Minimum wage

The national minimum wage in Germany will go up by 3.4% to ¤12.41 (£10.80) in January and by the same amount again to ¤12.82 (£11.15) in January 2025. This is just below the current rate of inflation which was 3.8% in October.

This year’s limited increase has disappointed the unions who called for a minimum wage rate in line with the EU minimum wage directive, adopted in October 2022, but not yet in force.

This suggests a rate fixed at 60% of median pay and would currently produce a figure of ¤13.50 (£11.75) an hour.

The three representatives from the DGB, the main union confederation, proposed this in the Minimum Wage Commission but failed to win support from the employer and independent members.