What employees and employers can expect in 2026
The new year will bring a number of changes that will affect both employees and companies - from the minimum wage and travel expenses to social security and pay transparency.
The minimum wage will rise from €12.82 to €13.90 per hour. At the same time, the mini-job threshold will be raised from €556 to around €603. This means that employees will benefit directly from higher incomes and you as an employer will have to adjust your payroll accounting. SaaS.de automatically takes these changes into account on an hourly basis - the corresponding settings are simply stored in the employee profile and correctly implemented in payroll accounting.
There have also been changes to travelling expenses and meal allowances. In future, the commuter allowance will be a uniform €0.38 per kilometre from the first kilometre - previously it was €0.30 up to 20 km and €0.38 from 21 km. This will make invoicing easier and provide further relief for many commuters.
The Deutschland-Ticket will increase by €5 to €63.00 per month.
The income thresholds for social security contributions are rising: In pension insurance, they will increase to 101,400.00 euros per year, and the limits for health and long-term care insurance will change to 69,750.00 euros per year.
In addition, from 1 January 2026, there will be an active pension where pensioners can earn up to €2,000.00 per month tax-free. You should also store this change in your programmes with a corresponding profile so that the information can be passed on correctly to the payroll offices.
Another important topic in 2026 is the EU Pay Transparency Directive, which will continue to be implemented in Germany. Companies must make their salary structures more transparent and ensure fair pay and disclose this from June 2026. Early implementation is particularly important here so that you can act with legal certainty from June 2026. Digital personnel files can provide you with effective support.
In addition to these legal changes, further training is also crucial. Training on digital tools and artificial intelligence in particular will help your employees to act in a legally compliant manner, organise processes efficiently and implement new requirements correctly. We support you in storing the changes in your programme and thus implementing them automatically.
SaaS.de will also actively support you in the area of further training (practical AI training, innovations in labour law or training on compliance) from 2026. Your team will be optimally prepared - legally compliant, efficient and future-proof.