus is a voluntary benefit that can be revoked at any time and to which there is no legal entitlement." This formulation is contradictory, as the
wage information
portal with reference to the Federal Labor Court (BAG) argues that the clause contains a double reservation.
Therefore, it would be unclear and thus ineffective.
The aforementioned reservation of revocation would imply that a claim to the service had arisen at all, which contradicts the voluntary nature of the service.
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How much Christmas bonus do employees get?
There is no fixed amount of the Christmas bonus, often a certain percentage of the regular salary is determined for this, as the experts from
Arbeitsrechte.de announce
on their own website.
Termination of the employment contract: the most important facts that everyone should know
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When will the Christmas bonus be paid out?
There are no universal deadlines that employers have to meet when paying a Christmas bonus.
However, it is likely that you will have the extra money in your account with the November salary.
However, you should note that part of the Christmas bonus also goes to the Treasury.
If you make a tax return in the following year, you have the chance to cushion the difference, as
Arbeitsrechte.de
informs.