Generally, yes, provided subsidiary bears the cost of award. (whether by paying the award directly to the employee or by reimbursing parent pursuant to a written agreement if parent makes payment).
Income Tax
Yes, in addition to surcharge and surtax.
Social Insurance Contributions
Yes, for both employee and employer, unless employee's contribution ceiling already met.
Employer must withhold the employee's contribution.
Employee reporting required for cross-border remittance of funds if remittance is above certain threshold (currently EUR 12,500).
Possibly. It is strongly recommended to: (1) make the law of the parent company's country the governing law, (2) include a provision for an exclusive venue outside of Germany, (3) minimize the involvement of the local subsidiary and (4) include a written disclaimer acknowledging the discretionary nature of the plan.
Discrimination against part-time employees is generally prohibited.
The EU Council Directive 2000/78/EC prohibits age discrimination. Most countries, including Germany, have adopted local rules implementing this Directive, which may have an impact on design of equity and other incentive plans in the EU, particularly on age or age and service provisions which give different treatment (e.g., accelerated or continued vesting) for those meeting the criteria.
A valid basis is required to collect, process and transfer personal data.
The EU Data Protection Regulation ("GDPR") became effective in all EU/EEA countries on 25 May 2018. It introduces new requirements and increases the powers of data protection authorities, rights of data subjects and potential penalties for non-compliance. Accordingly, companies should review their approach to data privacy compliance in the context of equity plan administration and consider on which basis they may be able to rely to collect, process and transfer data.
Registration and notification requirements with local data privacy authorities may also apply.