German Court Blocks Employers' Use of Bonus Cuts to Sidestep Minimum Wage
Published on 06/16/2026 at 16:25 | Redaktion boerse-global.de
Employers cannot escape the statutory minimum wage by eliminating special payments such as holiday or Christmas bonuses. The Berlin-Brandenburg Regional Labour Court made that clear in a ruling dating back to August 2015, but the principle remains a cornerstone of current German labour law.
Judges declared change-based dismissals invalid when their sole purpose was to cancel seasonal bonus payments (case reference 19 Sa 819/15, among others). Such cuts are only permissible if a concrete threat to the company’s survival exists. Premiums not directly tied to work performed are protected under this interpretation. Going further, employers who fire a worker for demanding the minimum wage violate the ban on penalisation under Section 612a of the German Civil Code. As early as 2010, the same court had already ruled that long-tenured employees enjoy a stronger balancing of interests in their favour.
Mini-Jobs Slide, Full-Time Roles Rise
The minimum wage has not destroyed jobs — but it has reshaped them. A study published by the Institute for Employment Research (IAB) in April 2017 measured the impact. Following the January 2015 introduction of the 8.50-euro floor, the number of mini?jobs (marginal part?time roles) fell by around 125,000 after seasonal adjustment. In parallel, conversions into social?insurance?covered positions nearly doubled to almost 110,000, compared with 53,000 the year before.
Women, older employees, and workers in eastern Germany were most affected. Sectors such as retail, transport and warehousing saw the biggest shifts. The Institute for Work and Qualifications (IAQ) confirmed that no significant negative employment effects could be identified. Germany, researchers noted, benefited from specific innovation advantages in adapting to the new wage floor.
Employers’ Early Warnings
Business groups opposed the legislation from the start. In the summer of 2014, employers’ president Kramer called the law a “massive intrusion into collective bargaining autonomy”. His fear: that low?skilled workers and young people in particular would find it harder to get hired.
Administrative burdens also drew criticism — for example, the requirement to track working hours. Employer associations also complained about the Minimum Wage Commission’s decision?making structure, which they said relies on majority voting rather than consensus. Their proposed alternative: adjustments only every two years and a cap tied to overall wage?agreement trends.
What Exemptions Would Have Meant
A 2014 analysis by the Economic and Social Sciences Institute (WSI) underscored the importance of the universal rule. At that time roughly 5.25 million employees earned less than 8.50 euros per hour. Had exceptions been granted — for pensioners, students or mini?jobbers — about two million people would have received no pay increase at all.
The German Council of Economic Experts warned in 2013 that blanket minimum wages carry a higher unemployment risk than sector?specific solutions. In a global market, they argued, companies have fewer options to adjust. Yet the current legal framework and court practice protect workers: the full minimum?wage claim cannot be undermined by unilateral cuts to supplementary benefits.
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