Germany - Minimum Wages - 2012

Collective Agreements Act,
(Tarifvertragsgsetz), 25 August1969, BGBl. I, p. 1323, as amended up to 31 October 2006 (BGBl. I, p. 2407)

Posting of Workers Act,
(Gesetz über zwingende Arbeitsbedingungen für grenzüberschreitend entsandte und für regelmäßig im Inland beschäftigte Arbeitnehmer und Arbeitnehmerinnen - Arbeitnehmerentsendegesetz), as of 20 April 2009 (BGBl. I, p. 799)

Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany (Grundgesetz für die Bundesrepublik Deutschland), of 23 May 1949, as amended up to 19 March 2009 (BGBl. I, p. 606)

Act on the Determination of Minimum Working Conditions,
(Gesetz über die Festsetzung von Mindestarbeitsbedingungen), of 11 January 1952, as amended up to 22 April 2009 (BGBl. I, p. 818)

In Germany, wages are in general determined by collective agreements. There is no national mnimum wage.
In addition, minimum wages may be extended by government decree to a whole branch in two different ways:

- A collective agreement may be extended by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs upon request of at least one party to the collective agreement to employees and employers who are covered by its scope but who are not members of the concluding organisations, provided that a board of three representatives each of employers’ and workers’ umbrella organisations agrees. The agreement is extended in case that at least 50% of all employees are employed by employers bound by the collective agreement, provided that it is considered to be in the general interest (im oeffentlichen Interesse).

- The Posting of Workers Act stipulates specific sectors/occupations, for which minimum wages may be set in accordance with its procedure. If the parties to a collective agreement of these sectors/occupations jointly apply for its extension, the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs may order by decree the extension of the agreement, provided that this is considered to be in the public interest.

Additionally, the Act on the Determination of Minimum Working Conditions provides for the possibility to set minimum working conditions, including wages, for sectors which are not or only to a minor extent covered by collective agreements. This Act, of 1952, stipulates specific preconditions for its application and has not been used up to today. It is therefore not further detailed here.

The Posting of Workers Act includes the following categories as entitled to minimum pay: Construction industry proper and subsidiary construction industry; Cleaning services; Letter delivery services; Security services; Special mining work in anthracite mines; Laundry services for third accounts; Waste management including street cleaning and winter services; Basic and further training services under Books Two or Three of the Social Code; and long-term care sector (care for the elderly and out-patient nursing).

As determined by collective agreement.

As determined by collective agreement.

As determined by collective agreement.

As determined by collective agreement.

As determined by collective agreement.

No minimum wage representative for the manufacturing industry in Germany could be identified for the purpose of this database. We have taken the order establishing the minimum hourly wage for the commerce sector to illustrate.

Hourly minimum wage:
EUR 11,00 (2012)

Disputes over collective agreements are to be brought before the Labour Court (Gerichte für Arbeitssachen).

The parties to a collective agreement must give copies in to the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs and State Labour Committee. If they fail to fulfill this obligation, they may be fined. No amount is specified.