Minimum wage for 2027: employers offer €1,086.75, unions want €1,250 – and the government decides by 31 October

Croatia’s minimum wage is €1,050 gross in 2026. Consultations on next year’s figure begin this week, with employers and unions far apart. Here is who proposes what, how the decision is made, and what to look for on your payslip.

Published 2026-10-13 · Source checked 2026-10-13

Each year the Croatian government sets the next year’s minimum wage by decree (uredba), no later than the end of October, under the Minimum Wage Act. For 2026 it was set at €1,050 gross a month for full-time work.^[5] For anyone paid at or near the minimum, the 2027 figure sets the floor for next year’s pay – and the contributions and tax calculated on it.

The two sides of the negotiating table have tabled very different numbers. The Croatian Employers’ Association (HUP) proposes €1,086.75 gross – an increase of 3.5% – combined with a higher basic personal allowance, from €600 to roughly €840, so that a worker on the minimum wage would no longer pay income tax.^[1][2] According to HUP, a single worker on the minimum wage currently pays almost €60 a month in income tax.^[2]

Also read:Life in CroatiaSending money home from Croatia: how to see what a transfer really costs

The unions want much more: €1,250 gross, a rise of about 19%. Mladen Novosel, president of the Union of Autonomous Trade Unions of Croatia (SSSH), told 24sata that unions have nothing against a higher personal allowance, but that wages themselves must rise.^[3] A consultative meeting between the government and the social partners was scheduled for Wednesday, 14 October.^[3]

The politics are not only economic. Poslovni dnevnik notes that 2027 is the year before a parliamentary election and that signals from the government had so far pointed towards €1,250 gross.^[4] N1 reports that a higher personal allowance is being considered as part of the 2027 budget preparations.^[2] In other words, the final package may combine a gross increase with a tax change – and the second can matter as much as the first for take-home pay.

Until the decree is adopted, no figure is decided; treat numbers circulating on social media with caution. The law only guarantees that the new amount cannot be lower than the current €1,050.

What to check now: your contract and payslip should show your gross pay. Overtime, night, Sunday and public-holiday supplements are paid on top of the minimum wage, not inside it. If you work part-time, the minimum is proportional to your hours. If something does not add up, ask your employer in writing, or contact the State Inspectorate or a trade union. We will report the government’s decision as soon as the decree is adopted.

Read next

Culture & EventsMass in Tagalog, with Filipino choirs: from Zagreb to Zadar, and now RijekaPermits & Residence18,712 permits in nine months: Filipinos are now Croatia’s third-largest group of foreign workers