Minimum wage rates set the compliance floor for every hire, and in several EOR markets, that floor is higher and more frequently updated than most finance teams expect when building headcount budgets. The Minimum Wage Checker returns the current statutory floor, age-band variations, and next review date for any country in its dataset. Below is a sample output for two neighbouring European markets with notably different rate structures: Germany and the Netherlands.
What Does This Tool Show?
For each country the tool returns: the national minimum wage, the unit it is expressed in (hourly, monthly, or annual), any age-band reductions, regional variations if applicable, the effective date, and the next scheduled review. Where a voluntary living wage exists alongside the statutory floor, it surfaces that too.
What Does the Sample Output Show for Germany?
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Statutory minimum wage | €13.90/hour |
| Effective from | 1 January 2026 |
| Full-time annual equivalent (40h/week) | €28,912/year |
| Full-time monthly equivalent | €2,409/month |
| Age-band reductions | None for workers 18+ who have completed vocational training. Workers under 18 without completed training are exempt from the statutory minimum |
| Regional variations | None — single national rate |
| Apprentices | Exempt from MiLoG; covered by separate Berufsausbildungsgesetz rules |
| Next review | 30 June 2027 (Minimum Wage Commission recommendation) |
| Governing law | Mindestlohngesetz (MiLoG) |
What Does the Sample Output Show for the Netherlands?
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Statutory minimum wage (21+) | €14.71/hour |
| Effective from | 1 January 2026 |
| Full-time annual equivalent (40h/week) | €30,597/year |
| Full-time monthly equivalent | €2,550/month |
| Age-band reductions | Yes — stepped from 39.5% of minimum (age 17) up to 100% (age 21+). Age 20: 80%, age 19: 60%, age 18: 50%, age 17: 39.5%, age 16: 34.5% |
| Regional variations | None — single national rate |
| Next review | 1 July 2026 (semi-annual indexation based on collective agreement wages) |
| Governing law | Wet minimumloon en minimumvakantiebijslag (WML); moved to hourly basis January 2024 |
What Do the Germany vs Netherlands Numbers Mean for Budgeting?
| Metric | Germany | Netherlands |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum hourly rate | €13.90 | €14.71 |
| Annual equivalent (40h) | €28,912 | €30,597 |
| Gap vs Germany | — | +€1,913/year (+6.9%) |
| Age bands apply? | No (18+ uniform) | Yes (significant reductions under 21) |
| Next scheduled change | June 2027 | July 2026 |
The Netherlands minimum wage sits 6.9% above Germany’s at full rate, a material difference when building salary bands for entry-level or operations roles. The Netherlands also indexes semi-annually, so rates reset every July 1; the figure above will be superseded in Q3 2026. Germany’s Minimum Wage Commission meets every two years, giving longer-range planning certainty.
A practical implication for EOR buyers: if your EOR provider quotes a flat management fee and passes through actual salary cost, a Netherlands hire at minimum wage costs more in absolute terms than a comparable Germany hire, even before employer social contributions (which are also higher in the Netherlands, at approximately 22–24% vs Germany’s ~22%).
Run the live checker to pull the current rate for any country in the dataset, including the next scheduled review date, relevant when you are mid-way through a multi-country hiring push and rates are about to change.
Sources: Germany: Mindestlohnkommission, resolution June 2025 (effective Jan 2026). Netherlands: Rijksoverheid minimumloon bedragen 1 januari 2026. Data verified April 2026.