Many Austrians cannot imagine making ends meet without paying Christmas bonuses.
Special payments are an essential part of the salary for many workers, Barbara Teiber, president of the private employees’ union (GPA), told reporters. The Christmas bonus is an indispensable part of their salary for 61 percent, according to a study by opinion research institute IFES on behalf of the GPA. A removal would have very serious consequences for 36 percent and serious consequences for 22 percent.
For only eleven percent of respondents, the loss of the 14th salary would be “not serious” and for another five percent it would be “not at all” serious. While almost every second person (49 percent) uses the extra money for Christmas presents, almost every third person (32 percent) also uses it for everyday expenses and every fifth recipient uses it to cover debts or overdrafts. For 69 percent of people with an income below 3,000 euros, the Christmas bonus is an indispensable part of their financial planning. This share decreases as the salary increases: for salaries from 4,500 euros, the extra money is only indispensable for 49 percent.
People under 30 are less dependent on it
The importance of the Christmas bonus also depends on age: for people up to 30 years old, it represents a significant part of 49 percent of their salary. This share rises to 68 percent in the 41 to 50 age group and then drops to 65 percent.
This special benefit is of course becoming increasingly important because of inflation: 28 percent of respondents in the survey indicated that they were suffering greatly from inflation. And another 51 percent said they were more likely to experience stress. According to the results of the IFES survey, 20 percent are not bothered by it at all (17 percent) or not bothered at all (three percent).
Almost a quarter of the participants in the survey indicate that they have no idea how the extra salary is calculated. According to them, higher incomes with a salary of 4,500 euros or more know best about this, namely 85 percent. And more than half of those surveyed (55 percent) now know that Christmas bonuses are arranged in collective labor agreements, according to IFES director Eva Zeglovits.
There are fewer Christmas bonuses in Germany
Many people do not know that special payments are not common to this extent in other countries: only half of all employees in Germany (53 percent) receive a Christmas bonus. According to this research, 77 percent of employees in companies receive extra money at Christmas and only 42 percent in companies without a collective labor agreement. The amount varies between 250 and 3,836 euros, said David Mum, head of the GPA basic department, referring Mum to the situation in the neighboring country.
IFES also asked in what form the extra salary should be distributed. According to Zeglovits, 61 percent were in favor of the current model. For 21 percent, a split into two six-monthly installments is conceivable, for 15 percent a quarterly payment. However, only four percent of respondents were in favor of dividing this money into twelve monthly installments.
The GPA ordered the investigation for November. Anyway, the discussion about Christmas bonuses was recently sparked by UNOS, the employer representative of Neos. They did not argue for abolition, but for an income-neutral distribution of the Christmas bonus over monthly salaries.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
