In a ruling in autumn 2017, the Federal Labour Court (Bundesarbeitsgericht, BAG) decided that piecework and performance bonuses must also be counted towards the minimum wage entitlement.
In a ruling in autumn 2017, the Federal Labour Court (Bundesarbeitsgericht, BAG) decided that piecework and performance bonuses must also be counted towards the minimum wage entitlement. For the employer, this means that he also fulfils the minimum wage entitlement with the payment of such wage components. The employee, in turn, cannot demand that such performance bonuses be paid in addition to the minimum wage.
In the case at hand, an assembly worker had filed a complaint, who in 2015 received a wage consisting of a basic hourly wage of 6.22 euros gross and a performance-related hourly bonus of 2.30 euros gross. In total, this resulted in a gross wage of 8.52 euros per hour, which was just two cents above the legally applicable minimum wage of 8.50 euros at the time. It is now 8.84 euros (since 1.1.17).
The Federal Labour Court had decided against the assembly helper in the last instance. and rejected their appeal. In its reasoning, the BAG stated that the plaintiff would have had to prove that the disputed performance bonus either did not serve to compensate for work performance or was based on a special legal purpose. In doing so, the BAG also explicitly takes a position on the different interpretations of trade unions and employers as to what exactly the minimum wage entails.
The trade unions argue that the minimum wage is merely a kind of "basic wage" for the "normal performance" of the employee, which can be supplemented by other wage components (e.g. bonuses, holiday/ Christmas pay, overtime, night/holiday bonuses).
The employer side counters that all wage components are relevant to the minimum wage, at least if they are paid regularly every month.
With its ruling, the BAG supports the employer's view. It explains that the term "normal performance" has not found its way into the wording of the Minimum Wage Act.
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