Volkswagen headquarters
The prosecutor Braunschweig charges charges of possibly unlawful compensation agreements.
Düsseldorf It is within only half a year already the third charge against top executives or former managers of Volkswagen: Because they have conceded works councils in the view of prosecutors excessive salaries, now three former and a current human resources manager of the carmaker are responsible for unfaithfulness in court. According to information from the Handelsblatt, the prosecution in Braunschweig has launched a similar charge in those days.
Previously, the agency had already done so in two investigation complexes of the diesel scandalIn April, she filed charges of fraud against a quintet, including ex-chief executive Martin Winterkorn, and in September for market manipulation against winter grain, today’s VWCEO Herbert Diess and Supervisory Board Chairman Hans Dieter Pötsch, They vehemently reject the allegations.
In terms of works council compensation, the prosecution, according to informed circles now meets the former VW HR Board Karlheinz Blessing and Horst Neumann and the current personnel manager of the brand VW, Martin Rosik, and its predecessor Jochen Schumm. Neumann was from 2005 to the end of 2015 VW personnel board, his successor Blessing from early 2016 in office until he had to leave the post in the spring of 2018. Schumm became head of staff in 2008, and in 2011 Rosik took over the post. They all took responsibility for the salaries of works councils for many years.
The lawyers of the managers said that they had not received any charges so far, as well as a spokesman for the VW Group. All four of the accused managers have always denied the allegations against them. The prosecution did not want to confirm an indictment on demand.
The prosecutors had the salary payments to VW works councils already targeted almost three years ago. In the top, they determined in the case against nearly 20 people, including against works council director Bernd Osterloh itself. He should have participated as part of the compensation commission “at the conclusion of the alleged unlawful compensation arrangements” and is therefore accused of aiding infidelity. For Osterloh himself, against which it is further determined, however, it is clear that he should be reproached at no point.
Consequence salary reduction
A direct consequence of the public prosecutor’s investigations: In 2017 VW reduced the salaries of Osterloh and 14 other works councils as a precautionary measure, sometimes drastically. The group also engaged evaluators to review payments and make forward-looking proposals.
Based on the results of the arbitration reports by Klaus Bepler and Burghard Kreft, both former judges of the Federal Labor Court, VW and 15 works councils then concluded in May this year a settlement before the Labor Court of Brunswick. The core message: in the majority of cases, there were no significant deviations from the maximum allowable salaries. Since then, the works councils have essentially received full, non-tariff compensation.
However, the appraisers also found that the payments earmarked for Osterloh were at least one year higher by around 30,000 euros. Osterloh was then granted a lower total compensation for the past year, but still clearly six-digit.
For VW, the matter was at least done internally. “Through the arbitration and the confirmation of the results in the form of the Labor Court of Brunswick recorded comparisons, we have gained the best possible legal certainty for the future compensation of those affected,” commented VW lawyer Hiltrud Werner the completion of the labor court proceedings satisfied.
The prosecutor’s office apparently impressed all this only moderately. It continues to hold on to allegations of infidelity – the results of the comparison have been included in the investigation.
What salary and periods of payments are actually the subject of the indictment, is not yet known, as well as the alleged damage. All that is certain is that the public prosecutor’s office had long ago used significantly higher deviations from the maximum allowable payments in their calculations than the experts, especially in the case of Osterloh.
The proceedings against Osterloh itself should not be given priority according to Handelsblatt information for the time being. Investigations against him should be pursued vigorously only if a guilt of the person responsible personnel was to be determined. Otherwise, the investigation would have done against the works council boss. The reason is simple: without unfaithfulness no aiding is possible.
In the meantime, in connection with the remuneration of the VW employee representatives, the public prosecutor’s office is still investigating elsewhere: It also checks whether tax evasion is in question. Supervisory Board Chairman Hans Dieter Pötsch and CFO Frank Witter were also targeted by the investigators.
The appropriate remuneration of works councils is always the occasion for discussion. Basically, it is regulated by the Works Constitution Act. According to the employee representatives to receive a payment according to their career opportunities in their original job.