Violations of Germany's minimum wage law have caused an estimated €64 billion in economic losses since 2015, according to calculations by the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB). The findings, based on the Socio-Economic Panel, estimate that underpaid workers were shortchanged €35 billion in wages, while social security funds lost €22 billion in contributions and the state missed out on €7 billion in income tax revenue.
An average of roughly 2 million workers per year have been paid below the legal floor since the minimum wage was introduced a decade ago. Affected employees received between €1.70 and €2.40 less per hour than required, the DGB said. Germany's statutory minimum wage currently stands at €13.90 per hour, with around 6 million people working at that rate.
Authorities launched nearly 6,200 investigations into minimum wage violations in 2024, imposing €25.4 million in fines. The Financial Control of Undeclared Work unit registered more than 50,000 administrative offences last year.