13. Personnel expenses

Personnel expenses

in € thousand

 

2020

 

2019

Wages and salaries

 

362,775

 

353,143

Staff deployment

 

55,831

 

75,987

Social security contributions and benefits

 

114,287

 

71,081

Service expense

 

14,062

 

15,097

Other retirement benefit expenses

 

1,143

 

811

 

 

548,098

 

516,119

The direct remuneration paid to members of the Executive Board totalled € 3,182 thousand for the financial year 2020 (previous year: € 3,060 thousand). More details on the remuneration paid to the Executive Board and the Supervisory Board can be found in Note 48.

The rise in personnel expenses in the year under review is due to increases in union wage rates and a larger headcount.

Due to the decrease in capacity utilisation at the container in Hamburg, which was mainly caused by the coronavirus pandemic, there was a decline in expenses for staff deployment.

Social security contributions and benefits rose on account of the addition to a provision for restructuring as part of an efficiency programme. Social security contributions include payments towards the public pension scheme amounting to € 30,509 thousand (previous year: € 29,759 thousand) and payments to the German pension insurance scheme.

Service expense includes payments from defined benefit pension commitments and similar obligations, see Note 36.

Average number of employees of fully consolidated companies

 

 

2020

 

2019

Employees receiving wages

 

3,359

 

3,273

Salaried staff

 

2,869

 

2,796

Trainees

 

70

 

73

 

 

6,298

 

6,142

In addition, the Group used an annual average of 548 employees (previous year: 753) of Gesamthafenbetriebs-Gesellschaft m.b.H., Hamburg (GHB).

Terminal

In maritime logistics, a terminal is a facility where freight transported by various modes of transport is handled.