unskilled workers with basic salaries
Luxembourg, Sweden, and Belgium are top in the Schengen Zone in terms of high-salary-paying countries.
Many EU countries are following a model of 4 days week work. Some also are trying to implement 4 days of work such as Finland.
Many Schengen countries offer high salary packages even to unskilled workers from non-EU countries. This carries from country to country, however, many factors differentiate each country from another.
Most of the Schengen countries when it comes to salary packages, have different parameters such as tax class, family members, labor law, demand inflation, and the type of area they work in.
Eurostat, in 2022, the average annual wages ranged from the highest €106,839.33 in Switzerland to the lowest €12,923.66 in Bulgaria. On the other hand, the minimum salary for the unskilled workers in the beginning is as follows:
1- Luxembourg
Luxembourg has a minimum monthly wage of €2,447 for unskilled workers and €2,936.48 for skilled workers. The number of working hours per week is a maximum of 40. If the employee must work on weekends, then a relevant permit must be obtained from the Ministry of Employment. Weekend work is paid 2 times more than the usual salary and is possible only with the consent of the employee himself
2- Sweden
In Sweden, since 2015, in addition to the five-day weekly work that has been in effect for a long time, six-hour work has been implemented for the elderly and also in hospitals, without this affecting the earnings of employees with a minimum wage of €2000 where there are collective agreements.
3- Belgium
In Belgium, there is a six-day instead of an eight-hour working day and if a trader wishes to open a shop on Sunday this is done on the condition that it remains closed on another day of the week with a minimum wage for 2023 of €1955 which is the third highest in the EU.
4- Germany
In Germany, the eight-hour working day applies, but shops can be open until 9 pm on weekdays. On Sundays all shops are closed except bakeries, dairies, and flower shops until noon, and with the minimum wage reaching €1944.
5- The Netherlands
In the Netherlands, the eight-hour day applies and shops remain open six days a week and are allowed to be open only 10 Sundays a year with a minimum wage of €2000 specifically for young people up to 21 years of age the minimum wage is prohibited by law to be below €1943.
6- Finland
In Finland, there is a six-hour instead of eight-hour work and four instead of five days a week, and in fact without reducing the wages of the workers, with the minimum wage reaching €1800. And all this as stated what the Finnish government cares about is the workers being more with their people and doing what pleases them.
7- France
In France, the same working hours and six days’ work apply. On Sundays, food shops and flower shops can stay open from 9:00 to 12 noon. Also, some remain open in tourist areas depending on the municipality with a minimum monthly salary of €1709.
8- Austria
In Austria, another country with a high standard of living with the lowest monthly salary amounting to 1600 euros. The six-day eight-hour work is applied and the shops are closed on Sundays except those located in the tourist areas if and as long as the owners wish to open.