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Wednesday, December 4, 2024

These companies pay an inflation premium

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Dusseldorf Bertelsmann exhausts the possibilities: The media group pays employees with an annual salary of up to 75,000 euros an inflation bonus totaling 3,000 euros. Who earns more, receives 2000 euros extra. “Inflation and, above all, rising energy costs have an impact on everyone,” CEO Thomas Rabe is quoted as saying in an intranet entry available to the Handelsblatt.

Like Bertelsmann, more and more companies are using the opportunity created by the federal government to pay what is known as an inflation compensation premium. Companies can transfer up to 3,000 euros to their employees tax- and duty-free by the end of 2024. This is intended to relieve the population in the face of inflation.

A Handelsblatt survey shows that twelve of the 40 Dax companies pay an inflation bonus. Below are the Deutsche Bank and airbus with 1500 euros each. Also qiagen supports employees in Germany and 20 other countries that are particularly affected by inflation. The biotech company does not give an exact amount.

Six other Dax companies like the chemicals dealer burning day or the construction group Heidelberg Materials are considering paying out, but are still working on the details. 15 companies did not want to comment on upcoming collective bargaining talks, six companies did not react.

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The reluctance of even large corporations shows that the inflation premium could prove to be empty hope for many employees. Companies are also feeling the effects of rising costs for energy, freight and raw materials. Because the companies still have more than a year to pay out, many seem to want to wait and see how the economy will develop in the coming months.

580,000 employees in the pharmaceutical and chemical industry will benefit

A survey by the Kienbaum consultancy at the end of October confirms this impression: Only 15 percent of those questioned stated that they had received a special payment. Half see this as a sensible alternative to a permanent wage increase. 60 percent even expect their employer to pay them an inflation premium.

This hope has already been fulfilled for the 580,000 employees in the 1,900 companies in the pharmaceutical and chemical industry. You get 3000 euros paid out in two tranches, the first transfer comes by the end of January. In the Dax, employees benefit from this BASFBayer, Beiersdorf, Covestro, Fresenius, FMC, Henkel and Merck.

The car supplier Continental had informed a Handelsblatt survey at the beginning of October that it did not want to pay a premium because of the “persistently turbulent market environment”. From the chemical collective bargaining agreement parts of the Conti workforce are now also benefiting.

In the metal and electrical industry, the collective bargaining partners are still arguing. The IG Metall demands higher wages, the employers prefer to pay the premium. Should there be a payment, the employees would work for BMW, Mercedes, Volkswagen, Bosch, Siemens or the engine manufacturer MTU benefit. The carmaker that recently went public Porsche, who is considered a candidate for promotion to the Dax pays 3000 euros.

Inflation premium as a “symbolic act”

From the point of view of occupational psychologists, the inflation premium makes sense. “The special payment signals to the employees that the company cares about them,” says Hannes Zacher from the University of Leipzig. The bonus is “above all a symbolic act” and can help to increase the motivation of the employees and strengthen their loyalty to the company.

There is no legal claim. Because companies have to treat all employees equally, they are not only allowed to pay the bonus to individual employees. However, it is conceivable that employees with higher incomes will receive a lower subsidy.

One of the first companies to announce an inflation premium was the fan manufacturer in mid-September EBM Pope. At that time, the federal government had not yet defined any specific regulations. The 6,000 employees will receive a one-off payment of 500 euros. The car rental company gave notice just as early sixt his special bonus of 1700 euros.

Often lower premiums in trade

Drugstore entrepreneur Raoul Roßmann had already called for a tax-free inflation adjustment in the summer. So it is not surprising that the drugstore chain Rossman announced on Monday that it would transfer an inflation premium of 500 euros to every employee. Sales aids should get 250 euros. Another payment in the coming year is conceivable.

Other trading companies also pay extra money: employees at Lidl and Kaufland received 250 euros, said the brands belonging to the Schwarz Group. Aldi Nord has not yet made up its mind to do so. Employees there received monthly shopping vouchers worth 50 euros between June and October.

Drugstore chain Rossmann

Every employee of the company receives an inflation premium of 500 euros.

(Photo: dpa)

The amounts of the dealers are often lower compared to industrial groups. After all, margins are tight in retail, and employees in the salesrooms often only receive minimum wage. The Leipzig work psychologist Zacher warns, however, not to let the premium turn out too low. Otherwise, employees may feel underappreciated.

A striking number of banks are paying high inflation premiums

The banks are more generous, many of whom pay a premium LBBW, to pay out 2000 euros in two tranches. In the Commerzbank the bonus is between 500 and 2000 euros, the first two management levels get nothing.

>> Read about this: Which banks pay their employees an inflation bonus

The Handelsblatt survey shows that more and more family businesses are also compensating for inflation. The building and installation technician OBO Betterman pays 1,500 euros in January and wants to increase wages at the same time. The Company Berner, which trades in spare parts and consumables, for example for car repair shops, transfers 1,500 euros from the Duisburg tourism group Schauinsland trips even 3000 euros.

trigema-Boss Wolfgang Grupp has been paying the employees of the textile manufacturer a bonus of 100 euros per month since October, initially until the end of the year. Then, depending on the economic situation, a decision will be made about an extension.

The only Dax group that initially does not want to pay an inflation premium is Deutsche Telekom. In the course of the collective agreement concluded in May 2022, the people of Bonn had decided on special payments totaling 1000 euros in the lower and middle wage groups. “Other than that, there are currently no further plans for any special bonuses.”

More: Study on pay increases and bonuses: What employees expect – and companies offer.

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