Draft law: minimum wage to rise to twelve euros

The Federal Cabinet has passed a bill to increase the protection afforded by the statutory minimum wage and to make changes in the area of marginal employment. The draft bill provides for the minimum wage to be raised to twelve euros as of October 1, 2022. In addition, the pay threshold for mini-jobs will be increased to 520 euros. According to the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (BMAS), the bill implements the one-off statutory increase in the minimum wage to twelve euros gross per hour agreed in the coalition agreement. This minimum wage level corresponds to around 60 percent of the median wage in Germany – a benchmark that is recommended in European discourse for appropriate minimum protection. Future adjustments to the minimum wage will continue to be made on the basis of resolutions by the Minimum Wage Commission, for the first time again by June 30, 2023 with effect from January 1, 2024.