Year-end bonus
The year-end bonus served in the GDR to the fulfillment of the plan recognize the year. The average amount per full-time employment unit (VbE) should generally be set at the same level as in the previous year and remain at this level for a longer period, unless changes in the structure of employees and qualifications (e.g. increase in shift work, increased use of Skilled workers and technical school graduates) resulted in permissible changes. However , if companies had an average amount of less than 800 marks per VbE, it could be increased to 800 marks with the approval of the general director of the combine and the responsible union management if above-average increases in performance had been achieved. For the individual work collectives and individual employees, the year-end bonus was differentiated according to performance and contribution to plan fulfillment, with special consideration of the shift work assumed . In the event of wrong shifts and violations, the end-of-year bonus for the workers concerned could be reduced. The year-end bonus was also granted to the managerial staff of the company and the combine; For them, the main criteria of performance were: fulfillment of export tasks and improvement of export profitability as well as scientific-technical performance targets, compliance with or falling below the required material and financial funds and the contractual fulfillment of delivery obligations according to product range and quality . The prerequisite, however, was the confirmation of the annual financial statements by the GDR's State Financial Audit Office .
The award was given at the end of each year for all employees who had worked in the company for at least one year. In 1972, 3.7 million employees in the centrally managed companies in the area of the GDR's industrial ministries received an end-of-year bonus averaging 650 marks; in 1975, 764 marks were achieved. For 1981, an average of 832 marks was paid per employee.
Since 1985 there has been a tendency to freeze the year-end bonus at the level reached in 1983, albeit with a certain performance-related differentiation for certain work collectives (or even employees). The stimulating function of target and initiative bonuses has been significantly strengthened in order to grant work collectives and individual employees special incentives to achieve higher exports, increased material savings and cost reductions, as well as the increased implementation of quality improvements .
With its judgment of August 23, 2007 (Az. B 4 RS 4/06 R), the Federal Social Court decided that the year-end premiums received in the GDR should be taken into account when calculating pensions. This was justified by the fact that the bonuses are actually earned wages within the meaning of Section 6 Paragraph 1 Clause 1 AAÜG (Entitlement and Entitlement Transfer Act), which are covered by the legal norms of Sections 14 and 15 SGB IV.