(in German)

Employees in Germany receive regular monthly wages. There are also irregular payments that do not occur every month. Monetary benefits, such as company cars or company telephones, are not included. Special payments, also known as special remuneration or special allowances, can be used to top up employees' regular pay. The basis for entitlement can be statutory or collectively agreed provisions, a works agreement, employment contracts or individual agreements.

This baua: Preprint uses representative data for employees in Germany in 2018 (2018 Structure of Earnings Survey) to examine the prevalence and the amount of special payments according to various individual and company characteristics. The evaluations and analyses indicate both a selective receipt of special payments and an increase in special payments with rising hourly wages. There are major differences between women and men, between eastern and western Germany and between different sectors. Special payments are not very common in the low-wage sector. Conversely, the proportion of employees with special payments is particularly high at the upper end of the income distribution; moreover, special payments increase exponentially with rising income. Overall, special payments increase the spread of the wage distribution.

Please download the complete preprint: "Special payments in 2018: Who receives them and how much?" (in German only)