Commission Regulation (EC) No 1737/2005 of 21 October 2005 amending Regulation (EC) No 1726/1999 as regards the definition and transmission of information on labour costs   (Text with EEA relevance)
Date: 2005-10-21
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU statistics, data transmission, exchange of information, statistics, wage cost

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COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1737/2005

of 21 October 2005

amending Regulation (EC) No 1726/1999 as regards the definition and transmission of information
on labour costs

(Text with EEA relevance)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty
Community,

establishing the European

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 530/1999 of 9
March 1999 concerning structural statistics on earnings and on
labour costs (1) and in particular Article 11(ii) and (iii) thereof,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

Commission Regulation (EC) No 1726/1999 of 27 July
1999 implementing Council Regulation
(EC) No
530/1999 concerning structural statistics on earnings
and on labour costs as regards the definition and trans-
mission of information on labour costs (2) sets out imple-
menting measures
and
concerning
breakdown of the information to be provided and the
appropriate technical format for the transmission of the
results as provided for in Article 11 of Regulation (EC)
No 530/1999.

definition

the

The labour cost survey for the reference year 2000 was
the first survey based on Regulation (EC) No 1726/1999.
The experience with this survey has demonstrated the
need to improve the provisions of Regulation (EC) No
1726/1999,
in order to bring them into line with the
corresponding provisions of Commission Regulation (EC)
No 1916/2000 of 8 September 2000 on implementing

Council Regulation (EC) No 530/1999 concerning
structural statistics on earnings and on labour costs as
regards the definition and transmission of information
on structure of earnings (3) and to improve the links
between the data from the various surveys on earnings
and on labour costs every second year.

Regulation (EC) No 1726/1999 should therefore be
amended accordingly.

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in
accordance with
Statistical
the
Programme Committee,

opinion

the

of

(3)

(4)

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

The Annexes to Regulation (EC) No 1726/1999 are replaced by
the text in the Annexes to this Regulation.

Article 2

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day
following that of its publication in the Official
Journal of the
European Union.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 21 October 2005.

For the Commission

Joaquín ALMUNIA
Member of the Commission

(1) OJ L 63, 12.3.1999, p. 6. Regulation as amended by Regulation (EC)
No 1882/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L
284, 31.10.2003, p. 1).
(2) OJ L 203, 3.8.1999, p. 28.

(3) OJ L 229, 9.9.2000, p. 3.

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ANNEX I

LIST OF VARIABLES

Structural statistics on labour costs

Table A — National data

Table B — National data by size class of enterprise

Table C — Regional data

For the variables listed below, either Table A only or all three tables must be provided. Mandatory delivery is indicated by
‘m’ and optional delivery by ‘o’. The transmission codes belonging to the different categories of qualitative variables or
size classes of quantitative variables are set by Eurostat in an implementation paper.

Variable

Only A

A-C (1)

A.

A.1

A.11

A.12

A.121

Number of employees

Total number of employees

Full-time employees (excluding apprentices)

Part-time employees (excluding apprentices)

Part-time employees converted into full-time units (excluding
apprentices)

A.13

Apprentices

A.131

Apprentices converted into full-time units

B.

B.1

B.11

B.12

Hours actually worked

Total hours actually worked

actually worked by

Hours
apprentices)

full-time

employees

(excluding

actually worked by part-time

Hours
apprentices)

employees

(excluding

B.13

Hours actually worked by apprentices

C.

C.1

C.11

C.12

C.13

D.

D.1

Paid hours

Total hours paid

Paid hours for full-time employees (excluding apprentices)

Paid hours for part-time employees (excluding apprentices)

Paid hours for apprentices

Labour costs (for details see Figure 1 below)

Compensation of employees

D.11

Wages and salaries (for details see Figure 2 below)

D.111

Wages and salaries (excluding apprentices)

D.1111

Direct remuneration, bonuses and allowances

D.11111

Direct remuneration, bonuses and allowances paid in each pay
period

D.11112

Direct remuneration, bonuses and allowances not paid in each pay
period (2)

D.1112

Payments to employees’ savings schemes

m

m

m

m

m

m

m

m

m

m

m

m

m

m

m

m

m

m

m

m

m

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Variable

Only A

A-C (1)

D.1113

Payments for days not worked

D.1114

Wages and salaries in kind

D.11141

Company products (optional)

D.11142

Staff housing (3) (optional)

D.11143

Company cars (optional)

D.11144

Stock options and share purchase schemes (optional)

D.11145

Other (optional)

D.112

Wages and salaries of apprentices

D.12

Employers' social contributions (for details see Figure 3 below)

D.121

Employers' actual social contributions (excluding apprentices)

D.1211

Statutory social-security contributions

D.1212

Collectively agreed,
contributions

contractual

and voluntary social-security

D.122

Employers' imputed social contributions (excluding apprentices)

D.1221

Guaranteed remuneration in the event of sickness (optional)

D.1222

Employers' imputed social contributions for pensions and health
care (optional)

D.1223

Payments to employees leaving the enterprise (optional)

D.1224

Other imputed social contributions of the employer (optional)

D.123

Employers' social contributions for apprentices

o

o

o

o

o

m

m

o

o

o

o

D.2

D.3

D.4

D.5

E.

E.1

E.2

Vocational training costs

Other expenditure paid by the employer

Taxes

Subsidies received by the employer

Information on units

Local units, universe

Local units, sample

(1) Tables C are relevant only to countries with NUTS 1 regions.
(2) Except payments to employee savings schemes.
(3) Except removal allowances.

m

m

m

m

m

m

m

m

m

m

m

m

m

Optionally, Member States may record more detailed data for the following variables (transmission to Eurostat only on
request):

A.11

Full-time employees

A.12

Part-time employees

D.11112

Direct remuneration, bonuses and allowances not paid in each pay period

D.1113

Payments for days not worked

D.1211

Statutory social-security contributions

D.1212

Collectively agreed, contractual and voluntary social-security contributions

D.1223

Payments to employees leaving the enterprise

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Figure 1

Labour costs and their main components

Figure 2
Disaggregation of the component ‘Wages and salaries’ (D.11)

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Figure 3
Disaggregation of the component ‘Employers’ social contributions’ (D.12)

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ANNEX II

DEFINITIONS OF THE VARIABLES

A. NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES

Employees are all persons irrespective of their nationality or the length of their working time in the country who have
a direct employment contract with the enterprise or local unit (whether the agreement is formal or informal) and
receive remuneration, irrespective of the type of work performed, the number of hours worked (full-time or part-time)
and the duration of the contract (fixed or indefinite). The remuneration of employees can take the form of wages and
salaries including bonuses, pay for piecework and shift work, allowances, fees, tips and gratuities, commission and
remuneration in kind.

This definition of employees covers manual and non-manual workers and management personnel in the private and
public sectors in economic activities classified to Sections C-K and M-O of NACE Rev. 1.1 in enterprises with at least
10 employees (1).

The following list gives illustrative examples of categories of employees that are included:

— sales representatives, provided they are on the payroll and receive another form of remuneration in addition to any

commission,

— paid working proprietors,

— apprentices,

— students and trainees (articled clerks, student nurses, research or teaching assistants, hospital interns, etc.) who have
a formal commitment whereby they contribute to the unit’s production process in return for remuneration,

— interim or temporary workers (e.g. secretarial staff) recruited, employed and remunerated by employment agencies
to work elsewhere, often for temporary periods (2); seasonal and occasional workers, if they have a formal or
informal agreement with the enterprise or local unit and pre-defined working hours,

— employees for whom labour costs were incurred in the reference year but who were temporarily not at work
because of illness or injury, holiday or vacation, strike or lock-out, educational or training leave, maternity or
parental leave, reduced economic activity, suspension of work due to bad weather, mechanical breakdowns, lack of
materials, fuels or power, or other temporary absence with or without leave,

— those working abroad if they continue to receive remuneration from the statistical unit,

— outworkers (3), including home workers and tele-workers, if there is an explicit agreement that such workers are
remunerated on the basis of the work done: that is, the amount of labour which is contributed as an input into
some process of production.

The following categories should be excluded:

— sales representatives and other persons who are wholly remunerated by way of fees or commission, are not on the

payroll, or who are self-employed,

— owners, directors or managers whose remuneration wholly takes the form of a share in profits,

— family workers who are not employees (as defined above) of the enterprise or local unit,

— own-account workers,

— unpaid voluntary workers (e.g. those who typically work for non-profit institutions such as charities).

Reference ESA 95: 11.12 to 11.14

(1) The coverage of Section L of NACE Rev.1.1 is optional. The coverage of employees in enterprises with less than 10 employees is
optional as well. The transmission codes for the economic activities of NACE Rev. 1.1, the country or region according to the NUTS
classification in force and the size classes of enterprises are set by Eurostat in an implementation paper.

(2) To avoid double counting, the hours worked by persons employed by employment agencies are to be included in the NACE category
of the employment agency (NACE Rev.1.1, 74.50) and not in the NACE category of the enterprise for which they actually work.
(3) An outworker is a person who agrees to work for a particular enterprise or to supply a certain quantity of goods or services to a
particular enterprise by prior arrangement or contract with that enterprise, but whose place of work is not within it (Reference ESA 95:
11.13(g)). Hours actually worked by outworkers might be estimated.

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A.1

Total number of employees

This variable covers full-time employees (A.11), part-time employees (A.12) and apprentices (A.13)

Reference SBS: code 16130 (number of employees)

A.11 Full-time employees (excluding apprentices)

This covers employees (except apprentices) whose regular working hours are the same as the collectively
agreed or customary hours worked in the enterprise or local unit, even if their contract is for less than one
year. The number of employees required is the average monthly number of full-time employees employed in
the reporting unit during the reference year.

A.12 Part-time employees (excluding apprentices)

This covers employees (except apprentices) whose regular working hours are less than the collectively agreed
or customary hours worked in the enterprise or local unit, whether daily, weekly or monthly (half-day, three-
quarter time, four-fifths time, etc.) The number of employees required is the average monthly number of part-
time employees employed in the reporting unit during the reference year.

A.121 Part-time employees converted into full-time units

This conversion is to be carried out either directly by the enterprise or local unit making returns or by the
collecting agency/national statistical institute on the basis of the normal working hours of full-time workers in
this enterprise/local unit, using the method they consider most appropriate. The number of employees required
is the average monthly number of part-time employees (converted into full-time units) employed in the
reporting unit during the reference year.

Reference ESA 95: 11.32 to 11.34

A.13 Apprentices

This covers all employees, full-time or part-time, who do not yet fully participate in the production process
and who work either under an apprenticeship contract or in a situation in which vocational training predo-
minates over productivity. The number of apprentices required is the average monthly number employed in
the reporting unit during the reference year.

A.131 Part-time apprentices converted into full-time units

This conversion is to be carried out either directly by the enterprise or local unit making returns or by the
collecting agency/national statistical institute, using the method they consider most appropriate. The hours
spent in training either in the enterprise/local unit or in educational establishments should be excluded. The
number of apprentices required is the average monthly number of part-time apprentices (converted into full-
time units) employed in the reporting unit during the reference year (1).

References ESA 95: 11.32 to 11.34; SBS: code 16140 (A.11 + A.121 + A.131 corresponds to the SBS
variable ‘number of employees in full-time units’)

B. HOURS ACTUALLY WORKED

The statistics cover the total number of hours worked by all employees during the year. The total number of hours
actually worked (B.1) is recorded separately for full-time employees (B.11), part-time employees (B.12) and apprentices
(B.13).

Hours actually worked are defined as the sum of all periods spent on direct and ancillary activities to produce goods
and services.

Hours actually worked include:

— hours worked during normal periods of work,

— periods of paid overtime, i.e. hours worked in addition to normal working hours, irrespective of the hourly pay
rate applied (e.g. one hour worked at double the normal hourly pay rate should be entered as one hour),

— periods of unpaid overtime (2),

— time spent on tasks such as: work and site preparation; preparing, maintaining, repairing and cleaning tools and

machines; making out receipts and invoices; writing up work cards and reports, etc.,

(1) If preferred, the average can be based on the weekly (or daily) numbers of employees over the reference year. An average based on

quarterly figures on employees is also admissible.

(2) Unpaid hours worked as a component of ‘hours actually worked’ often have to be estimated, for example from household survey data.

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— time spent at the place of work during which no work is done owing to, for example, machine stoppages,
accidents or occasional lack of work but for which payment is made in accordance with the employment contract,

— short rest periods at the place of work, including tea and coffee breaks,

— hours spent in training either in the enterprise/local unit or in educational establishments (this item is excluded for

apprentices).

Hours actually worked exclude the following, however:

— hours paid but not worked,

maternity leave, etc.,

for example: paid holidays/vacation, public holidays, absence due to sickness,

— hours not worked and not paid, for example, during sickness and maternity, etc.,

— hours not worked (whether paid or not) during special leave for medical examinations, marriages, funerals, moving

house, following an accident, etc.,

— main meal breaks (i.e. not short rest periods or refreshment breaks),

— hours not worked (whether paid or not) during short-time working, labour disputes, lock-outs, etc.,

— time spent by the employee travelling between home and place of work,

— hours spent by apprentices in training either in the enterprise/local unit or in educational establishments.

References ESA 95: 11.26 to 11.29; SBS: code 16150 (number of hours worked by employees)

C. PAID HOURS

This variable covers the total number of hours paid during the year. The total number of paid hours (C.1) is recorded
separately for full-time (C.11), part-time employees (C.12) and apprentices (C.13).

The annual number of paid hours is defined as:

— normal and overtime hours remunerated during the year,

— any hours for which the employee was paid at a reduced rate, even if the difference was made up by payments

from social-security funds,

— hours not worked during the reference period but nevertheless paid (annual holidays/vacation, absence due to
sickness, public holidays and other hours paid, including time off for medical examinations, births, weddings,
funerals, moving house, etc).

Calculation of annual hours actually worked and annual paid hours

These calculations are to be carried out either directly by the enterprises or local units making returns or by the
collecting agencies/national statistical institutes, using the method they consider most appropriate. The following
models illustrate how hours actually worked and paid hours can be estimated, by making use of information that
is available.

Annual hours actually worked for full-time employees (B.11)

Suppose that information is available for the variables listed below:

(A.11) Average monthly number of full-time employees

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

(e)

(f)

Average annual normal contractual hours of a full-time employee, excluding overtime and main meal breaks

Average annual overtime (both paid and unpaid) of a full-time employee

Average daily number of contractual plus overtime hours worked by a full-time employee, excluding main
meal breaks

Average annual number of days of holidays/vacation per full-time employee, granted by the employer

Average annual number of days of official public holidays per full-time employee

Average annual number of days of sickness and maternity leave per full-time employee

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(g)

(h)

Average annual number of days of short-time working and labour disputes per full-time employee

Average annual number of other days not actually worked per full-time employee (e.g. special
medical examinations, births, marriage, funerals, moving house, following an accident, etc.).

leave for

The total annual number of hours worked by full-time employees (before corrections for days not actually worked)
results to be (A.11) × (a+b). If one subtracts the total annual number of hours not actually worked which is defined by
(A.11) × c × (d + e + f + g + h) one gets (B.11), the total annual hours actually worked by full-time employees:

(B.11) = (A.11) × [(a+b) – c (d + e + f + g + h)].

Annual hours actually worked for part-time employees (B.12) and for apprentices (B.13)

Similar models can be used for the calculation of hours worked by part-time employees and by apprentices.

Annual paid hours for full-time employees (C.11)

Where information is available for the variables listed below

(A.11) Average monthly number of full-time employees

(a1)

Average annual paid contractual hours of a full-time employee, excluding overtime and main meal breaks

(b1)

Average annual paid overtime hours of a full-time employee

the total annual number of paid hours for full-time employees is expressed by the equation

(C.11) = (A.11) × (a1 + b1).

Annual paid hours for part-time employees (C.12) and for apprentices (C.13)

Similar models can be used to calculate paid hours for part-time employees and for apprentices.

D. LABOUR COSTS

Labour costs mean the total expenditure borne by employers in order to employ staff, a concept which has been
adopted in the Community framework and complies broadly with the international definition of the International
Conference of Labour Statisticians (Geneva, 1966). Labour costs include compensation of employees (D.1) with wages
and salaries in cash or in kind and employers' social contributions, vocational-training costs (D.2), other expenditures
(D.3), taxes relating to employment regarded as labour costs (D.4), less any subsidies received (D.5). The costs for
persons employed by temporary employment agencies are to be included in the industry of the agency which employs
them (NACE Rev. 1.1, 74.50) and not in the industry of the enterprise for which they actually work.

A breakdown at a glance of total labour costs by component is provided by Figures 1 to 3 in Annex I.

D.1 Compensation of employees

Compensation of employees is defined as the total remuneration, in cash or in kind, payable by an employer to an
employee in return for work done by the latter during the reference period. It is broken down into:

— wages and salaries (D.11), mainly consisting of wages and salaries (excluding apprentices) (D.111) and wages and

salaries of apprentices (D.112)

— employers' social contributions (D.12), mainly consisting of employers' actual social contributions (excluding
(D.122) and employers'

imputed social contributions (excluding apprentices)

apprentices)
(D.121), employers'
social contributions for apprentices (D.123).

References ESA 95: 4.02 (code D.1), SBS: code 13310 (personnel costs)

D.11 Wages and salaries

Wages and salaries include bonuses, pay for piecework and shift work, allowances,
tips and gratuities,
commission and remuneration in kind. They are recorded in the period during which the work is done. However,
ad hoc bonuses or other exceptional payments (13th month pay, back-dated pay arrears, etc.) are recorded when they
are due to be paid.

fees,

A full breakdown of wages and salaries by component is given in Figure 2 in Annex I.

References ESA 95: 4.03 to 4.07 and 4.12(a) (code D.11); SBS: code 13320 (wages and salaries)

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D.111 Wages and salaries (excluding apprentices)

D.1111 Direct remuneration, bonuses and allowances

Direct remuneration, bonuses and allowances include the values of any social contributions,
income taxes, etc.,
payable by the employee even if they are actually withheld by the employer and paid directly to social-insurance
schemes, tax authorities etc. on behalf of the employee.

A bonus is a form of reward or recognition granted by an employer. When an employee receives a bonus payment,
there is no expectation or assumption that the bonus will be used to cover any specific expense. The value and timing
of a bonus payment can be at the discretion of the employer or stipulated in workplace agreements.

An allowance is an entitlement granted by the employer to an employee and intended to cover a specific expense, not
work-related, incurred by the employee. It is often stipulated in workplace agreements and is normally paid at the
time of entitlement.

D.11111 Direct remuneration, bonuses and allowances paid in each pay period

This means remuneration in the form of regular cash payments paid regularly at each pay period during the year. For
most employees, the pay period is weekly or monthly. Hence, payments received less frequently (monthly in the case
of weekly regular payments, quarterly, bi-annually, annually) or on an ad hoc basis should not be included here.
Payments to employees’ savings schemes should be excluded here and are to be included under D.1112.

Specifically, the variable refers to:

— basic wages and salaries,

— direct remuneration calculated on the basis of time worked, output or piecework and paid to employees for hours

worked,

— remuneration and additional payments for overtime, night work, working on Sundays and public holidays, and

shift work,

— bonuses and allowances paid regularly at each pay period, such as:

— workplace bonuses for noise, risk, difficult work, shift or continuous work, night work and working on

Sundays and public holidays,

— individual performance bonuses, bonuses for output, production, productivity, responsibility, diligence, punc-

tuality; regularly paid length-of-service bonuses; qualifications and special knowledge.

Further examples of pay items which should be included here are given in the Appendix to Annex II.

Variable D.11111 refers to gross amounts before deduction of taxes and social-security contributions payable by
employees.

D.11112 Direct remuneration, bonuses and allowances not paid in each pay period

All payments to employees which are not paid regularly at each (weekly or monthly) pay period. These include
bonuses and allowances paid at fixed periods (e.g. paid monthly where regular payments are weekly, or paid quarterly,
bi-annually or annually), and bonuses linked to individual or collective performance. Exceptional payments to
employees who leave the enterprise are included here, provided that such payments are not linked to a collective
agreement. If no information about a possible linkage with a collective agreement is available or if it is known that
such a linkage exists, exceptional leave payments are excluded here and should be included under D.1223. Payments
to employees’ savings schemes are also excluded and covered by D.1112.

Examples of pay items belonging to D.11112 are listed in the Appendix to Annex II.

Variable D.11112 likewise refers to gross amounts before deduction of taxes and social-security contributions payable
by employees.

D.1112 Payments to employees' savings schemes

This refers to sums paid into savings schemes for employees (such as company savings schemes).

Reference ESA 95: 4.03(i)

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D.1113 Payments for days not worked

Remuneration paid for statutory, contractual or voluntarily granted leave and public holidays or other paid days not
worked. The Appendix to Annex II provides examples.

D.1114 Wages and salaries in kind

This variable refers to an estimate of the value of all goods and services made available to employees through the
enterprise or local unit. It includes company products, staff housing, company cars, stock options and share purchase
schemes. If information is available on personal income taxation on wages and salaries in kind, this could be used as a
proxy.

The Appendix to Annex II gives examples of wages and salaries in kind.

Reference ESA 95: 4.04, 4.05, 4.06 (code D.11)

D.11141 Company products

These are supplied free of charge for private use or sold to staff below their cost to the enterprise. For example, food
and drink (excluding expenditure on canteens and meal vouchers), coal, gas, electricity, fuel oil, heating, footwear and
clothing (excluding working clothes), micro-computers, etc.

The net price to the enterprise should be entered, i.e. the cost of products supplied free of charge or the difference
between the cost and the price at which the products are sold to staff. Compensatory payments or benefits in kind
which are not taken up must also be entered.

D.11142 Staff housing

This refers to expenditure by the enterprise to assist employees with housing, including: expenditure on housing
owned by the enterprise (expenditure on the maintenance and administration of housing, and tax and insurance
relating to such housing) and reduced-interest loans for the construction or purchase of housing by staff (the
difference between the interest payment at market rates and at the rate granted), allowances and subsidies granted
to employees in connection with their housing, and installation, but excluding removal allowances.

D.11143 Company cars

Company cars, or the cost to the enterprise of company cars supplied to employees for their private use. This should
leasing and interest payments –
include the net running costs incurred by the enterprise (the annual cost of
depreciation,
include the capital expenditure
It should not
insurance, maintenance and repairs and parking).
involved in purchasing the vehicles or any income derived from their resale.

Estimates should be calculated from information available in the enterprises, such as records of the fleet of vehicles of
this type, the assessment of the average cost per vehicle, and the estimate of the proportion attributable to the private
use of the vehicle by the employee.

D.11144 Stock options and share purchase schemes

This optional variable refers to all forms of payments in kind linked to share-based compensation. Stock options,
share purchase schemes and other equity instruments possibly evolving in the future belong to this category. A typical
feature of such instruments is that they are equity-settled, i.e. they represent a transfer of equity instruments from the
enterprise/local unit to the employee. The forms of compensation covered by D11144 are identical to those covered
by the heading ‘Equity-settled share-based payment transactions’ of the International Financial Reporting Standard 2
‘Share-based payment’.

Share purchase schemes typically transfer shares from the employing enterprise to employees. The transfer takes place
in the present (grant date) and is based on a price below today’s market price (the ‘strike price’). The costs to the
enterprise are equivalent to the product of the amount of shares and the difference between the market price and the
‘strike price’.

Stock options schemes typically transfer the right to buy the employing enterprise's shares not before a well-defined
point of time in the future (vesting date) to a favourable ‘strike price’ already fixed in the present (grant date).
Employees will make use of this right only if the market price on or after the vesting date exceeds the ‘strike
price’. The costs to the enterprise are again equivalent to the product of the amount of shares and the difference
between the market price and the ‘strike price’. In both labour costs statistics and accounting, the costs are assigned to
and distributed over the ‘vesting period’, which is the period between the grant date and the vesting date. These values
are uncertain during the vesting period and therefore have to be estimated.

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An estimate of the variable D.11144 for the reference year could ideally be arrived at with the help of guidelines from
‘Share-based payment’. If such an estimate is not available, values
International Financial Reporting Standard 2,
according to accounting standards or the tax regulation of the Member State can be taken, provided that they
cover the equity instruments of D.11144 and refer to the Labour Cost Survey reference period.

Payments made to set up a special fund for purchasing company shares for employees, even if they do not have
immediate access to such assets, must be reduced by the amount of any tax exemption which might apply to them.
Cash-settled share-based compensation such as stock-appreciation rights are covered not by variable D.11144, but by
D.11112.

D.11145 Other

This covers in particular indirect benefits chargeable to the employer:

— canteens and meal vouchers,

— cultural, sporting and leisure facilities and services,

— kindergartens and day nurseries,

— staff shops,

— transport costs for journeys between home and the usual place of work,

— payments into trade union funds and the costs of works committees.

All such expenditure includes small repairs and regular maintenance of buildings and installations devoted to social,
cultural or leisure services and facilities as listed above. Salaries and wages paid by the enterprise directly to staff
working in these services and facilities are not entered under the heading of variable D.11145.

D.112 Wages and salaries of apprentices

See D.11.

D.12 Employers' social contributions

This variable refers to an amount equal to the value of the social contributions incurred by employers in order to
secure for their employees the entitlement to social benefits. Employers' social contributions may be either actual or
imputed.

A full breakdown of employer’s social contributions by component is provided by Figure 3 in Annex I.

References ESA 95: 4.08 (code D.12); SBS: code 13330 (social-security costs)

D.121 Employers' actual social contributions (excluding apprentices)

These consist of payments made by employers for the benefit of their employees to insurers (social-security funds and
private funded schemes such as occupational-pension schemes). These payments cover statutory, conventional,
contractual and voluntary contributions in respect of insurance against social risks or needs. Employers' actual
social contributions are recorded in the period during which the work is done.

Examples are given in the Appendix to Annex II.

Reference ESA 95: 4.09 (code D.121) and 4.12(b)

D.1211 Statutory social-security contributions

Contributions paid to social-security institutions payable by the employer and made compulsory by law. The amounts
of such contributions must be entered net of any subsidies. They include:

— contributions to insurance schemes for retirement pension, sickness, maternity and disability,

— statutory contributions to unemployment insurance schemes,

— statutory contributions to insurance schemes for occupational accidents and diseases,

— statutory contributions to family allowance schemes,

— all other statutory contributions not mentioned elsewhere.

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D.1212 Collectively agreed, contractual and voluntary social-security contributions payable by the employer

These are all contributions paid by the employer to social-security schemes which are supplementary to those which
are compulsory by law. Account should be taken of any tax exemptions which might apply. They include:

— supplementary pension schemes, occupational pension schemes (insured plans, self-administered funds, book

reserves or provisions, all other expenditure intended to fund supplementary pension schemes),

— supplementary sickness insurance schemes,

— supplementary unemployment insurance schemes,

— all other non-compulsory supplementary social-security schemes not mentioned elsewhere.

D.122 Employers’ imputed social contributions (excluding apprentices)

Employers' imputed social contributions are needed in order to get a complete measure of labour costs at the time the
work is done. They represent the counterpart to the observable unfunded social benefits paid.

Unfunded social benefits are paid directly by employers to their employees or former employees and other eligible
persons without involving a social-security fund, an insurance enterprise or an autonomous pension fund, and without
creating a special fund or segregated reserve for the purpose. Instead, the benefits are paid out of the own resources of
the employers that operate unfunded schemes. The fact that certain social benefits are paid directly by employers, and
not through the medium of social-security funds or other insurers, in no way detracts from their character as social
welfare benefits. D.122 may be particularly relevant when the employer is a non-market producer (government
sector).

The amount of D.122 is determined by reference to the employers’ future obligations to provide social benefits. The
ideal source for calculating D.122 for employers operating unfunded social-insurance schemes are estimates based on
actuarial considerations. If such actuarial estimates are not available, other estimation methods should be applied.
Some countries, for example, use the observable unfunded social benefits paid,
less eventual employees' social
contributions, as an estimate for D.122.

Variable D.122 includes in particular imputed employers’ social contributions for pensions and health care. It also
includes an amount equal in value to the wages and salaries which employers temporarily continue to pay in the event
of sickness, maternity,
if that amount can be
separated.

injury, disability, redundancy, etc. of their employees,

industrial

Examples are given in the Appendix to Annex II.

Reference ESA 95: 4.10 (code D.122) and 4.12(c)

D.1221 Guaranteed remuneration in the event of sickness

This variable covers sums paid directly by the employer to employees to maintain remuneration in the event of
sickness, maternity or occupational accident to compensate for loss of earnings, minus any reimbursements paid by
social-security institutions.

D.1222 Employers' imputed social contributions for pensions and health care

This component of D.122 covers imputed payments to unfunded pension and health care schemes, in particular in
the government sector. In some European countries, employers in the general government sector operate unfunded
pension schemes either for all employees or for specific groups (officials). In these cases, the employer does not create
special reserves or accumulate assets to pay future pensions. For these employees, imputed employers’ payments to
pension and health-care schemes must be taken into account.

D.1223 Payments to employees leaving the enterprise

This component represents sums actually paid to dismissed workers (severance pay and compensation in lieu of
notice) if these payments are linked to a collective agreement or if the existence of such a linkage is unknown.
Payments not linked to a collective agreement are included in D.11112.

Payments made to employees on retirement, e.g. as part of their pension entitlement, should not be included in
D.1223.

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D.1224 Other imputed social contributions

This item refers to all other imputed social contributions of the employer not mentioned elsewhere, such as study
grants for employees and their families or guaranteed remuneration in the event of short-time working. The latter is
defined as direct payments of the employer to employees to maintain remuneration in the event of short-time
working minus any reimbursements paid to the employer by social-security institutions.
D.123 Employers’ social contributions for apprentices

This variable is the sum of contributions actually paid and any imputed contributions for apprentices. Imputed social
contributions for apprentices, if any, are usually tiny.

Reference ESA 95: 4.09 (code D.121), 4.10 (code D.122) and 4.12(b)

D.2 Vocational training costs paid by the employer

These include: expenditure on vocational-training services and facilities (also those for apprentices but not their wages
and salaries), small repairs and maintenance of buildings and installations, excluding staff costs; expenditure on
participation in courses; the fees of instructors from outside the enterprise; expenditure on teaching aids and tools
used for training; sums paid by the enterprise to vocational-training organisations, etc. Subsidies linked to vocational
training should be deducted.

Reference ESA 95: Intermediate consumption

D.3 Other expenditure paid by the employer

This includes in particular:
— recruitment costs (these are the sums paid to recruitment agencies, expenditure on job advertisements in the press,
travel expenses paid to candidates called for interview, installation allowances paid to newly recruited staff, etc.
This does not include administrative running costs (office expenses, staff wages, etc.),

— working clothes provided by the employer.

The Appendix to Annex II provides examples.

Reference ESA 95: Intermediate consumption

D.4 Taxes paid by the employer

This variable covers all taxes based on the wage and salary bill or on employment. These taxes are regarded as labour
costs.

Variable D4 also covers penalty taxes to be paid in some European countries by employers for employing too few
handicapped persons, and similar taxes or fees.

Reference ESA 95: 4.23(c) (code D.29)

D.5 Subsidies received by the employer

These are all amounts received in the form of subsidies of a general nature intended to refund part or all of the cost of
direct remuneration but not intended to cover social-security or vocational-training costs. They do not include refunds
paid to the employer by social-security institutions or supplementary insurance funds.

Reference ESA 95: 4.37(a) (code D.39)

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Appendix to Annex II

Illustrative examples for the classification of certain labour cost items

D.11111: Direct remuneration, bonuses and allowances paid in each pay period

(see also ESA 95, 4.03 (a-c, e, g, k), code D.11)

Payments that belong under labour cost item D.11111 have the following characteristics:

They are: cash transactions from an employer to an employee.

They are not:

— paid on an ad hoc basis or with a frequency below that of the regular remuneration payments (these belong to

D.11112)

— payments in kind (these belong to D.1114)

— payments to an employee savings scheme (these belong to D.1112)

— payments intended to cover a specific period that is not worked (these belong to D.1113 or, in the case of sickness, to

D.1221).

They can:

— be bonuses paid for work risks or shift work

— be paid weekly or monthly depending on the normal pay period

— reflect performance of an employee or group of employees

Examples: Payments that come under variable D.11111

Item

Description

Expatriation allowance/cost-of-living
allowance

Payment to employees working outside their usual country of origin or
residence/their usual domicile to reflect the difference in the costs of living

Household allowance

Payment towards the costs of accommodation

Duty or on-call payments

Payment for employees who must be available to work during periods
outside normal working hours

Additional pay for risks or hazards

Bonus paid to employees where there are specific risks associated with the
work, e.g. dangerous chemicals

Reduced working time allowance

Sales commissions

Overtime pay

Retention allowance

Payment by results

Extra payment (non-guaranteed) to compensate employees in full or in part
for a reduction in the normal working time. (Guaranteed payments belong
to D.1224)

Bonus linked to the number of products sold

Bonus payment for hours worked beyond the normal working hours

Continuous payment to encourage or commit existing employees to stay
with the employer

Bonus payment dependent on the number of products processed by the
employee, e.g. the number of garments made

Shift pay

Bonus payment for working non-standard hours, e.g. during the night

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D.11112: Direct remuneration, bonuses and allowances not paid in each pay period

(see also ESA 95, 4.03 (f, h, j), code D.11)

Payments that belong under labour cost item D.11112 have the following characteristics:

They are: cash transactions from an employer to an employee.

They are not:

— paid in every pay period (these may belong to D.11111)

— payments in kind (these belong to D.1114)

— payments to an employee savings scheme (these belong to D.1112)

— payments intended to cover a specific period that is not worked (these belong to D.1113 or, in the case of sickness, to

D.1221).

They can:

— be an allowance towards specific costs or expenses

— reflect the performance of an employee or group of employees

— be an obligatory payment stipulated in the employment contract or collective agreement

— be a discretionary payment

— be paid either at variable time points or at fixed points during the year

Examples: Payments that come under variable D.11112

Item

Description

Exceptional length-of-service award

Paid once when an employee has worked a specific number of years for the
employer

Leaving or retirement bonus

Golden handshake

Payment on leaving or retiring from employment, not associated with
pension entitlements,
linked to a collective
those payments are not
agreement. (Otherwise, or if no information about a possible linkage with
a collective agreement is available, these payments belong to D.1223)

if

Exceptional payments to employees leaving the enterprise if those payments
are not linked to a collective agreement. (Otherwise or if no information
about a possible linkage is available, exceptional
leave payments are
assigned to D.1223)

Recruitment incentive

Single payment paid to a new employee at the start of employment

Backdated pay arrears

Payments which represent increases in direct remuneration that are applied
retrospectively

Company merger bonus

One-off payment made to employees as a result of a company merger

Employee recognition awards

Exceptional payment awarded by the employer to distinguish individuals or
groups of employees

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Item

Description

Productivity bonuses/awards for meeting
performance targets

Payments which depend on an employee or group of employees achieving
pre-set targets, e.g. relating to sales, customer service or budgets

Special festive bonus

Paid at the time of certain festivals, e.g. Christmas

Company profit-sharing and stock-
appreciation rights

Payment in cash dependent on company's profit. Stock appreciation rights
represent a form of company profit-sharing where an employee becomes
entitled to a future cash payment based on the increase in the company’s
share price from a specified level over a specified period of time. Stock-
appreciation rights are to be evaluated at and refer to the time of the cash
payment, regardless of the value at grant date or the duration of the vesting
period.

Quarterly company bonus

Paid every quarter, based on employer's profit or performance (pay period
assumed not to be each quarter)

13th or 14th month pay

Annual extra payments

Annual company bonus

Paid once each year and dependent on employer's profit or performance

D.1113: Payments for days not worked

Examples: Payments that fall under variable D.1113

Item

Description

Payments to employees to cover days not worked owing to annual, national
or local holidays. (Payments made by the employer to cover absence of
employees due to sickness or maternity leave are treated as employers'
social contributions under D.1221)

Payments to employees to cover days not worked for special personal
family members, union representation,
reasons, e.g. marriage, death of
military or
to cover
absence of employees due to sickness or maternity leave are treated as
employers' social contributions under D.1221)

(Payments made by the employer

jury service.

Holiday pay

Special leave

D.1114: Wages and salaries in kind and their components

(see ESA 95, 4.04, 4.05, 4.06 (code D.11))

Examples: Wages and salaries that fall under variable D.1114

Item

Description

Further
breakdown

D.11141

Product discounts

Free or subsidised housing

Use of a car owned by the employer

Employer sells products to employees at reduced rates. The
income in kind is equal to the difference between the
market price and the reduced price

Employer pays employees’ housing costs in full or in part.
Again, the income in kind is arrived at by comparing with
the market price

D.11142

Employer meets the running costs for a car owned by the
employer and made available to the employee for business
as well as private use (The income in kind refers to the
value of the use of the private car)

D.11143

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Item

Description

Free or subsidised petrol

Share purchase schemes

Stock options

Further
breakdown

D.11143

Employer pays all or part of the employee's private fuel
costs associated with the use of a car owned by the
employer. The income in kind is equal to the cash value
of this benefit

Share-based payments in kind where shares are granted to
employees as part of their compensation packages. The
employee receives the shares without delay at a price
below the market price (Stock appreciation rights are
cash-settled forms of
share-based compensation and
should come under D.11112)

D.11144

Share-based payments in kind where shares are granted to
employees as part of their compensation packages. The
to buy shares at a well-
employee receives the right
defined point of time in the future for a price already
fixed in the present (Stock-appreciation rights are cash-
settled forms of share-based compensation and should
come under D.11112)

D.11144

Free or subsidised parking at work

Employer provides parking facilities for employees at
reduced or zero cost to the employee. The income in
kind is equal to the cash value of this benefit

D.11145

Free or
telephone

subsidised use of

a mobile

Employer provides a mobile phone for business and
private use and pays all the associated costs. The income
corresponds to the cash value of this benefit

D.11145

Free or subsidised travel to and from work

Employees' travel costs to and from work are paid in full
or in part. The income in kind is equal to the cash value,
as above

D.11145

Free or subsidised meals

Meals are provided by the employer at reduced or zero
cost to the employee. The income in kind is equal to the
cash value, as above

D.11145

D.121: Employers’ actual social contributions

(see ESA 95, 4.08 (code D.121), and 4.12(b))

Examples: Payments that fall under variable D.121

Item

Description

Further
breakdown

Employers’ payments
scheme for disability

to an insurance

Regular
insurance scheme

funded payments of

the employer

into the

D.1211

Employers’ statutory payments to pension
funds

The employer pays during occupation into a pension
scheme involving a social-security fund, an insurance
enterprise or an autonomous pension fund

D.1211

Enhanced employer pension contributions

Employer pays an extra contribution to the employee's
pension scheme

D.1212

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D.122: Employers’ imputed social contributions

(see ESA 95, 4.10 (code D.122), and 4.12(c))

Examples: Payments that come under variable D.122

Item

Description

Further
breakdown

Payments during maternity leave

Employer pays directly to the employee during maternity
as compensation for loss of earnings

D.1221

Employers’
for pensions of civil servants

imputed social contributions

The employer does not make payments into a pension
scheme during the person’s employment. Pensions are
later paid out from the employer’s own resources

D.1222

Payments in early-retirement schemes for
part-timers

Additional payments made by the employer into part-time
early retirement schemes

D.1222

Severance payments based on a collective
agreement

Study grants

Employer pays directly to employees leaving the enterprise D.1223

Employer meets part or all of the cost of non-work-related
training undertaken outside the enterprise

D.1224

Marriage or childbirth award

Payment made to the employee following the event

D.1224

Free or subsidised child education

Education fees for the employee's children are paid in full
or in part

D.1224

Reduced working time allowance

Guaranteed payment to compensate employees in full or
in part for a reduction in the normal working time. (Addi-
tional payments, paid in each pay period, belong to
D.11111)

D.1224

D.2: Vocational training paid by the employer

(see ESA 95, intermediate consumption)

Examples: Payments that come under variable D.2

Item

Description

Fees
for
enterprise

instructors

from outside

the

Costs related to vocational training for employees, e.g. organised in the
form of in-house seminars (subsidies, if any, belong to D.5 and must be
excluded)

Expenditure on teaching aids

Costs related to vocational training, e.g.
e-courses developed by specialist companies (subsidies,
D.5 and must be excluded)

in the form of

Intranet-based
if any, belong to

D.3: Other expenditure by the employer

(see ESA 95, intermediate consumption)

Examples: Payments that come under variable D.3

Item

Description

Clothing allowance

Paid in occupations where special clothing is required, e.g. for protection or
presentation and not intended for personal use

Recruitment costs

Costs of recruitment agencies or job advertisements

Installation or relocation allowance

Paid when the employee is required to change the place of residence

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ANNEX III

TRANSMISSION OF DATA INCLUDING BREAKDOWNS BY ECONOMIC ACTIVITY, ENTERPRISE SIZE
CLASS AND COUNTRY OR REGION

Three files are to be provided, corresponding to Tables A, B and C:

— Table A contains national data (one record for each economic activity at

the section and division levels of

NACE Rev. 1.1)

— Table B contains national data by size class (one record for each economic activity at the section and division levels of

NACE Rev. 1.1, for each of the size classes)

— Table C contains regional data at the NUTS 1 level (one record for each economic activity at the section and division

levels of NACE Rev. 1.1, for each of the regions).

Table C is not required for those countries where NUTS 1 corresponds to the national level. For a subset of variables
listed in Annex I, only table A is required. These variables are marked in Annex I.

Identification of a record

The records are sorted by an identification sequence containing the following items:

— the year of the survey,

— the type of table,

— the country or region code,

— the economic activity and

— the size class.

The transmission codes for

— the economic activities of NACE Rev. 1.1,

— the size classes for enterprises and

— the countries or regions

are set by Eurostat in an implementation paper.

Confidentiality Flag

The individual records transmitted for Tables A, B and C consist of grossed-up data, i.e. population estimates. When
strictly necessary, individual records may be flagged as ‘confidential’. A breach of confidentiality may arise in Tables A, B
or C if the number of enterprises or local units in the population is tiny for an individual record relating to a given
economic activity, size class or region. Clearly, the risks are greater when the individual record relates to one or two large
units. Likewise, the confidentiality risk may be higher for Tables B or C because of the additional breakdown by size class
and region respectively. Two codes are to be used to identify confidential records:

‘1’: if the data for an individual record in Table A, B or C are confidential (1);

‘ ’: if the data are not confidential, insert a space ‘ ’ (not a zero or a dash ‘–’).

(1) When an individual record is flagged as confidential, Eurostat takes appropriate action to protect the confidentiality of the data

submitted for Tables A, B and C.

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Variables

The variables requested are defined in Annex I. Figures should be inserted without spaces, points or commas (for example,
13967 is correct; the following are incorrect: 13 967 or 13.967 or 13,967).

Missing (or zero) variables should be coded according to the following rules:

‘NA’ when the variable is not available (even though it definitely exists and is greater than zero).

‘OPT’ when the variable is optional and is not completed.

‘0’ for zero values, or for those variables which do not exist in the country concerned.

The variables for number of employees, working time and number of statistical units should be expressed in absolute
terms, i.e. by giving the numbers in full (not in decimals, tens, thousands, millions, etc).

The variables relating to expenditure should be expressed in the national currency of the country concerned. For the euro-
zone countries, the figures should be expressed in euros. The units used in each country should be identical for all
variables and should be expressed in absolute terms, i.e. by giving the numbers in full (not in decimals, or in tens,
thousands, millions, etc).

Transmission

Member States shall transmit to the Commission (Eurostat) the data and metadata required by this regulation in an
electronic format compliant with an interchange standard proposed by Eurostat. Eurostat will make available detailed
documentation in relation to approved standards and will supply guidelines on how to implement these standards
according to the requirements of this regulation.