13. Personnel expenses

More details on direct remuneration paid to the members of the Executive Board and the Supervisory Board for the reporting year and the previous year can be found in Note 48.

The rise in wages and salaries in the reporting year is essentially due to increases in union wage rates and positive trends in performance data, as well as due to additions to the group of consolidated companies.

The previous year’s social security contributions and benefits expenses include a full reversal for non-contractual restructuring provisions in the Container segment. Social security contributions include payments to the public pension scheme amounting to € 39,908 thousand (previous year: € 37,701 thousand) and payments to the German pension insurance scheme.

Expenses for staff deployment increased year-on-year due to the positive volume trend at the Hamburg container terminals.

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

In addition, the Group deployed an annual average of 614 employees (previous year: 553) of Gesamthafenbetriebs-Gesellschaft m. b. H., Hamburg (GHB).