Less Christmas bonus due to illness: This is allowed if it lasts longer
Created: 11/23/2022, 4:00 p.m
By: Jasmine Farah
Some employees are already looking forward to a Christmas bonus.
But in some cases it can even be reduced, for example in the event of illness.
However, this only applies to a limited extent.
The end of the year is fast approaching, the Christmas holidays are within reach.
Many employees are already looking forward to the peaceful time with family and friends between the years.
As a bonus, some companies offer a Christmas bonus.
This is usually paid out at the end of November or in December.
Less Christmas bonus due to illness: That is allowed
The amount of the sum varies from company to company; various factors play a role, for example whether the employer has committed to this in the collective bargaining agreement or employment contract or how long you have been with the company.
At the same time, it is not permissible for only part of the workforce to receive a Christmas bonus.
You can find out how it is taxed correctly here.
You do not have a direct entitlement to a Christmas bonus – however, an entitlement may arise.
© Ingeborg Knol/Imago
So if a company decides to pay out a 13th monthly salary, according to the principle of equal treatment, it may not exclude individual employees from the annual special payment if everyone else receives it.
But there are exceptional cases.
According to this, it is permissible to reduce the Christmas bonus for employees who are ill for a longer period of time.
However, this is only possible if the employer has previously regulated reductions for sickness-related incapacity to work in the contract, explains Uli Meisinger, a lawyer at the Saarland Chamber of Labor, to
FAZ Online.
A reduction in the 13th month's salary is permitted if the employer is no longer obliged to continue to pay wages (up to a period of six weeks), including sick pay supplement.
From then on, the financial portal haufe.de
knows that he can reduce the annual special payment by 1/12 for each full month of illness
.
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Less Christmas bonus due to termination: only with the appropriate clause
In the case of a termination, however, the situation is different.
Those who leave the company are usually allowed to keep their Christmas bonus.
However, some employees worry that they will have to pay it back in the event of termination.
But that is only an option if a corresponding effective clause has been agreed beforehand, adds expert Meisinger.
also read
Nice extra in November: Those who can look forward to a Christmas bonus this year
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This means that the Christmas bonus only rewards the length of service and not the work done.
Finally, there is also the fact that employees are only employed on a limited-term basis, commitment periods up to the end of the second quarter of the following year are permissible.
