Germany
Apprentices who start training in 2027 must be paid at least 764 euros a month in their first year, under a notice issued on 7 October 2026.
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Vocational training
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Where things stand
- DevelopingGermany's minimum apprentice pay: 764 euros a month for 2027 starters, and why the start year decides
Apprentices who start training in 2027 must be paid at least 764 euros a month in their first year, under a notice issued on 7 October 2026.
Key facts
- For training that starts between 1 January and 31 December 2027, the monthly minimum is 764 euros in the first year, 902 euros in the second, 1 031 euros in the third and 1 070 euros in the fourth. Bundesgesetzblatt (Federal Law Gazette)
- Each year's first-year minimum applies to training that begins in that year. The second, third and fourth years add 18, 35 and 40 per cent to the first-year amount of the year in which the training began. Gesetze im Internet (Federal Ministry of Justice)
- So an apprentice who began in 2025 and is in the second year during 2026 is owed at least 805 euros under the 2025 notice, not the 854 euros set for the second year of training that starts in 2026. Gesetze im Internet (Federal Ministry of Justice), Gesetze im Internet (Federal Ministry of Justice), Bundesgesetzblatt (Federal Law Gazette)
Timeline
- For training that starts between 1 January and 31 December 2027, the monthly minimum is 764 euros in the first year, 902 euros in the second, 1 031 euros in the third and 1 070 euros in the fourth. Bundesgesetzblatt (Federal Law Gazette)
- The 2027 figures were published in the Federal Law Gazette as No. 287, in a notice dated 30 September 2026 and issued on 7 October 2026. It was signed for the Federal Ministry of Education, Family, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth. Bundesgesetzblatt (Federal Law Gazette), Gesetze im Internet (Federal Ministry of Justice)
- For training that starts in 2026, the monthly minimum is 724 euros in the first year, 854 euros in the second, 977 euros in the third and 1 014 euros in the fourth. The notice was dated 7 October 2025 and issued on 10 October 2025. Bundesgesetzblatt (Federal Law Gazette)
- For training that started in 2025, the monthly minimum is 682 euros in the first year, 805 euros in the second, 921 euros in the third and 955 euros in the fourth, under a notice dated 8 October 2024 and issued on 14 October 2024. Gesetze im Internet (Federal Ministry of Justice), Bundesgesetzblatt (Federal Law Gazette)
- Since 2024 the first-year minimum has been updated every 1 January. It moves by the average change in reported training pay between the two calendar years before the year of the announcement, and the result is rounded to whole euros (below half a euro down, from half a euro up). Gesetze im Internet (Federal Ministry of Justice)
- For training that started in 2024, the monthly minimum is 649 euros in the first year, 766 euros in the second, 876 euros in the third and 909 euros in the fourth. The notice was dated 16 October 2023 and issued on 18 October 2023. Bundesgesetzblatt (Federal Law Gazette)
- For training that started in 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023, the law itself set the first-year minimum at 515, 550, 585 and 620 euros a month. Gesetze im Internet (Federal Ministry of Justice)
Stories in this record
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