Minimum wage
The statutory minimum wage is the amount every employee can claim as a minimum per clock hour. Since 1 January 2026 it has been 13.90 euros gross.
As of:September 2026
It applies per hour, not per month
What counts is the individual hour worked. A monthly salary that is above the threshold on paper does not help where so many hours were actually worked that the hourly figure falls below it. This is exactly where the record-keeping duty in section 17 MiLoG connects with the minimum wage: without hourly records, compliance cannot be checked.
Everything that is consideration for normal work counts towards the minimum wage. What does not count are payments with a purpose of their own, for instance night and public holiday premiums, expense allowances, capital-forming payments and contributions to pension schemes.
Exemptions
Exempt under section 22 MiLoG are young people under 18 without completed vocational training, apprentices, the long-term unemployed in the first six months of employment, volunteers, and compulsory placements as well as voluntary placements of up to three months for orientation or alongside study.
A voluntary placement lasting longer than three months is subject to the minimum wage from day one, not only from the fourth month.
MetronHR works these figures out itself: time accounts, premiums, overtime and the limits of the German Working Hours Act, with every booking.
Industry minimum wages take precedence
Where an industry minimum wage under the Posted Workers Act applies, it takes precedence if it is higher. In building cleaning, since 1 January 2026 that is 15.00 euros in pay group 1 and 18.40 euros in pay group 6.
Example: monthly salary and actual hours
- Agreed: 2,200 euros a month at 40 weekly hours, so around 174 hours.
- On paper: 2,200 ÷ 174 = 12.64 euros per hour.
- That is below 13.90 euros. What is owed is 174 × 13.90 = 2,418.60 euros.
- The difference of 218.60 euros a month has to be paid subsequently, retroactively for up to three years.
Common mistake
Allowances get counted towards the minimum wage although they have a purpose of their own. A night premium does not lift the hourly rate to the minimum level; it pays for the burden of night work.
Further reading
- Section 1(1) and (2) MiLoG
- „Every employee has a claim against the employer for payment of remuneration at least at the level of the minimum wage.“
- Section 1(3) MiLoG, section 22 MiLoG
- Minimum Wage Adjustment Ordinance: 13.90 euros from 01/01/2026
This is not legal advice; for a specific case at your workplace you are better off asking someone qualified to give it.
Published by: AMNAU GmbH
Editorial responsibility: Ugur Aydogan, Product development.
Last reviewed: September 2026
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Related terms
Sector minimum wage
An industry minimum wage is a collectively agreed minimum wage declared binding by statutory instrument for all employers and employees in an industry.
Mini-job
A mini-job is marginal paid employment: the regular monthly pay does not exceed the marginal earnings threshold. In 2026 it is 603 euros a month.
Basic wage
The base wage is the ongoing pay due for regular working time, converted to one hour. It is the basis of assessment for premiums under section 3b EStG.
Midi-job
A midi-job is employment in the transitional band: the regular pay is above the marginal earnings threshold but not above 2,000 euros a month.