Minimum wage and average wage in Andorra: what they are, why they matter and how they affect payroll and social contributions
Difference between Andorra’s minimum wage and average wage, and how they influence payroll, hiring requirements and social contributions for employees and self-employed workers.
Elysium Consulting
Reading time: 8 minutes
🏁 The two salary pillars of Andorra’s labour framework
Andorra uses two key indicators: the minimum interprofessional wage and the global monthly average wage. Although often confused, they serve very different purposes and impact areas such as payroll, foreign hiring, self-employed contributions and certain social benefits.
This guide explains both in detail and includes a permanent historical section to serve as a long-term reference within ELYSIUM’s knowledge base.
🧾 What is the minimum wage?
The minimum interprofessional wage is the legally required minimum remuneration that an employer must pay any employee.
It is defined in Article 73 of Law 31/2018 on labour relations, and updated each year by Government decree.
In Andorra, it is calculated in two forms:
- Hourly amount.
- Monthly amount (based on a legal 40-hour working week).
The Government reviews the amount annually, taking inflation and other economic factors into account.
🔗 Natural internal linking
When discussing minimum wage requirements for foreign workers, many readers want to understand the broader employment framework. For this reason, we recommend ➤ Living and working in Andorra: what you need to know before relocating (https://www.elysiumconsultingfirm.com/viure-treballar-andorra).
🔎 Why is the minimum wage important?
It plays a decisive role in:
- Guaranteeing a legally required minimum salary.
- Determining proportional pay in part-time contracts.
- Meeting salary thresholds required for immigration permits.
- Preventing abusive underpayment.
- Establishing parameters for certain social benefits.
- Analysing wage evolution and socio-economic policy.
🧾 What is the average wage?
The global monthly average wage represents the average salary contributed during the previous year by all workers affiliated with the CASS.
It is published annually in the BOPA by Government decree.
Unlike the minimum wage, it is not a recommended salary, but a technical benchmark essential for the functioning of the social security system.
🔗 Natural internal linking
Readers often seek clarity on how the average wage affects their contribution base. For that, we recommend The CASS in Andorra: how social contributions work
🔎 Why is the average wage important?
Its main effects include:
- Setting the minimum contribution base for self-employed workers (100% of the average wage).
- Allowing a reduced base of 25% for the first 24 months of activity.
- Calculating CASS contributions (10% general branch, 12% retirement).
- Performing annual adjustments based on actual income.
- Determining whether a company director must be registered with the CASS depending on remuneration.
- Analysing productivity and labour market dynamics.
For those seeking more detail on self-employment contributions, we recommend Social contributions for self-employed workers in Andorra.
🧮 Key differences between minimum wage and average wage
- Minimum wage protects employees; average wage structures contributions.
- Minimum wage affects payroll; average wage impacts self-employed quotas.
- Minimum wage reflects social policy; average wage reflects real salary levels.
- Minimum wage is mandatory; average wage is a technical benchmark.
📌 Practical applications
✔️ If you are an employee
- Your salary cannot be below the monthly minimum wage.
- Part-time remuneration must respect proportional thresholds.
- Immigration processes often require proof of minimum wage compliance.
✔️ If you run a company
- Minimum wage is the legal hiring threshold.
- Non-compliance can result in sanctions.
- Annual adjustments require updating budgets and internal policies.
✔️ If you are self-employed
- Your contribution base derives from the average wage, not the minimum.
- A 25% reduced base applies during the first 24 months.
- Annual decrees may modify your monthly contribution.
To explore self-employment requirements further, we recommend Self-employment residence in Andorra: requirements and obligations .
🗂️ Historical reference: minimum wage and average wage in Andorra
🟦 Minimum wage (official figures)
🟦 Average wage (official figures)
Conclusion
The minimum wage and the average wage are far more than two economic figures: they shape employment, hiring rules, immigration requirements and the social security system. Understanding them helps companies, employees and self-employed workers anticipate changes, plan effectively and avoid costly mistakes.
If you would like to analyse how annual decrees may affect your situation —whether as a company, employee or self-employed worker— we can help you understand contributions, scenarios and strategies clearly and accurately.
For a personalised assessment, you can schedule a meeting with us below or complete the contact form.
Last revised: November 2025.
