13. Personnel Expenses

Personnel Expenses

in € thousand

 

2017

 

2016

Wages and salaries

 

314,181

 

306,591

Social security contributions and benefits

 

77,216

 

79,246

Staff deployment

 

66,233

 

50,287

Service expense

 

5,674

 

6,834

Other retirement benefit expenses

 

513

 

44

 

 

463,817

 

443,002

The direct remuneration paid to members of the Executive Board totalled € 2,936 thousand for the 2017 financial year (previous year: € 3,143 thousand). More details on the remuneration paid to the Executive Board and the Supervisory Board can be found in Note 48.

Social security contributions include payments towards the public pension scheme amounting to € 27,636 thousand (previous year: € 26,794 thousand) and payments to the German pension insurance scheme. The increase in personnel expenses in the year under review is due to increases in union wage rates, the higher number of employees and increased demand for external staff. Following restructuring-related expenses in connection with the discontinuation of project and contract logistics in the previous year, the figure for the reporting year includes expenses for the restructuring of the Container segment.

Service expense includes payments from defined benefit pension commitments and similar obligations.

Average Number of Employees

 

 

2017

 

2016

Fully consolidated companies

 

 

 

 

Employees receiving wages

 

2,879

 

2,777

Salaried staff

 

2,595

 

2,575

Trainees

 

79

 

95

 

 

5,553

 

5,447

In addition, the Group used an annual average of 710 employees (previous year: 558) of Gesamthafenbetriebs-Gesellschaft m.b.H., Hamburg (GHB).