Do you need information about your rights at work in Germany?

The minimum wage is a statutory requirement and specifies the minimum amount an employer must pay an employee for one hour’s work. The minimum wage is therefore the lowest level of payment. The current statutory minimum wage is €9.50 per hour gross. Employees are not permitted to earn less.

Yes. There are industries in which a higher minimum wage applies than the general minimum wage. This minimum wage for an industry is stipulated in generally binding collective agreements. A list of specific industry minimum wages is available here: http://www.dgb.de/schwerpunkt/mindestlohn/hintergrund/branchenmindestloehne

A higher minimum wage therefore applies to people working in these industries. It is best to contact an advice centre if you are unsure which minimum wage applies to you.

There are a few exclusions from the minimum wage. These are, for example:

• Persons in training

• Young people under the age of 18 who have not completed vocational education and training

• Individuals engaged in a Job Centre or Employment Agency (BA) activity such as introductory training

• Individuals engaged in voluntary work

• Self-employed people

• Individuals completing a mandatory internship

• Individuals completing a voluntary internship lasting a maximum of three months for the purpose of vocational orientation

Yes. The minimum wage also applies to foreign employees. There are no exceptions for refugees or other migrants.

The basic rule is that the minimum wage must be paid for a voluntary internship if it lasts for more than three months. In this case, the minimum wage must then be paid from the first day of the internship.

The minimum wage does not have to be paid for a mandatory internship (e.g. for a degree), even if it lasts for more than three months.

Important: The internship is sometimes used by employers to avoid the minimum wage. This page helps you find out whether you are entitled to the minimum wage:

http://www.bmas.de/DE/Themen/Arbeitsrecht/Mindestlohn/mindestlohn-praktikum.html

There is a commission in which employer and employee representatives decide every two years whether there will be a change to the minimum wage.

Since January 1st 2021 the national minimum wage is € 9.50 gross per hour. Employees must not earn less!

The Customs office (Zoll) is responsible for checking the employers. The Customs office is a government authority. Here there is a department for checking companies, which is called the Tax Enforcement Unit for Undeclared Work (“Finanzkontrolle Schwarzarbeit” - FKS). The Tax Enforcement Unit for Undeclared Work checks whether all employees are correctly registered in a company, whether the employer is paying contributions to social insurance, and whether all employees are receiving payment of the minimum wage. If the Tax Enforcement Unit for Undeclared Work receives a tip about a specific company, it is able to check this.

If the minimum wage is not being paid, there are ways to challenge this. You have a right to the minimum wage. A claim for the minimum wage is enforceable before the court. Unions have a separate legal protection which supports employers in this respect who are a member of a union. Find out what you can do about this from an advice centre.

It is possible to report the employer to the Customs office. If the employer pays less than the minimum wage, they may be subject to a fine. The Customs office will not help you to recover the wages you have not been paid by your employer. The law allows a period of three years in which to enforce a claim for the minimum wage before the courts.

No, you cannot forgo the minimum wage.

In many sectors, the employer is legally obligated to record the working hours. However, hours are sometimes not correctly recorded and more hours are worked than are paid in wages. It is therefore important that you record the hours you have worked yourself. If you have been paid for less hours than you have actually worked, this may be in breach of the minimum wage. Your record of the hours will help you provide proof of the hours worked and will therefore help you claim the right wage.

There are a number of apps which can be used to record working time.

http://www.dgb.de/themen/++co++b896ffc8-4665-11e5-8117-52540023ef1a

http://www.bmas.de/DE/Themen/Arbeitsrecht/Mindestlohn/mindestlohn-app-einfach-erfasst.html

or simply write down the working time on a piece of paper. A template is available here:

http://www.bmas.de/DE/Themen/Arbeitsrecht/Mindestlohn/dokumentationspflicht.html

Sources:

German Trade Union Federation (DGB). Frequently asked questions about the minimum wage.