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Comment by levosmetalo | Hacker News Reader

Also, "without bonuses" part makes no sense, since in Germany some bonuses are contractually enforced and employer doesn't have an option not to pay them. For example, Weihnachtsgeld (Christamas money) is usually 1 or 1/2 of monthly salary and is defined in every contract. In addition to that comes the yearly bonus, which is rarely not awarded in its entirety. In my company it's about 15% of salary for previous year, and only way not to get it is to leave company before the payday.

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> and only way not to get it is to leave company before the payday.

There have been rulings that yearly, regular bonuses have to be paid partially if you leave before the payday. For "Weihnachtsgeld", which is a fixed bonus, this is the reason why modern contracts usually don't include it anymore but just put it on the monthly salary. See the link[1] for a recent ruling (german, sorry).

Still, a lot of stuff that would be a "bonus" in the US is included in Germany. Contracts in germany include mandatory health care, social security, the whole range.

[1]: http://www.zeit.de/karriere/beruf/2013-11/urteil-anspruch-we...

  For example, Weihnachtsgeld (Christamas money) is usually 1
  or 1/2 of monthly salary and is defined in every contract.
  In addition to that comes the yearly bonus, which is rarely
  not awarded in its entirety.

Nope. Weihnachtsgeld is not defined in every contract. Either you're working for a company bound by a union rate to pay Weihnachtsgeld or the company pays it voluntarily. There is no Weihnachtsgeld guaranteed by law. As for bonuses, this depends on the employer and usually also on the time you spent at the company. Just my two cents.

Sorry, I didn't say that Weihnachtgeld is required by law, just that I don't know a single person that doesn't have Weihnachtsgeld guaranteed by employment contract.

In our company noone gets Weihnachtsgeld. We treat it as part of the salary and just include it in the monthly wage. But I agree: If it's granted it's more of a salary part than an actual bonus.

Weihnachtsgeld can become a "betriebliche Übung", if it is payed three times in a row, meaning your employer has to pay it, unless you have a contract that explicitly states otherwise.

This is why literally every contract nowadays includes the legal boilerplate that says so. To quote from our contract:

"Die Zahlung von Gratifikationen, Tantiemen, Prämien und sonstigen Leistungen liegt im freien Ermessen des Arbeitgebers und begründet keinen Rechtsanspruch, auch wenn die Zahlung wiederholt ohne ausdrücklichen Vorbehalt der Freiwilligkeit erfolgte. Etwas anderes gilt nur dann, wenn die Zahlung durch Betriebsvereinbarung oder Tarifvertrag geregelt ist."

If your contract does not include that boilerplate your employer had a shitty lawyer and should fire him.

Edit: fixed Umlauts which were broken by c&p

Haha, no "Weihnachtsgeld" is completly optional. Welcome to the Mittelstand.

It is treated as salary nowadays, just with odd payment terms.

All of the things you mention are completely optional for the employer.

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