Since the beginning of the corona pandemic, Dräger’s Technology for Life’ has been needed more than ever. The company’s focus has always been to fulfil its social responsibility to provide for society in the best possible way and to help its global customers protect, support and save lives.

This extraordinary year 2020 is coming to an end. The employees were particularly challenged. “Our employees have all given their best in recent months. Many of them have even put private matters aside.

They do it with heartfelt dedication,” says Stefan Dräger, CEO of Drägerwerk Verwaltungs AG. “The Executive Board has therefore decided to pay the employees a one-time “thank you bonus” before the end of the year.”

Dräger staff to be made shareholders

In Germany the thank you bonus consists of two parts: The first part consists of five Dräger preferred shares, which the employees were able to order in November.

Almost 7,000 employees participated and are now shareholders. “They now own a part of the company they work for every day. This opens up a new, holistic view of the company. I am very pleased about this,” continues Stefan Dräger.

As a second part of the thank you bonus, the employees will receive an additional cash amount at the end of December together with their salary. The bonus amount ranges between a minimum of EUR 300 and a maximum of EUR 1,000 depending individually on the weekly working hours and attendance in 2020.

As Dräger is using this thank you bonus to help mitigate the additional and extraordinary burdens on its employees caused by the Corona crisis, the payment is mostly tax-free due to the special regulation of the German government within the meaning of Sec. 3 No. 11a EStG.

“All other Dräger employees worldwide will also receive a thank you bonus for their extraordinary commitment. The specific amount will be aligned with the respective salary structure in the countries”, says Reiner Piske, Chief Human Resources and Sales Officer of Dräger.

In addition to the thank you shares, employees in Germany again had the opportunity in November to participate in the annual employee stock option program.

This allows employees at the German locations to participate in the company and thus directly in the company’s success. Employees could purchase up to 60 preferred shares. Dräger contributed one bonus share for every three preferred shares purchased.

In 2020, a total of more than 2,000 employees participated in the program, investing an average of 33 shares in Dräger. This means that the number of participants doubled year-on-year.