RBB management responded to internal and public pressure and released its salaries and bonus payments. According to dpa information, the broadcaster posted a list of salaries and “performance pay” on the company’s intranet on Wednesday night. Retired director Patricia Schlesinger’s salaries are not listed.
According to the information, the position of managing director will have an annual base salary of 230 thousand euros in 2022. In addition, there is the payment of a variable bonus system in the amount of 30,738 euros for a year 2021/2022. Managing Director Hagen Brandstätter is currently Managing Director since Schlesinger resigned.
Program director Jan Schulte-Kellinghaus receives a bonus of €215,425 and an additional €30,915. For production and operations director Christoph Augenstein, that’s 196,000 euros plus an additional 38,144 euros. The position of legal director represented 198,900 euros and a premium of 39,195 euros.
The bonuses thus totaled a six-figure value. The online business Business Insider and RBB had already reported on this. The bonus system is highly controversial because its existence was unknown until recently. It is unknown how high Schlesinger’s salary is – aside from the 16 percent salary increase to €303,000. There is no such bonus system in other ARD houses.
On Tuesday, Brandtäter did not cite figures on salaries and bonuses for senior management in the Brandenburg state parliament. He even said that there was no bonus system. On the contrary, these are non-tariff employment contracts – 27 of them are remunerated in a variable way, including target agreements.
The debate over the salary structure in the management team is one of numerous accusations of nepotism that Schlesinger, who has been a director since 2016 and was fired by the Broadcasting Council on Monday, has been exposed. Schlesinger rejects the allegations, as does the resigned Chief Inspector Wolf-Dieter Wolf. The public prosecutor’s office in Berlin is investigating the two, as well as Schlesinger’s husband and former Spiegel journalist Gerhard Spörl, on suspicion of infidelity and benefit acceptance. An outside 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 was put on hold, an expensive company car with massage seats, catering to guests in Schlesinger’s private apartment at RBB’s expense, the renovation of the executive floor for 1.4 million euros, ordered by her husband at Messe Berlin, where Wolf was also head supervisor. Schlesinger’s trip to London is also being questioned.
It remains unclear exactly how Schlesinger’s contract will be terminated. The question is whether there could be an indemnity payment and what are the pension rights. The chairman of the Board of Directors, Dorette König, told the state parliament: “I can only say 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 houses of the ARD under the impression of the crisis in the RBB. WDR is considering expanding its compliance management. Compliance means monitoring a set of rules that an organization has to prevent corruption, for example. The broadcaster had planned this before and now wants to take current developments into account. NDR wants to treat its acquisitions more sensitively in the future. Especially if potential commissioners have personal relationships with broadcaster officials, as public broadcaster ARD announced.