Nice salaries, lavish bonuses – but enough was not enough for the RBB leadership around director Patricia Schlesinger. As can be seen from a contribution by the current station boss Katrin Vernau on the intranet, it is specifically about additional payments to the management staff of the directors around director Schlesinger for the time of the ARD chairmanship, which the RBB has held since January 1, 2022. However, the monthly 1700 euros had already been paid out half a year before this date.
Deal between directorship and board of directors
The relevant agreements with management staff, including directors Susann Lange, Jan Schulte-Kellinghaus, Hagen Brandstätter and Christoph Augenstein, were all countersigned by then-Chairman of the Board of Directors Wolf-Dieter Wolf, who resigned amid the RBB scandal. The current board of directors informed the dpa that the rest of the body was not involved at the time. There were no draft resolutions.
The nature of the process shows how the public broadcaster was managed in the Schlesinger era – in the network between the director and the head of the administrative board. But the system also had its systemlings. The RBB pointed out that ultimately no ARD surcharge of 2000 euros had been paid to Schlesinger.
When WDR took over the ARD chairmanship in August 2022, there was no special bonus. Normally, an ARD institution presides for two years. Director Katrin Vernau informed the workforce that she had handed the case over to a law firm and was having it checked to see whether and to what extent those involved had breached their duty of care. “Measurement and balance have been completely lost here.”
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