Special remuneration after an early end of a player contract: pro-rata entitlement

If an employed professional player contract ends before periodic or other special remuneration falls due, section 16 AngG can preserve a pro-rata entitlement. The key factors are the service period for which the payment is granted and the service time completed before the employment relationship ends.

The review starts with the type of payment and the period stated in the contract. This makes it possible to assess whether section 16 AngG applies, which time-based share has been reached and which questions about the end of the contract must be examined separately.

Section 16 AngG addresses two conditions. The employee must have an entitlement to periodic remuneration or other special remuneration, and the employment relationship must end before that entitlement falls due. The remuneration is then owed in the proportion between the relevant service period and the service time already completed.

The rule therefore allocates a payment by time. It answers which share of special remuneration must be considered even though the due date has not yet arrived. It does not remove the need to establish that the player contract provides for the payment and that the employment relationship falls within the AngG framework.

The word “early” describes an end before the due date. It does not by itself identify whether the contract ended by termination, mutual agreement, expiry of a fixed term or another route. The payment period must be identified before the form of termination can be assessed in context.

Periodic remuneration is granted for a defined period. A professional player contract may refer to a contract year, a season or another clearly described period. The wording of the contract, its amendments and the agreed due date determine the starting point for the review.

Other special remuneration must be distinguished from ordinary monthly pay. The payment has to derive from the employment relationship and the agreement as a special form of remuneration. Calling a payment a bonus or special payment does not settle its legal classification on its own.

The service time completed runs to the end of the employment relationship. Start date, end date and the relevant service period must therefore be examined together. Interruptions, changes to the term or a later agreement can affect the time line and belong in the document review.

The calculation follows a time-based logic. The contractual total is related to the share of the relevant service period that had been completed when the employment relationship ended. The first task is therefore to establish the period and the agreed amount, rather than to rely on a label used in the payslip.

Prepare a short overview with four points: What payment was agreed? Which service period does it cover? On what date did the employment relationship end? When would the payment have fallen due? Once these points are established, the pro-rata amount can be derived from the payment clause and the time line.

The club accounting may show a different amount or omit the special remuneration. This calls for a comparison, but it does not by itself prove the final amount of the entitlement. Review the time line, the termination document and the payment provision together.

For section 16 AngG, the relevant event is the end of the employment relationship before the due date. The actual end must therefore be separated from the date of a later payslip or payment. A player contract may have ended even though the accounting was prepared afterwards.

A mutual termination agreement must be read closely. It may regulate the end of the employment relationship, outstanding payments and a separate settlement. The article on [mutual termination in professional football](/en/journal/mutual-termination-professional-football-settlement-registration/) deals with that agreement as a separate issue.

With a fixed-term contract, the agreed expiry must be distinguished from an extension option. Whether the option was exercised, when it was to take effect and which remuneration was linked to the term belong in a separate contract and time review. Further information is available on the [fixed-term professional contract and extension option](/en/journal/fixed-term-professional-contract-extension-option/).

An appearance or success bonus usually depends on an additional condition. Whether an appearance, target, league position or success was achieved is a different question from the time-based allocation of periodic special remuneration. The clause and its evidence must therefore be reviewed separately.

A settlement is based on an agreement about ending the contract or resolving identified claims. It is not automatically the same payment as special remuneration that must be allocated by service time. The termination agreement should make clear which payment positions it covers.

Signing-on payments, benefits in kind or repayment claims can also raise separate questions. The label “special payment” does not automatically bring a payment within section 16 AngG. The entitlement basis, service period, due date and actual end of the contract remain decisive.

The first document set is the signed player contract and every amendment. Mark the provisions on special remuneration, the service period, the due date and the end of the relationship. Oral explanations should be compared with written confirmation or the messages available to you.

Add payslips, bank statements or payment confirmations and all documents concerning the end of the employment relationship. This may include a termination notice, a termination agreement, a fixed-term clause or a written statement of the end date. Arrange the documents chronologically.

A comparison table can list the contractual amount, service period, service time completed, due date, amount accounted for and open difference. This separates a calculation question from the separate question whether the clause was validly agreed or a payment was finally settled.

The player should record the payment clause, contract dates and end of the relationship in one time line. The club should document the service period applied, the calculation and the amount shown in the accounting. Both sides then have a clearer basis for the next communication.

Open points should be stated separately: Is the payment periodic or performance-related? Which period applies? When did the employment relationship end? When did the payment fall due? What was accounted for or paid? These questions keep a bonus or settlement issue separate from the pro-rata entitlement.

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Contact with the firm
If you want to review a pro-rata special-remuneration entitlement in a player contract, prepare the contract, amendments, accounting and termination documents. Mag. Bernhard Brandauer, Rechtsanwalt, will discuss the time-based allocation and the next sensible steps with you.