Employees can expect a significant wage increase next year: the social partners have agreed on the amount of the 2022 minimum wage and the guaranteed minimum wage. The former increases to two hundred thousand forints gross, the latter to 260 thousand forints gross. The smallest earnings will therefore increase by twenty to twenty percent next year.
The government will reduce the social contribution tax to 13 percent, which includes the vocational training contribution. Another relief for the implementation of wage increases is that the small business tax will be reduced to ten percent from January. The wage catch-up affects a significant number of employees and those receiving social benefits, Magyar Nemzet has learned.
The trade unions and employer interest representatives also agreed on the amount of the guaranteed minimum wage: the mandatory minimum wage tied to a secondary education will rise to HUF 260,000 gross, while the minimum wage, according to the previous decision, will be HUF 200,000 gross in 2022.
Magyar Nemzet has learned that the parties are expected to sign a wage agreement, in which they will also formulate a wage offer, as early as next week.
Part of the agreement is that the 1.5 percent vocational training contribution, which is also charged to employers, will be incorporated into the social contribution tax (socho) from January. In addition, the socho is reduced by two percentage points. Next year, the current 17 percent employer obligation will be reduced to 13 percent.
In addition, the government has undertaken to further reduce the small business tax (kiva), which will also be reduced by one percentage point to ten percent from January. The vocational training discount available to employers will also remain. All in all, a significant reduction in employers' contributions can provide adequate coverage for substantial wage increases.
The oral agreement reached at today's meeting of the Permanent Consultation Forum of the Competition Sector and the Government means that
the minimum wage and the guaranteed minimum wage will rise by the same amount, roughly twenty percent, next year. A significant wage catch-up will affect the earnings of a significant number of employees, as it will force an increase in the higher wage categories as well.
Minister of Innovation and Technology László Palkovics emphasized after today's meeting that domestic employment is at the highest level seen since the regime change. The number of jobseekers is already lower than last January and may fall even further. He highlighted:
Hungarian families can benefit to a greater extent from the results of economic growth by raising the minimum wage to HUF 200,000 and the guaranteed minimum wage to HUF 260,000. The measures are also about the esteem of the workers.
According to the ministry, the minister confirmed that the government will maintain its previous commitments in order to adequately compensate employers: employer contributions will be reduced by four percentage points. László Palkovics also announced:
if the social partners agree, the government is ready to reduce the small business tax rate to ten percent. The tax reduction proposals that have come up so far would mean a total of more than HUF 660 billion in annual savings for domestic companies, which the companies could use to improve wages.
The amount of the minimum wage for next year was already agreed upon by the employers and the trade unions. At the same time, the positions of the two sides differed for a long time regarding the increase of the guaranteed minimum wage. Previously, the employers would have agreed on the HUF 260,000 minimum wage only with a larger contribution reduction and a multi-year catch-up.
At the same time, the government indicated during last week's negotiations that they support a uniform increase of the two mandatory minimum wages, so the government's position is closer to the proposal of the trade union side.
So next year:
- the minimum wage will increase from HUF 167,400 gross to HUF 200,000, i.e. from HUF 111,300 to HUF 133,000 net,
- the guaranteed minimum wage increases from HUF 219,000 gross to HUF 260,000, i.e. from HUF 145,600 to HUF 173,000 net,
- the socho rate will be 13 percent, and the vocational training contribution will be merged into the socho,
- the rate of small business tax will be ten percent.
Negotiations will continue even after the signing of the agreement. The goal is for the social partners and the government to agree on a multi-year wage agreement by the end of the year.
