Cost billions
Civil servants receive more pay – retroactively for five years
The federal government plans to pass a new law this year that will give many civil servants more pay. In doing so, it fulfills an existing requirement.
Around 200,000 federal civil servants can expect a significant salary increase – retroactively. According to information from “WirtschaftsWoche”, the Interior Ministry is implementing a decision by the Federal Constitutional Court from 2020.
The Karlsruhe judges had already determined that the pay of civil servants must be at least 15 percent above the basic security level. Families with large children in particular should be given greater consideration.
Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) wants to present a draft law by the beginning of November that comprehensively reforms the current salary law. The aim is to permanently anchor the requirements of the highest court in civil servants’ salaries.
Billions in costs for the federal budget
The project has significant financial consequences. Because the adjustment is supposed to take place retroactively over five years, the federal government will suddenly incur costs of around 1.2 billion euros. This sum is likely to be felt in the 2027 budget – the year in which Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil (SPD) already has to plug a budget hole of around 37 billion euros.
The planned reform does not only affect the lower salary levels. Higher salary classes should also be adjusted in order to maintain the legally required distance from state transfer payments. The latter had recently increased significantly: Citizens’ allowance was increased by twelve percent at the beginning of 2024, before a zero round is due in 2026.
Previous legislative proposals for civil servant pay failed
The federal government had already tried several times to implement the Karlsruhe judge’s ruling. The Ministry of the Interior under Nancy Faeser (SPD) brought a draft for a new salary law to the cabinet in November 2024. But on the same day, the traffic light coalition collapsed after Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) wanted to dismiss the then Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP). Without a stable parliamentary majority, the bill never came to a vote.
Dobrindt has been working on bringing the issue to a conclusion for weeks now. According to the German Customs and Finance Union (BDZ), there has recently been significant progress in talks with the Ministry of Finance, the Civil Service Association (dbb) and the Federal Police Union DPolG.
At a meeting with the Interior Minister there were “concrete commitments to adjust salaries” and a “breakthrough in appropriate support for the office,” explained BDZ boss Thomas Liebel. The approach presented by the ministry is promising and would bring noticeable improvements to employees if implemented.
The Interior Ministry is currently coordinating with other departments. According to the current schedule, the draft bill should be passed in the cabinet in mid-November before it is submitted to the Bundestag for a vote.
Source: Stern
