Haushaltsstellen

Haushaltsstelle is a budgetary post used in German-speaking public administration to designate the financial authorization for a personnel position or for a defined function within the annual budget plan of a government authority, agency, or public institution. A Haushaltsstelle specifies the amount available for salaries and related personnel costs for a particular department or activity, and it is typically part of the Haushaltsplan and linked to the Stellenplan.

The concept serves as the funding basis for personnel costs rather than as the actual job itself. A Stelle (personnel position) is the real, filled or vacant job, described in a Stellenbeschreibung and connected to organizational responsibilities. The Haushaltsstelle provides the budget to pay the Stelle’s wages and social costs. Thus, budgetary decisions about the number and size of Haushaltsstellen influence staffing needs and hiring possibilities, while the existence of a Stelle does not guarantee an employee until a recruitment process is completed.

In practice, several factors determine the use of Haushaltsstellen, including budget availability, collective agreements, and personnel policies. A Haushaltsstelle may be filled or remain vacant; in both cases the budgetary post exists to fund the relevant function or department. The management of Haushaltsstellen aims to balance organizational requirements with fiscal discipline, ensuring that staffing costs stay within approved limits across budget years.

See also: HaST budgets, Stellenplan, Personalaufwendungen, Haushaltsplan.