Scope of application of the Minimum Wage Act
Basic principle
Art. 1 of the Act to Regulate a National Minimum Wage - Minimum Wage Act (Mindestlohngesetz - MiLoG) stipulates that every worker is entitled to be paid by the employer (including private households) a remuneration of not less than the statutory minimum wage. This also applies to trainees within the meaning of Art. 26 of the Professional Training Act (Berufsbildungsgesetz - BBiG). From 1 January 2024 onwards, the minimum pay amounts to gross 12.41 euros per hour worked.
All German or foreign-domiciled employers are obliged to pay at least this minimum wage insofar as they employ workers in Germany.
In accordance with the special provisions of the Posted Workers Act (Arbeitnehmer-Entsendegesetz - AEntG), the statutory minimum wage does not have to be granted for worker postings to Germany for initial assembly and installation work of up to eight days duration, which is an integral part of a supply contract and is essential for the commissioning of delivered goods and is carried out by skilled workers or semi-skilled workers of the supplier company. However, this is subject to the condition that the initial assembly or installation work is not construction work within the meaning of section 101(2) SGB III. Insofar as the employment relationships are excluded from the validity of the statutory minimum wage, the reporting and documentation obligations in accordance with the Minimum Wage Act do not apply.
Precedence of AEntG and AÜG
Art. 1 (3) MiLoG stipulates that the provisions of the Posted Workers Act (Arbeitnehmer-Entsendegesetz - AEntG), the Act on the Provision of Temporary Workers (Arbeitnehmerüberlassungsgesetz - AÜG) and the statutory ordinances adopted in pursuance thereof shall prevail over those of the MiLoG, subject to the condition that the sector-specific minimum wages so agreed shall not fall short of the national minimum wage as specified in Art. 1 MiLoG. Where the provisions of AEntG and AÜG and of the statutory ordinances adopted in pursuance thereof take precedence, however, this primacy of law is not restricted solely to the amount of pay, but shall also cover all secondary obligations associated with it.
Individual exceptions from the scope
Art. 22 MiLoG specifies which groups of individuals are not entitled to receive the minimum wage. They are:
Trainees, if
- the traineeship is obligatory because of an educational regulation, a training ordinance, a higher educational regulation, or if it is a mandatory part of a course at a vocational training institution (Berufsakademie) established under national legislation,
- the traineeship is limited to three months, is intended to give the trainee orientation for vocational training, or is required for admission to a course of studies,
- the traineeship is limited to three months and is taking place in tandem with vocational or higher educational training, unless a similar traineeship relationship had already been established with the same trainee at some time in the past, or if
- the traineeship is intended as an entry-level qualification pursuant to Art. 54a of Volume Three of the Social Code (Sozialgesetzbuch Drittes Buch - SGB III) or a vocational preparation pursuant to Art. 68 to 70 of the Vocational Training Act (Berufsbildungsgesetz - BBiG)
- Individuals within the meaning of Art. 2 (1) and (2) of the Protection of Young People At Work Act (Jugendarbeitsschutzgesetz - JArbSchG), that is to say, children and adolescents under the age of 18 who have not completed vocational training
- Employees during their vocational training
- Volunteers
- Long-term unemployed (who had been unemployed for at least one year before their current employment, as specified in Art. 18 SGB III), during the first six months of their employment, unless the employer receives a wage subsidy in conformance with Art. 16i, Volume Two, of the Social Code (SGB II).
