Minimum Wage Commission adopts proposal to increase statutory minimum wage

At a glance

• The Minimum Wage Commission has adopted a proposal to increase the statutory minimum wage in two stages: EUR13.90 by 1 January 2026 and EUR14.60 by 1 January 2027.
• Proposals by the Minimum Wage Commission are commonly implemented as a governmental ordinance without amendment.
• An increase to the statutory minimum wage had been a contentious topic during the coalition negotiations of the new government.
• An internal review by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture has concluded that no exemptions can be made from the statutory minimum wage requirement in the agricultural sector.

On 27 June 2025, the Minimum Wage Commission, consisting of representatives for both employees and employers, adopted its proposal to increase the statutory minimum wage in two stages:

• EUR13.90 per hour by 1 January 2026.
• EUR14.60 per hour by 1 January 2027.

The proposal will now need to be implemented as a governmental ordinance. While the federal government is not legally required to implement the proposal, past proposals have commonly been implemented without amendment. The coalition agreement had included a commitment to maintain the Minimum Wage Commission as an independent panel.

During negotiations of the coalition agreement, an increase to the statutory minimum wage had been a contentious topic. The coalition partners had considered an amount of EUR15 per hour as 'achievable'. The proposal of the Minimum Wage Commission remains below this amount.

The German Farmers' Association recently called for seasonal workers to be exempted from the statutory minimum wage requirement. An internal review by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture has concluded that no exemptions can be made from the statutory minimum wage requirement in the agricultural sector. The Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs has also publicly opposed the implementation of exemptions in this regard.