Relief in economically difficult times
The employer’s contribution to the Family Compensation Fund (DB) will be reduced from 3.9% to 3.7% from 2025 ( § 41 para. 5 FLAG ).
A reduction is already possible for the years 2023 and 2024 if the reduction of the DB is explicitly stipulated in a wage-forming regulation. This is, for example, a collective agreement or a company agreement authorised by collective agreement.
However, the Federal Ministry of Labour and Economic Affairs interprets this surprisingly generously and accepts an informal internal file note signed off by the management. It is not necessary to inform the employees. The file note must be filed for inspections by the tax authorities.
Such a file note should be signed by 31 December 2022 in order to meet the deadline. Late file notes will not be recognised, so that 3.9% DB would still have to be paid for the entire year.
The reduction in the DB contribution rate is an opportunity to reduce non-wage labour costs and thus relieves the burden on employers in these difficult economic times. The simple possibility of implementation allows every company to benefit from this advantage in an uncomplicated way.
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