Many civil servants in North Rhine‑Westphalia now doubt that they are receiving pay in accordance with the law. According to the “Neue Westfälische”, citing figures from the NRW Ministry of Finance, the number of salary disputes has more than doubled since 2022, reaching roughly 102,000 in 2025.
In 2023, 102,736 disputes were lodged; in 2024 the figure dropped to nearly 54,000. Prior years saw about 61,000 disputes in 2023 and around 50,000 in 2022. The statistical office reports that the state employs 282,000 civil servants in total.
The controversy centers on the state’s new approach to salary calculations. Since 2024, the government no longer assumes that a civil servant is the sole breadwinner. Instead it reflects a “modern family picture” by adding a notional partner income of €538 to the pay calculation. Those who truly have no partner income must apply for a supplemental surcharge, a measure that experts claim is unlawful.
The state had previously dismissed disputes concerning the 2022 payroll. Consequently, as of early February 2024, 1,725 lawsuits challenging the appropriate allocation of 2022 salaries had been filed, the Ministry of Finance confirmed.