According to dpa-AFX, the carmaker Daimler pays employees a bonus if they are rarely sick, according to a new company agreement. Daimler and the works council agreed on an attendance bonus of a maximum of 200 euros gross per year. The full bonus is paid to employees who have not been unable to work for a single day within a year. Accordingly, it is distributed over a maximum of 50 euros per quarter. In the industry, this action is uncharted territory.
The bonus is part of a larger employee health agreement. In addition, there is a voluntary and free health check for all employees, which is intended, for example, to help with the early detection of health risks.
Daimler's works council head Michael Brecht said, "In weighing the interests, we ultimately decided to accept the attendance bonus for a limited period for the introduction of the health check. We managed to get it automatically phased out after two years, but the health check remains." He added: "We also ame that the sums involved will not cause anyone to drag themselves into the store ill."
Institute for Further Training of Works Councils sees the measure positively. In an analysis, the experts write:
Daimler tested the new "attendance bonus" for two years in a large-scale pilot project. Now it's getting serious: Every employee who does not miss work due to illness for a year will receive an extra bonus of 200 euros on top of his or her salary. Just now with the works council, a new company agreement closed.
The waves were already running high in the run-up to the event. A premium for not being sick? What is the purpose? What incentives are being set? And what excesses could this lead to?? Do employees come to work sick to avoid losing their entitlement? At least one thing is obvious: The bonus is quartered at 50 euros per quarter, which alone is probably far too low to get really sick people out of bed. But is it also low enough to at least not have to go to the office or into production with a huff after all? Here then the healthy colleagues are infected, who thank. But that's another matter.
The health premium is popular with both workforces and Controversial among health experts. This affects not only Daimler, but all companies that are active here. The automaker did well to test the matter for years. In any case, the result did not lead to the idea of abolishing it again.
The Stuttgarter Nachrichten quote the Works council chairman Michael Brecht. He presents the works council's approval as part of a balancing of interests. In the future, employees will receive a comprehensive, free health check for an unlimited period, while the attendance bonus will be phased out in two years' time. True conviction is expressed differently.
Health promotion and prevention – these are good and correct ways in the Occupational health management. The regulation at Daimler itself is actually much more differentiated than it was presented here. There are also provisions for hardship cases, for example.
The Stuttgart carmaker traditionally pays comparatively high salaries. 50 euros more per quarter won't have much effect as an incentive for most people. That's why it's clear: It's not so much about the money and the premium, but about something else: The signal effect. "Stay healthy" says the company "and we'll give you something for it – more or less symbolically". In addition, there are extremely real prevention programs, high-quality medical checks and health courses. Not bad.
Employee health seems to be high on Daimler's agenda – especially because of this controversial attendance bonus. Whether it is the pinnacle of knowledge remains to be seen. As part of a larger package, they will be able to cope.