The payment for professional experience and labour service, more known as “class years of experience” is added to the salaries of the working people in Bulgaria. In many sectors and professions it is not only payment for experience but also the only guarantee that the salaries of the working class will be augmented, albeit just 0.6% a year. Although Bulgaria is the EU country with the lowest income from labour, in the last few months the additional payment is subject to fierce attacks from the employers’ organisations. They demand its removal since it does not exist anywhere else in the EU. Is it really so? Is the Bulgarian „class years of experience” comparable with the so-called seniority or longevity payment? Could the different terms of similar practices constitute enough grounds for yet another suspension of social rights in Bulgaria? Although not convinced on the matter, the government does not support the employers’ organisations so far. However, under mounting pressure from lobbying, certain state officials are starting to give in. The aim of the publication is to present information about such additional payments in European states, whether such a bonus to the salary is outdated, and what the different practices in the different countries are. Such a concise and informative analysis has not been published in the country before. It was provided neither by the European confederation of trade unions, nor the International labour organisation and other entities.