12. Employee benefits expense

Employee benefits expense comprised the following:

Employee benefits expenses in 2021 decreased by 4,5% in comparison to the previous fiscal year. Expenses from restructuring provisions for the ‘Get on Track’ program initiated in November 2019 in the amount of EUR 25,223 thousand increased the expenses. Based on comparable employee benefits expenses (2021: EUR 284,786 thousand; 2020: EUR 272,966 thousand), employee benefits expenses as a percentage of total operating performance decreased from 28.7% to 25.6%. This decrease is mainly a result of the increase in business activities compared to the same period of the previous year. In the prior-year period, order and sales volumes were significantly lower due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In absolute terms, comparable employee benefits expenses increased, compared to 2020, due to the countermeasures used in the prior year to reduce the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The reduction in overtime, the use of government-sponsored short-time work, temporary employee leave and other government support measures resulted in a lower comparative base.

Wage increases in the past fiscal year also contributed to the increase in employee benefits expenses.

In 2021, the average headcount was 6,432 (2020: 6,521).