The RBB management responded to internal and public pressure and disclosed their salaries and bonus payments. According to dpa information, the broadcaster published a list of salaries and “performance-related remuneration” for employees on the company’s intranet on Wednesday evening. The salaries of the recalled director Patricia Schlesinger are not listed.
According to the information, the post of administrative director will have an annual basic salary of 230,000 euros in 2022. In addition, there is the payment from a variable bonus system in the amount of 30,738 euros for a year 2021/2022. Administrative director Hagen Brandstätter is currently managing director since Schlesinger resigned.
Program director Jan Schulte-Kellinghaus receives a bonus of 215,425 euros and an additional 30,915 euros. For production and operations director Christoph Augenstein, it is 196,000 euros plus an additional 38,144 euros. The post of legal director accounted for 198,900 euros and a bonus of 39,195 euros.
The bonuses thus totaled a six-digit amount. About it previously had the online medium Business Insider and also reported by the RBB. The bonus system is highly controversial because its existence was unknown until recently. It is not known how high Schlesinger’s salary is – apart from the salary increase of 16 percent to 303,000 euros. There is no such bonus system in other ARD houses.
On Tuesday, Brandtäter did not name any figures on salaries and bonuses for top management in the Brandenburg state parliament. He even said that there was no bonus system at all. Rather, it is about non-tariff employment contracts – 27 of them are paid variable, including target agreements.
The debate about the salary structure in the management team is one of the numerous allegations of nepotism that Schlesinger, who has been director since 2016 and was dismissed by the Broadcasting Council on Monday, sees herself exposed. Schlesinger rejects the allegations, as does the resigned chief inspector Wolf-Dieter Wolf. The Berlin Public Prosecutor’s Office is investigating both of them as well as Schlesinger’s husband and ex-mirror-Journalists Gerhard Spörl on suspicion of infidelity and acceptance of benefits. An external law firm is also working on the case, results are not expected for a few weeks.
Controversial consulting contracts
The allegations include controversial consulting contracts for an RBB construction project that has been put on hold, an expensive company car with massage seats, catering for guests in Schlesinger’s private apartment at RBB’s expense, the renovation of the executive floor for 1.4 million euros, orders for her husband at the Messe Berlin, where Wolf was also chief supervisor. Schlesinger’s trip to London is also being questioned.
It is still unclear exactly how Schlesinger’s contract will be terminated. The question is whether there could be a severance payment and what the pension entitlements are. Chairwoman of the Board of Directors Dorette König said in the state parliament: “I can only tell you that we do not rule out termination without notice.” She added: Everything will be done to ensure that RBB still has the opportunity to “assert claims against Ms. Schlesinger”.
Meanwhile, there are also episodes in other ARD houses under the impression of the crisis at RBB. WDR is considering expanding its compliance management. Compliance means monitoring a set of rules that an organization has in place to prevent corruption, for example. The broadcaster had planned this before and now wants to take current developments into account. The NDR wants to treat its procurement more sensitively in the future. Especially if the potential commissioners have personal relationships with broadcaster employees, as the public broadcaster ARD announced.