Information for this page was compiled during December 2023 and January 2024. As Member States are currently transposing the EU minimum wage directive, national legislation can be subject to change. Eurofound intends to update these profiles in early 2025. Users are invited to contact Eurofound if they are aware of changes.
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The general law establishing the basis for the minimum wage approval procedure is the Labour Code of the Republic of Lithuania. Pursuant to art. 141 (‘Minimum wage’) of the Code, the minimum wage is approved by the Government of the Republic of Lithuania upon recommendation of the Tripartite Council of the Republic of Lithuania.
The latest minimum wage rate was approved by Governmental Resolution No. 516 on 28 June 2023 with effect since 1 January 2024. Additionally, a recommendation to social partners to set higher rates in their collective agreements is provided in point 2 of the Resolution.
Collective agreements may establish higher rates of minimum wage (art. 141 par. 4 of the Labour Code), but this provision has not yet been used in practice.
The Labour Code provides for a prohibition to pay minimum wage for skilled labour since 1 July 2017. This prohibition increased the number of workers paid more than the minimum wage and correspondingly reduced the number of those receiving the minimum wage and less (art. 141 par. 2 of the Labour Code). To be noted that legally speaking, the Labour Code does not provide the (absolute or relative) higher amount to be paid to skilled workers in comparison to unskilled ones. Practically, differences (or a wider gap) of wages for skilled and non-skilled labour might therefore remain an issue as even the smallest difference is legally justified.
Major changes in minimum wage regulation occurred when the new Labour Code came into effect from 1 July 2017. New rules introduced by this change are the following:
The main actors involved in minimum wage setting are the following:
The Tripartite Council takes the decision on the minimum wage increase following recommendations of the Bank of Lithuania, but in practice they may deviate – as in 2023, when the Bank proposed an increase by 13.4% but the Tripartite Council endorsed the government's proposed tax reform-related formula (increase by 10% coupled by an increase of the tax-exempt amount of income, TEAI).
The Tripartite Council shall submit its opinion to the Government by 15 June each year, or by any other date requested by the Government (art. 141, par 3, Labour Code).
Finally, the government determines the adjustment of the minimum wage by resolution. The Government sets the minimum wage based on the recommendation of the Tripartite Council and taking into account the country's economic development indicators and trends. In theory, the final decision on the amount of minimum wage might deviate from the recommendation provided by the Tripartite Council. However, in practice this never happens, as government representatives are also members of the Tripartite Council itself, thus directly contributing to the content of recommendation presented to the Government. There were examples when the government determined the rate of the minimum wage when the Tripartite Council did not reach an agreement.
The new Labour Code stipulates that the minimum wage shall be approved by the Government on the recommendation of the Tripartite Council and taking into account the development indicators and trends of the national economy (art. 141 par. 3 of the Labour Code). Thus, the criterion of annual inflation (in the calculation of the national consumer price index) no longer exists in Lithuanian law. At its meeting on 21 September 2017, the Tripartite Council agreed on the formula for setting the minimum wage. According to the formula, the monthly minimum wage shall be no less than 45% and no more than 50% of the average wage and must be in line with the average of minimum wage/average wage ratio of one fourth of the EU Member States having the highest minimum wage/average wage ratio (based on the last three years of data published by the Eurostat). At the same time, the Tripartite Council requested the assistance of the Bank of Lithuania in the determination of the minimum wage calculation methodology and agreed to use the Bank’s recommendations and calculations in the future when considering the conclusion on the minimum wage setting.
| Criterion | How is this defined/operationalised? | Regulation or practice |
| Indicators and trends of the national economy | No further information | Art. 141 par. 3 of the Labour Code |
| Minimum wage/average wage ratio | No less than 45% and no more than 50% of the average wage and in line with the average of minimum wage/average wage ratio of ¼ of the Member States having the highest minimum wage/ average wage ratio (based on the last three years of data published by the Eurostat) | Agreement of the Tripartite Council of the Republic of Lithuania of 21 September 2017 |
All employees working under employment contracts, whether private or public, are covered by the minimum wage. Minimum wage is the lowest allowable remuneration for unskilled work (‘nekvalifikuotas darbas‘). Unskilled work shall be defined as work for which no special qualification or professional ability is required (art. 141, par. 2 of the Labour Code).
The national (public sector) collective agreement fixes the basic rate of official salary applicable to public sector employees and civil servants and is agreed annually.
No other minimum wage variations are provided for in laws, regulations or other collective agreements. Also, those variations are only possible, as mentioned above, in collective agreements establishing higher minimum wage rates (art. 141, par. 4 of the Labour Code), but this provision of the Labour Code has not yet been used in practice.
Pursuant to art. 141 (‘Minimum wage’) of the Labour Code, the government approves the minimum hourly wage and the minimum monthly wage. Collective agreements may set rates higher than the minimum hourly wage and the minimum monthly wage (art. 141 par. 4 of the Labour Code).
The Labour Code does not provide any specific number of hours for a monthly rate.
However, proportionally lower wages (including minimum wage) can be paid only if employee works part-time (less than normal hours, art. 40 (‘Agreement on part-time work’), par. 6 of the Labour Code), i.e.:
Art. 146, par. 1 of the Labour Code (‘Terms, place and procedure for the payment of remuneration’) stipulates the following: ‘Remuneration must be paid to an employee at least twice per month or – at the employee’s request – once per month’. Therefore, employees receive 24 or 12 minimum wages per year.
Art. 34, par. 3 of the Labour Code (‘Indispensable employment contract terms’) provides that ‘In the employment contract, the parties shall establish the remuneration per month (monthly wage) or working hour (hourly rate), which cannot be lower than the minimum monthly wage or the minimum hourly rate approved by the government. The parties to the employment contract may also agree upon extra pay, allowances, bonuses or other additional payments according to various remuneration systems’. Therefore, the Labour Code creates indirect preconditions in different remunerations systems established in collective agreements or other local documents, applicable in certain enterprises, to establish the 13th or the 14th wage (including minimum wage) payments. However, it is not a common practice in Lithuania and the law (the Labour Code) itself does not require additional monthly payments.
Art. 34, par. 3 of the Labour Code (‘Indispensable employment contract terms’) provides that ‘In the employment contract, the parties shall establish the remuneration per month (monthly wage) or working hour (hourly rate), which cannot be lower than the minimum monthly wage or the minimum hourly rate approved by the government. The parties to the employment contract may also agree upon extra pay, allowances, bonuses, or other additional payments according to various remuneration systems’. Therefore, minimum wage is considered only as a ‘basic’ rate and, by law, does not include bonuses or overtime allowances.
During annual leave the worker is entitled to their average salary (art. 130 par. 1 of the Labour Code) only; not additional holiday allowances are provided.
Ar. 139, par. 2 of the Labour Code (‘Concept of remuneration’) provides that an employee’s salary includes: (1) basic (tariff) pay (hourly rate or monthly salary, or fixed component of salary); (2) an additional part of the salary, as agreed between the parties or paid in accordance with labour law or the remuneration system applicable in the workplace; 3) the bonus for qualifications acquired; (4) bonuses for additional work or the performance of additional duties or tasks; (5) bonuses for work performed, fixed by agreement between the parties or paid in accordance with the provisions of labour law or the system of remuneration applicable in the workplace; (6) bonuses granted at the initiative of the employer to encourage an employee to perform well, or to reward the performance of the employee or of the undertaking, department or group of employees.
Therefore, components 2-6 cannot be included into the minimum wage, and must be paid additionally to it.
Art. 143, par. 3 of the Labour Code (‘The job standard’) provides that when an employee (to whom piece-rates apply) fails to meet the norms of work with no fault of his/her own, he/she is paid for the work actually done. In this case, the monthly wage shall not be less than 2/3 of his/her average wage and shall not be less than the minimum wage. If there is employee’s fault for not meeting the working standards, he or she is paid for the work actually done (art. 143, par. 4).
Art. 143, par. 1 of the Labour Code provides that ‘If the scope of a job function (job standard) is established for an employee […], the employer must provide the working conditions necessary for the employee […] to fulfil the job standard’. A reasoned request by an employee for an incorrectly established work rate/norm is dealt with by the labour disputes bodies. The employer must prove that the rate of pay was set in accordance with the occupational risks, the time involved and the circumstances of the job function.
Art. 736, par. 1 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Republic of Lithuania (‘Size of deductions from the debtor’s earnings or other income’) provides that deduction of a part of debtor’s earnings and other equivalent payments and allowances within the limits of a minimum wage fixed by the Government shall be made in accordance with the enforceable instrument until recoverable amounts are covered in full:
There are no regular reports on minimum wage setting.
[1] Shorter working time (Ar. 112, par. 4 of the Labour Code) in Lithuanian legal system is not the same as part-time work (art. 40 of the Labour Code).