Leistungsentgelt in den Kommunen: Praxis einer umstrittenen Regelung

The collective agreement for the public service (TVöD) has made possible the introduction of performance-related pay for all public employees at the federal and the municipal level in Germany. A precondition for the introduction of PRP (performance-related pay) at the local level is a consensual agreement between the employer and staff council in which, among other things, the assessment method is stipulated. Due to the fact that there has been no sustainable consensus between unions and employer association about relevant implementation issues, it was not predictable to what extent and how PRP would be introduced locally. On the basis of comprehensive surveys this article characterizes the implementation of PRP in municipalities as being very heterogeneous and altogether not very successful. Many problems discussed in the scientific literature are confirmed. Whereas the intended effects are weak, there are also unintended negative consequences for social relations among colleagues. However, target agreements are markedly superior compared to the other assessment method provided by the collective agreement, namely the so-called systematic performance assessment.