Overview
- The new wage deal for Länder employees, excluding Hesse, delivers a total 5.8% raise over 27 months and typically extends from about 1 million unionized staff to roughly 2.2 million people including civil servants.
- The increases arrive in three steps set by the contract: 2.8% in April 2026 with at least €100 more per month, 2% in March 2027, and 1% in January 2028, with trainees and early‑career staff getting an extra €150 in €60/€60/€30 stages.
- Several states say they aim to pay the April uplift on time, including Bavaria, Rhineland‑Palatinate, Schleswig‑Holstein, and Thuringia.
- Others flag delays due to payroll IT and service‑provider constraints, with Bremen calling May more likely and Saxony‑Anhalt saying its contractor cannot deliver for April, while states that miss April plan retroactive payments.
- Transfers to civil servants and pensioners are not automatic in timing, with Bavaria indicating a possible six‑month lag, as North Rhine‑Westphalia, Baden‑Württemberg, and Schleswig‑Holstein signal efforts to move in step with tariff staff.