International Game Days: Not all trade fair assistants receive minimum wage

At SPIEL Essen there is a two-class society: some publishers pay temps more than 20 euros per hour, while others don’t even pay the statutory minimum wage.

Where do the data in this article come from?
We evaluated job ads from 38 publishers in the Messe job exchange. Additionally, we contacted another 29 publishers, 16 of whom responded. In the text, we cite one or several publishers as examples in several places. At the end of the article, you will find a table with information on all 67 publishers (38 publishers from the job exchange plus 29 contacted publishers). Information on wages, benefits in kind and working conditions comes, unless stated otherwise, exclusively from the publishers. It has not been verified or disproven by additional sources. The figures and information in this article are not representative. According to the organiser, more than 950 publishers are presenting at SPIEL Essen 2022.

All figures and information in the article and in the table are as of Thursday, 15 September 2022. Please note the updates at the end of the post.

In theory, it’s clear: on 1 October, the minimum wage in Germany rises to 12 euros gross per hour. A look at the job exchange of the Internationale Spieletage shows: not all publishers comply. Some pay significantly less. Yet the Minimum Wage Act states:

“Agreements that fall below the entitlement to the minimum wage or restrict or exclude its enforcement are invalid to that extent.”

Also popular: remuneration with games, T-shirts or trade fair tickets. The Federal Ministry of Labour states: “Employees are entitled to the minimum wage – this entitlement cannot be replaced by benefits in kind.” It also makes no difference whether temps come from Germany, France or Ukraine. The minimum wage generally applies to everyone at SPIEL Essen, regardless of whether they work for a domestic or foreign publisher.

Why generally? The Minimum Wage Act wouldn’t be a proper law if it didn’t have exceptions to the rule. Volunteers, the self-employed, the long-term unemployed or interns do not have to receive the minimum wage under certain conditions. No minimum wage is due for favours among friends either.

Different publishers, different options

At SPIEL Essen, giants like Asmodee, Hasbro and Mattel present themselves alongside small publishers like Spielköpfe, Barpig and Nerdlab Games. Every publisher is unique. Not all can or want to afford high personnel costs. At some micro-publishers, the owners stand at the booth; at others, family members and friends. Publishers like HCM Kinzel do without temps and rely on permanent staff. When external staff are used, publishers like Amigo, Kosmos or Pegasus benefit from their existing supporter teams. Others book temps through agencies. Asmodee cooperates with Meeplebox Events.

Just as the publishers differ, so do the temps: some want to earn as much money as possible. Others are enthusiastic players. They have felt connected to certain publishers for years, are happy to help at the trade fair and are part of the scene. Good pay is not their main motivation. There is a wide range in between. The same applies to the work: sometimes temps are jacks of all trades. Sometimes they have fixed tasks. They are explainers, warehouse workers, cashiers, stand builders, receptionists, stand attendants or shift supervisors. There are also differences in billing: some temps issue invoices, some have a trade licence, many are on mini-jobs or short-term contracts. Some receive an expense allowance. At Game Brewer, they are supposed to sign a volunteer service contract.

Wage: 0 to 22 euros per hour

For this article, we evaluated ads from 38 publishers in the Messe job exchange. Additionally, we contacted another 29 publishers; 16 responded, 13 did not, including Abacusspiele, Schwerkraft Verlag and Frosted Games. Piatnik writes: “We have nothing to hide and our explainers have been working for us for many years. However, we ask for your understanding that we do not wish to disclose details.” Edition Spielwiese, Hutter, Kosmos and Ravensburger do not state the hourly wage but pay at least 12 euros or more.

Of the 43 publishers that have published or stated their hourly wage, 16 pay less than the minimum wage (37.2 per cent). Exactly 12 euros is paid by 7 publishers (16.3 per cent). More than the minimum wage is paid by 20 publishers (46.5 per cent). The range is from 0 euros to 22 euros. The average is 11.67 euros per hour.

Sorting by hourly wage. All information as of 15 September 2022. You’ll find an overview of all feedback and notes on how hourly wages are calculated in the table at the end of the article. Please note the updates at the end of the post.

Working hours: 4.5 to 9 hours per shift

Not only do hourly wages vary, but so do working and break times. Some publishers have staff working in shifts, others from morning to evening. Sometimes it’s 4.5 hours, sometimes 9 hours a day. If there’s no info on breaks, that doesn’t necessarily mean there aren’t any. Moritz Brunnhofer, managing director of Hans im Glück, says: “Break schedules are usually arranged on site with us, depending on how people are feeling.” The same applies to Board Game Circus. “Our team is very flexible with break arrangements. There’s a team manager who makes sure everyone is doing well and has everything they need,” says publisher owner Daniel Theuerkaufer.

At 2F-Spiele, shifts overlap by 15 minutes so everyone can change over in peace. If you work two shifts a day, you get the middle one off. “This year, thanks to the mask requirement we support, it’s important so that staff can go outside in peace and breathe without masks for a while. The others have time to recover before or after their shift,” says publisher employee Henning Kröpke.

Preparation: Training and briefing rarely paid

Preparing for the fair is also work. Many publishers require demonstrators to learn the rules before the fair. This is rarely paid. Exceptions confirm the rule. Asmodee (Meeplebox Events) pays up to four hours of briefing on Wednesday. At €13.50 per hour, that’s €54. At Hans im Glück, there’s also a paid training session on Wednesday, with four hours scheduled. At €18.50 per hour, that’s €74.

Other publishers rely on regular meetups. “Before Corona, most years we had a team weekend. New releases were learned and the team had time together outside the fair. This year, part of the training is on Wednesday and beforehand via PDFs and emails,” says Henning Kröpke from 2F-Spiele. Some publishers use online training.

Some send games to staff in advance. At Heidelbär Games, “if there are several demonstrators from the same region, copies can be sent in advance”. The guidelines from Game Bewer state: “Please return the [pre-sent] game at the event or choose it as a reward if you’d like to keep it.”

Catering: Often snacks, sometimes team meals and full meals

At a fair, staff don’t just earn money, they also spend it – on buses, trains, hotels, food and drink. Many publishers provide information on catering.

Publishers like Bombyx, Kampfhummel Spiele or Sit Down! offer free water and snacks at their stands. Korea Board Games pays €110 per day plus an additional €7 for lunch, while Bluepiper Studio provides lunch. At Kosmos, Hans im Glück, Amigo and other publishers, in addition to snacks at the stand, there are invitations to a team dinner. At Asmodee (Meeplebox Events), staff can include a catering allowance of €14 per day in their travel expense claim.

Travel expenses: Subsidies of varying amounts

Speaking of travel expenses: At Asmodee (Meeplebox Events), it says: “For working at the fair, you can have up to €40 per leg of your journey reimbursed each day (maximum €80 per day). This also applies to train tickets (2nd class without reservation). If you’re coming from further away, we’ll find a way to reimburse travel costs that exceed €40 per leg.”

Moritz Brunnhofer from Hans im Glück says: “Long-term demonstrators have their travel, hotel and full catering covered. Otherwise, we prefer to look for local, additional demonstrators, but travel costs are still paid, of course.” Amigo also covers accommodation and a travel expense subsidy. At Corax Games, staff have to choose: either they receive a €50 travel allowance or a €40 accommodation subsidy per fair day. However, most publishers in the job exchange do not pay any travel expense subsidies.

Other in-kind contributions: games, T-shirts, trade fair tickets

As well as money, many publishers reward their helpers with material benefits. Popular options are T-shirts, games and discounts on their own range. At GDM-Games, you get a €60 voucher per shift. However, this is only valid for six months.

That you receive a trade fair ticket (usually an exhibitor pass) on a day when you’re working at the fair should go without saying. Still, some publishers explicitly mention this. Many publishers give their temporary staff four-day passes. Sometimes you have to work a certain number of shifts to get one.

Trade fair organiser also looking for temporary staff

By the way: The trade fair organiser Friedhelm Merz Verlag is also looking for temporary staff – interestingly not on their own job portal, but on social media. They pay the minimum wage.

If you want to earn more, you can apply at Rienäcker. The agency needs people to sell admission tickets at the cash desk for the trade fair. You get €16 per hour plus a Sunday bonus. Work ends at 14:30, so there’s still plenty of time to invest your earnings in games right at the fair.

Spiel 2022: What temps earn at publishers

Alphabetical sorting. Status of all information as of 15 September 2022. Day tickets for workdays were not listed as benefits in kind. Some publishers send games in advance for familiarisation. If it was not explicitly stated that these could be kept, the information is missing from the table. If no calculation method is given, the hourly wage in euros was provided. Please note the updates at the end of the post.

Update 28 September 2022

Publishers listed in alphabetical order.

Asmodee (Meeplebox Events) points out that the hourly wage for demonstrators is now €15.00. Helpers with setup receive €12.50. Additional benefits: In addition to the meal allowance, there is free water at the stand. On the Saturday after the fair, there is a joint celebration for all demonstrators. Some demo games are raffled among the demonstrators after the fair. There is also a 10% discount in the Meeplebox shop.

Deep Print Games has since responded to our request. The publisher pays €120 per day under employment or €140 per day on invoice. Additional benefits in kind: T-shirts, entry tickets, free rolls and drinks, plus one game.

Feuerland Spiele has published a comment on this topic on Facebook.

Frosted Games has since responded to our request. The publisher pays an hourly wage of €15. Additionally, the seven demonstrators at the stand receive T-shirts and exhibitor tickets. Full-day shifts run from 10:00 to 19:00. In between, helpers can take a one-hour break as they wish.

Norsker Games has announced on Twitter that the hourly wage has been increased from €12 to €15.

Other: Originally, the article stated: “Additionally, we contacted a further 29 publishers, 16 responded, 13 ignored us.” We have changed this sentence to: “Additionally, we contacted a further 29 publishers, 16 responded, 13 did not.”

Update on 14 November 2022

Pegasus Spiele: Various sources have informed us that Pegasus also did not pay its demonstrators at Spiel 2022. Instead, assistants received 1,500 points per hour (equivalent to €15 per hour). The accumulated points could be exchanged for games from the Pegasus range. Pegasus has not responded to our request and has neither confirmed nor denied the information.

Update on 29 September 2023

In 2023, we also took a closer look at what publishers pay their assistants. You can find the results in this article.