A German company driver clears roughly €2,400-€2,800 net per month in 2026, while a Romanian driver doing the same international routes often takes home €1,100-€1,400 net, even when both are paid “EU legal minimum” on paper. The gap comes down to where you’re contracted, which per diems you actually collect, and how the Posting of Workers Directive gets applied to your specific runs. Gross salary numbers thrown around in job ads mean almost nothing until you know the tax burden, social contributions, and daily allowances behind them.
Why Gross Salary Figures Are Misleading
Recruiters love quoting gross monthly salary because it looks impressive next to the minimum wage in your home country. But a driver based in Poland earning a “gross €1,200” contract and a driver based in France earning “gross €2,200” are not comparable until you strip out income tax, social security contributions, and add back the per diem payments that are usually tax-free.
The real number you want is net take-home pay plus per diems actually paid, calculated over a full month of international driving, not a single “best case” week. Per diems for international transport under the posting rules can add €50-€65 per day away from base, and that money is often untaxed if structured correctly. For the full breakdown of how these allowances should be calculated and claimed, see our guide to per diem for truck drivers in the EU.
Real Net Pay by Country, 2026
These figures reflect a company driver on international routes, full-time, with standard per diems included, based on collective bargaining data and haulage association surveys from late 2025.
| Country of employment | Typical net salary (base pay) | Per diems (monthly avg.) | Realistic total take-home |
|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | €2,000-€2,300 | €400-€500 | €2,400-€2,800 |
| Netherlands | €2,100-€2,400 | €350-€450 | €2,450-€2,850 |
| Belgium | €1,900-€2,200 | €400-€500 | €2,300-€2,700 |
| France | €1,850-€2,100 | €350-€450 | €2,200-€2,550 |
| Spain | €1,300-€1,550 | €300-€400 | €1,600-€1,950 |
| Poland | €900-€1,100 | €350-€450 | €1,250-€1,550 |
| Romania | €700-€900 | €350-€450 | €1,100-€1,400 |
| Lithuania | €750-€950 | €350-€450 | €1,150-€1,450 |
Notice the pattern: base pay swings wildly, but per diems compress the gap somewhat since they’re tied to days away from home, not the employer’s country. Still, a Western European contract beats an Eastern European one by €800-€1,000 net per month for the same steering wheel time.
The Posting of Workers Effect on Your Payslip
If you’re a Romanian or Bulgarian driver posted to work routes in France or Germany, the Posting of Workers Directive (Directive 2020/1057, applicable since February 2022) requires you to be paid at least the host country’s minimum wage for the time you spend in that country, not your home country’s minimum. In practice this means a driver posted to Germany should receive at least Germany’s minimum wage floor of €12.82 per hour (2026 rate) for those working days, on top of home contributions to social security.
The problem is enforcement. Many hauliers still pay a flat “posting bonus” that doesn’t match the actual hourly requirement, and drivers rarely see the calculation. We cover exactly how this should work, and where operators cut corners, in Posting of Workers Directive: What EU Rules Mean for Your Pay. If your payslip doesn’t show hours broken down by country, ask for it in writing — you’re entitled to it under EU Regulation 2020/1054.
Minimum Wage Floors You Should Know
Every country sets its own statutory minimum, and transport is covered by these floors even for foreign-posted drivers during their working days there. As of 2026:
- Germany: €12.82/hour statutory minimum
- France: €11.88/hour (SMIC horaire, updated January 2026)
- Netherlands: €14.10/hour for workers 21+
- Belgium: approx. €2,070/month (RMMMG for full-time)
- Spain: €1,184/month over 14 payments (SMI 2026)
- Poland: 4,806 PLN/month gross (approx. €1,110)
- Romania: 3,700 RON/month gross (approx. €745)
These numbers only tell part of the story since transport sector collective agreements often sit above the statutory floor. For the full country-by-country detail including sector-specific agreements, read Truck Driver Minimum Wage in Europe: Country-by-Country 2026.
Where the Extra Money Actually Comes From
Base salary and per diems aren’t the whole picture. Drivers running Western European routes typically pick up extra income from:
- Night driving supplements — Germany and France both mandate premiums, typically 15-25% of hourly rate for hours between 22:00 and 06:00.
- Weekend and holiday loading — driving on Sundays where permitted, or waiting out weekend bans, sometimes triggers standby pay under national CBAs.
- Cabotage bonuses — some fleets pay extra for cabotage runs since they involve tighter compliance windows. Know your limits by reading Cabotage Rules in Europe: What You Can and Can’t Do before accepting these jobs.
- ADR premiums — dangerous goods certification typically adds €100-€300 per month to base pay across most Western fleets.
Add these up and two drivers with identical base contracts can end up €300-€500 apart per month depending on route type and how aggressively they track their hours.
Taxes, Social Security and Where You Actually Pay
Your tax residency, not your employer’s registration country, usually determines where you owe income tax. This trips up a lot of drivers who assume being paid by a German company means paying German tax. In reality, the 183-day rule and your center of vital interests (where your family lives, where you’re registered) typically decide it. We go through this in detail in Truck Driver Tax Residency in the EU: Where You Actually Pay.
Social security is a separate question governed by Regulation (EC) 883/2004 — generally you’re covered in your country of residence unless you’re posted with an A1 certificate, in which case home-country coverage continues for up to 24 months. This affects your net pay directly because contribution rates vary hugely: Romania withholds around 35% combined employee contributions, while a posted worker keeping home coverage under an A1 avoids double payment into the host country’s system. Full detail is in Social Security for Cross-Border Truck Drivers: Which Country Covers You.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it worth relocating to Germany or the Netherlands just for higher pay?
For many Eastern European drivers, yes, on paper — the net pay difference of €800-€1,000/month is real. But factor in cost of living, being away from family, and whether you’re hired directly by a local company (better) versus posted through an agency (murkier pay structure). Direct local contracts almost always beat posting arrangements for transparency and actual take-home amount.
Why does my payslip show per diems separately from salary?
Per diems compensate for meals and incidental costs while away from your base, and in most EU countries they’re exempt from income tax and social contributions up to a set daily ceiling (around €50-€65 depending on country and destination). Keeping them separate from taxable salary is legal and standard practice — but they should still appear clearly on your payslip with dates and locations.
Can my employer pay me my home country’s minimum wage even when I’m driving in France or Germany?
No. Under the Posting of Workers Directive and Mobility Package rules, you must receive at least the host country’s minimum wage for hours worked there, calculated per country crossed. If your payslip doesn’t reflect this, you may have grounds to dispute it — see How to Dispute Unpaid Wages as a Truck Driver in the EU for the formal steps.
Do salaries in 2026 reflect the driver shortage across Europe?
Partially. Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium have raised base pay and bonuses to attract drivers, especially ADR-certified and reefer-experienced ones. Eastern European base rates have moved up too, but more slowly, and the gap with Western Europe remains wide enough that cross-border recruitment keeps growing every year.
Whichever country pays your salary, staying reachable for dispatch, family, and route updates matters just as much as the number on your payslip — check out Marco Polo Mobile eSIM to stay connected across borders without roaming surprises.