This page tells you what the law says you must be paid in Germany in 2026, how to read a German payslip, and what to do when the money does not arrive. Every figure here comes from the labour ministry or from customs, who enforce it, and the date we checked is at the foot of the page. These amounts change — if that date looks old, open the source before relying on the number.
What you must be paid
Germany has one general statutory minimum wage, the gesetzlicher Mindestlohn. It is a floor: no employment contract can lawfully pay less.
| From 1 January 2026 | €13.90 gross per clock hour. |
|---|---|
| From 1 January 2027 | €14.60 gross per clock hour. This increase is already decided, so you can plan around it. |
Three things follow from it that are worth knowing before you argue with anyone:
- It applies whether your employer is based in Germany or abroad. A foreign agency posting you to work in Germany does not escape it.
- Some sectors have their own higher minimum (Branchenmindestlohn) set by a collective agreement. Where one exists, the higher figure is what you are owed — not €13.90.
- It is a gross hourly figure. Tax and social-insurance contributions come out of it, so the amount that reaches your account is smaller. That is normal and not by itself a sign of anything wrong.
When it has to be paid
This is the part people are most often talked out of. The wage is due on the date you agreed — and at the very latest on the last banking day of the month following the month in which you did the work. Work done in March is therefore owed by the last banking day of April. “Next month, next month” past that point is not a delay; it is underpayment.
Benefits in kind — a room, meals — can count towards the minimum wage only under specific conditions. If a large part of your “pay” is a bed in a shared flat, that is exactly the situation to take to an advice centre.
Reading your Lohnabrechnung
Every month you should receive a Lohnabrechnung (also called a Gehaltsabrechnung or Entgeltabrechnung). It is not a receipt — it is the proof of what you worked and what you were owed. Keep every one of them, and photograph it if you only get paper.
| Bruttoentgelt / Gesamtbrutto | Gross pay, before anything is taken off. |
|---|---|
| Stunden | The hours being paid for. Compare this with your own record. |
| Lohnsteuer | Income tax withheld. |
| Solidaritätszuschlag | The solidarity surcharge, where it applies. |
| Kirchensteuer | Church tax. It is only deducted if you are registered as a member of a church that levies it. |
| KV / RV / AV / PV | Your share of health, pension, unemployment and long-term-care insurance. |
| Nettoentgelt / Auszahlungsbetrag | The net figure. This is the number that should reach your bank account. |
Your hours are the evidence
In several sectors the employer is legally obliged to record working hours. Do not rely on it. Keep your own daily note of the time you started, the time you finished and the breaks — a plain notebook or a photo of it each evening. When there is a dispute, the person with a dated record is in a completely different position from the person with a memory.
If the hours on the Lohnabrechnung and the hours you actually worked are different, that difference is the whole case. Say so in writing, by message if nothing else, and keep the reply.
If you are not paid
You do not have to work this out alone, and you should not pay anyone to explain it to you.
Faire Integration is advice on employment and social law provided specifically for people from outside the EU. Since 1 January 2026 it runs on a statutory basis, and there is a centre in every Bundesland covering every occupation and industry. It is free. This is the first door to knock on.
The Zollverwaltung (customs) is the authority that enforces the Mindestlohn. An employer paying below the legal floor is a matter for them, not only for you.
Where to get free help
- Faire Integration — free advice on pay and employment law for people from outside the EU. Use the centre finder to find the one for your Bundesland.
- BAMF-NAvI — Migrationsberatung — free state-funded migration advice centres, searchable by town, with the page available in English.
- Mindestlohn-Rechner — the ministry’s own calculator for checking what you should have been paid.
Severe exploitation and forced labour
In an emergency, call 110. Where the work itself is the abuse — your papers taken, your movement controlled, wages held back to keep you in place — that is not a pay dispute and it should not be handled as one. Take it to an advice centre, or to the police. You are not the person at risk of being punished for saying it.
Common mistakes
- Not keeping the Lohnabrechnung. It is the first thing you will be asked for if you ever make a claim.
- Deleting the WhatsApp messages. Conversations about hours, place and money are evidence in themselves — keep them.
- Accepting “cash in hand, no paperwork”. It is your pension, your health insurance and your proof of work that vanish, not the employer’s.
- Not getting the hourly rate and the hours in writing before day one. A WhatsApp message counts as writing.
- Assuming a foreign agency means German rules do not apply. They do.
Next step
If the problem is papers rather than pay, start by checking that whoever is advising you is actually on a register.
Germany: check your adviser before you paySources
Every figure on this page comes from one of these. Wages change each year — check them yourself rather than trusting a date.
Last verified: 2026-09-08
