Jobs in Germany

Germany has the EU's largest economy but one of the lowest salary disclosure rates in Western Europe — only around 16% of job postings include pay information. The existing pay transparency law from 2017 allows employees at companies with 200+ staff to request salary comparisons, but it has had limited impact on job listing practices. An expert commission delivered its final recommendations in October 2025 for transposing the EU Directive, but no draft legislation has been published. The timeline for meeting the June 2026 deadline is extremely tight. Employers should expect mandatory salary ranges in job postings and expanded pay gap reporting once legislation passes. Germany's average working week of 33.9 hours is among the shortest in the EU, driven by a strong part-time work culture. The 2024 four-day week pilot with 45 companies showed promising results, and IG Metall's collective bargaining success on reduced hours signals broader momentum.