German labour law

Courts and constitution

• Grundgesetz (1949) "Article 9 (Freedom of association). (1) All Germans have the right to form associations and societies. (2) Associations, the objects or activities of which conflict with the criminal laws or which are directed against the constitutional order or the concept of international understanding, are prohibited. (3) The right to form associations to safeguard and improve working and economic conditions is guaranteed to everyone and to all trades and professions. Agreements which restrict or seek to hinder this right are null and void; measures directed to this end are illegal."
• Arbeitsgerichtsgesetz

Individual labour law

Contract of employment

• Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch (Civil Code) §§ 611–630
• Teilzeit- und Befristungsgesetz (Part-time and Fixed-term Work Act), §14(2) two-year fixed term limit
• Arbeitnehmerüberlassungsgesetz (Employee Leasing Act)
• Urlaubsgesetz (Holidays Act)
• Mutterschutzgesetz (Act on Maternity Protection)
• Arbeitszeitgesetz (Working Time Act)
• Entgelttransparenzgesetz (Transparency in Wage Structures Act)

Dismissal

• Kündigungsschutzgesetz (Dismissal Protection Act)

Collective labour law

Codetermination

• Betriebsverfassungsgesetz (Works Constitution Act) requires establishment of Works Councils where there are five or more employees
• Mitbestimmungsgesetz (Codetermination Act)

Collective bargaining

• Tarifvertragsgesetz (Collective Agreement Act)

Minimum wage law

Germany's minimum wage is €12.41 per hour, pre-tax since 1 January 2024. The legislation (German: Gesetz zur Regelung eines allgemeinen Mindestlohns) was introduced on January 1, 2015, by Angela Merkel's third government, a coalition between the SPD and the CDU. The implementation of a minimum wage was the SPD's main request during the coalition's negotiations as its central electoral promise during the 2013 federal election campaign. Previously, Germany had minimum wages only in specific sectors, negotiated by trade unions, and some were below the minimum wage level introduced in 2015.

The initial minimum wage was 8.50 euros per hour, pre-tax. Since then, Germany's Minimum Wage Commission (Mindestlohnkommission) regularly proposes adjustments to the minimum wage level. It was last increased to 12 euros per hour pre-tax in October 2022.

Due to inflation, in December 2022 this wage was worth as much as 9.80 euros were worth in January 2015. A €12 wage implies a gross nominal monthly salary of €2,080 for a full-time employee, meaning someone working forty hours per week. The increase to €12 was decided on 3 June 2022 by the Bundestag (400 to 41, with 200 abstentions).

There remain exceptions to the wage minimum for workers on a traineeship, employees during their vocational training, volunteers, internships up to three months, young people and the long-term unemployed.