13. Personnel expenses

The direct remuneration paid to members of the Executive Board totalled € 2,955 thousand for the 2018 financial year (previous year: € 2,936 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 € 28,286 thousand (previous year: € 27,636 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. The previous year’s social security contributions and benefits include expenses for the organisational restructuring in the Container segment.

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

In addition, the Group used an annual average of 760 employees (previous year: 710) of Gesamthafenbetriebs Gesellschaft m.b.H., Hamburg (GHB).