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Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion

Adequate minimum wages in the EU

Adequate minimum wage protection is essential to guarantee adequate working and living conditions, as well as to build fair and resilient economies and societies as set out by Principle 6 of the European Pillar of Social Rights.

Why this matters

  • Better working and living conditions, including through adequate minimum wages, benefit both workers and businesses in the Union

  • Adequate minimum wages contribute to ensuring fair competition, stimulating productivity improvements and promoting economic and social progress

  • They also contribute to improving the situation of other low-wage earners as minimum wage increases can also boost low wages that are close to the minimum wage

The role of minimum wages becomes even more important during economic downturns or periods of high inflation, as they can support low-paid workers and domestic demand. Ensuring a decent living for workers and reducing in-work poverty is important for sustainable and inclusive economic growth.

Directive on adequate minimum wages in the EU

Minimum wage protection exists in all EU countries and is ensured either by legislative provisions (“statutory minimum wages”) and/or by collective agreements. However, the impact assessment published in October 2020 showed that, in the majority of EU countries, workers were affected by low adequacy and/or gaps in the coverage of minimum wage protection.

In light of this, based on the proposal of the European Commission, the Directive on adequate minimum wages in the EU was adopted by the European Parliament and the Council on 19 October 2022. EU countries were required to transpose the Directive into national law by 15 November 2024.

The Directive establishes a framework to: 

  • improve the adequacy of statutory minimum wages
  • promote collective bargaining on wages 
  • increase the access of workers to minimum wage protection 

All EU countries are asked to:

  • take measures to facilitate the exercise of the right of collective bargaining on wage setting and (further) increase the coverage of collective bargaining. Moreover, whenever collective bargaining coverage is below 80%, EU countries have to provide for a framework of enabling conditions and an action plan to promote collective bargaining

  • enhance enforcement and monitoring, notably by developing effective data collection tools on minimum wage coverage and adequacy and by ensuring access for workers to effective and impartial dispute resolution and a right to redress

EU countries with statutory minimum wages are additionally asked to:

  • put in place a procedural framework for the setting and updating of statutory minimum wages, including the use of clear criteria and of indicative reference values to guide the assessment of adequacy, as well as regular and timely updates of statutory minimum wages and the establishment of consultative bodies to advise the competent authorities

  • ensure that minimum wage variations and deductions respect the principles of non-discrimination and proportionality

  • ensure the effective involvement of social partners in statutory minimum wage setting and updating

The Directive also introduces biannual reporting by all EU countries on its minimum wage protection data to the Commission. The Commission is required to analyse these data, as well as the action plans to promote collective bargaining, and report in this regard to the European Parliament and the Council. 

The first monitoring report from the Commission, together with its accompanying staff working document, was published in July 2026. 

Subsidiarity principle and legal basis

The Directive fully respects the subsidiarity principle: it foresees a framework of minimum standards, respecting and reflecting EU countries' competences and social partners' autonomy and contractual freedom in the field of wages. It does not oblige EU countries relying on collective agreements to introduce statutory minimum wages, nor does it establish the level of pay or set a harmonised minimum wage.

The Directive is based on Article 153 (1) (b) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU) on working conditions. 

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