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Bayern Munich found to have underpaid youth academy staff

June 15, 2023

Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich have been ordered to pay a six-figure sum in social security back payments after being found to have underpaid academy staff.

https://p.dw.com/p/4SaYg
Bayern Munich's women's team at the FC Bayern Campus
The FC Bayern Campus is home to Bayern Munich's youth academy and women's teamImage: Sven Beyrich/Sports Press Photo/imago images

The German Federal Customs Service has ordered Bayern Munich to back-pay around €245,000 ($265,000) in social security contributions after finding that the football club underpaid staff at its youth academy between 2016 and 2021.

Customs officials in Munich found that Bayern had employed staff on marginal employment contracts, commonly known as mini-jobs, which are exempt from income tax and social security.

At the time, mini jobs paid €450 per month. This was increased to €520 in October 2022.

However, as first reported by local public broadcaster WDR in 2021, employees' actual working hours and the scope of their responsibilities at the FC Bayern Campus were actually higher, meaning they were effectively earning less than the minimum wage.

What did Bayern Munich say?

In a statement, Bayern said that it began making structural changes to its academy in 2020 to avoid underpaying staff, and that it stopped employing staff on marginal employment contracts in July 2021.

"It was never the intention of Bayern Munich to deprive employees of their legal salaries," the statement concluded.

Bayern Munich's men won an 11th consecutive Bundesliga title last season, while the women's team won the Frauen-Bundesliga.

mf/fb (SID/dpa)