As the festive season approaches, many employees in Germany can look forward not only to Christmas celebrations but also to receiving their long-awaited Christmas bonus. According to a new survey by the Hans Böckler Foundation’s Economic and Social Science Institute (WSI), about half of all employees in Germany, 51% will receive a special year-end payment, usually in November.
The WSI survey, which gathered responses from more than 58,000 employees between October 2024 and September 2025, shows that whether workers receive a Christmas bonus depends largely on whether their employer is bound by a collective bargaining agreement. In companies covered by such agreements, 77 percent of employees receive Christmas pay, compared with just 41% in firms without one.
Men (54 percent) are slightly more likely to receive the payment than women (48%), a difference partly explained by the higher rate of part-time work among women. Regionally, workers in western Germany (53 percent) are more likely to get a bonus than those in the east (41%). Employees with permanent contracts and full-time positions also have a slightly better chance of receiving the benefit.
Dr. Malte Lübker, wage expert at the WSI, emphasizes that collective agreements not only guarantee higher basic salaries but also ensure genuine additional payments at Christmas. He noted that such agreements benefit employees “not just at Christmas but all year round.” However, the proportion of workers covered by collective agreements has declined, from 68% in 2000 to just 49% in 2024, partly because new companies often try to avoid such agreements.
The WSI’s analysis of 23 major industries shows wide variations in the amount of Christmas pay. At the lower end, employees in Bavaria’s agricultural sector receive €250, while those in North Rhine-Westphalia’s chemical industry enjoy bonuses up to €4,235. High payments are also common in the energy sector (€4,113), confectionery industry (€3,900), textile industry (€3,751), private banking (€3,719), and at Deutsche Bahn (€3,399).
In many industries, Christmas bonuses equal a full month’s salary, commonly called a “13th month’s pay.” Some sectors, such as steel and public services, have replaced traditional Christmas and holiday payments with a unified annual special payment.
Despite regional and sectoral differences, the WSI notes that industries without any Christmas bonus remain rare in Germany.
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