According to a survey conducted by “Der Spiegel” among the relevant ministries, German states are expected to spend hundreds of millions of euros over the coming years to adequately remunerate their civil servants, following a ruling by the constitutional court.
The highest court determined in November that a large proportion of civil servant salaries were insufficient. Although the initial ruling focused on Berlin, its implications are broader. While complex calculations mean that many states have not yet released concrete figures, significant additional expenditures have been forecast.
For instance, Schleswig-Holstein anticipates needing an additional €460 million for 2025 and 2026, after which the annual requirement is projected to stabilize at €500 million. Meanwhile, Hessen projects annual additional costs of €755 million. These increases, driven by salary adjustments, are expected to raise the take-home pay of Hessian civil servants by nearly 14 percent within a year and a half.
The financial strain is substantial across the board. Silke Schneider (The Greens), the Federal Minister of Finance, described the legally necessary adjustment as an “extremely significant challenge” for the coming years. In Brandenburg, the estimated additional cost per budget year is somewhere between €300 million and €600 million. Berlin has not provided a specific sum but has reported having established “financial reserves” planning for €493 million in both 2025 and 2026. The expenditures are expected to bring the budget of other states, such as Hessen, to “limits of burden” according to Interior Minister Roman Poseck (CDU).
