The amendment to the Minimum Wage Act stipulates that the Minimum Wage Commission will not decide on the adjustment of the statutory minimum wage again until June 2023. At this time, the Commission will submit its next report on the effects of the statutory minimum wage to the Federal Government. It will therefore not make use of the option to submit an evaluation report this year.
This decision is subject to the German Bundestag's discussion and unchanged adoption of the draft bill passed today by the Federal Cabinet. The Chairman of the Minimum Wage Commission, Jan ZILIUS, explains:
"The evaluation report serves primarily as a basis and as part of an overall assessment for the decision on the adjustment of the statutory minimum wage. From the perspective of the Minimum Wage Commission, there is therefore no need for a regular report in June 2022. Nevertheless, the Commission will continue its evaluation task, as provided for in the Minimum Wage Increase Act, and will document its research findings in detail in the 2023 report."
The draft of the Minimum Wage Increase Act (MiLoEG) stipulates that the Minimum Wage Commission must decide on the next adjustment of the minimum wage by 30 June 2023. The decision can be made binding by statutory order of the Federal Government with effect from 1 January 2024. According to Section 9 (1) sentence 2 of the Minimum Wage Act (MiLoG), the subsequent adjustment decisions are to be made every two years as before. According to Section 9 (4) MiLoG, the Minimum Wage Commission continues to have the task of continuously evaluating the effects of the minimum wage on the protection of employees, competitive conditions and employment in relation to certain sectors and regions as well as productivity and to submit its findings to the Federal Government in a report every two years together with its adjustment decision.