The Minimum Wage and Social Assistance in the Member Ststes of the European Union

Članak je sistematičan, komparativan prikaz zakonskog uređenja minimalnog dohotka u državama Europske unije. Minimalni dohodak je ona visina dohotka koju država zakonski jamči svakome državljanu (ili stanovniku) koji sebi i svojoj obitelji iz objektivnih razloga ne može priskrbiti dohodak u toj visini. Minimalni dohodak ostvaruje se putem socijalne pomoći koja je jednaka razlici između razine minimalnog dohotka i vlastitog dohotka konkretne osobe, odnosno njegove obitelji/domaćinstva.This article offers a comparative overview of the legal regulation of the minimum wage in the European Union. The minimum wage is a sum of revenue that a state legally guarantees to each citizen (or inhabitant) who cannot provide for him/herself or for his/her family for objective reasons. The minimum wage is allocated through social assistance which is equal to the difference between the amount of the guaranteed minimum wage and a person\u27s own revenue, that of his/her family, or household. The author provides and analyses data on the following elements of the right to social assistance in member countries of the European Union: persons who have the right to social assistance in connection with their citizenship, residence, age, etc.; revenues which are taken into account when determining the amount of social assistance; the application of the principle of subsidiarity in determining the right to social assistance; the amount of the minimum wage for individuals and families as a starting point for social assistance; the manner of establishing the basic amount of the minimum wage; the duration of the right to social assistance; the valorisation of the guaranteed minimum wage; the connection between the right to financial assistance and the measures of an active employment policy; other rights associated with the guarantee of a minimum wage; and social care for the elderly and social care for single parents