German Workshop Employee Sues for Minimum Wage, Challenging System That Pays Under €2 an Hour
Published on 07/16/2026 at 05:45 | Redaktion boerse-global.de
When Jürgen Linnemann clocks in at the Freckenhorster Werkstätten three days a week, his monthly pay comes to €195. That works out to a fraction of the country’s statutory minimum wage, which now sits at €13.90 per hour. On 15 July, the 57-year-old filed a lawsuit at the Labour Court in Münster, demanding that he and tens of thousands of others finally receive the same legal protection as workers on the open market.
The case has the potential to become a landmark ruling. Roughly 300,000 people with disabilities are employed in about 3,000 sheltered workshops across Germany, earning wages that barely register against mainstream benchmarks. In 2024, the average monthly income in such facilities was €233 for a full 37-hour week — less than €2 per hour.
Linnemann’s legal challenge is structured around three escalating demands. First, the court must determine whether his activity inside a rehabilitation framework qualifies as a standard employment relationship. Second, even if the answer is no, he argues that the minimum wage should apply to anyone whose work resembles that of an employee. Third, the suit invokes constitutional equality guarantees and EU non-discrimination directives.
The gap between workshop pay and wages in other sectors is stark. As of 1 July, the minimum wage for care assistants rose to €16.52 an hour. Temporary agency workers earn at least €14.96. Workers in sheltered workshops receive neither the wage floor nor the associated social insurance entitlements that come with regular employee status.
The Kreiscaritasverband in Warendorf district, which runs the workshops, pushes back. It insists that the facilities are not ordinary businesses but rehabilitation centres, whose mission is participation, not profit. People who cannot find a job on the general labour market, the argument goes, should gain skills and social inclusion there — not a standard employment contract.
Political momentum, however, is building. Integration Minister Bärbel Bas has pledged to present a reform proposal before the end of 2026. Several models are under discussion: a basic allowance set at 70 percent of the net wage, a universal basic income, or granting full employee status to workshop participants.
While the Münster court weighs Linnemann’s case, advocacy groups are watching the parliamentary calendar. This autumn, the Bundestag is scheduled to vote on further social reforms, including changes to long-term care insurance contributions and funding for participation services. The outcome could reshape the economic reality for hundreds of thousands of disabled workers.
Disclaimer regarding our articles: No investment advice, no buy or sell recommendation. Information on prices, companies, and markets is provided without guarantee; changes are possible at any time. Stock market transactions can lead to substantial losses. Our articles are created and reviewed in whole or in part automatically with the support of AI.
