New research carried out by the Federation of European Employers reveals a big difference in the amount of the minimum wage workers can expect to earn across Europe.

Employees in the Russian Federation should take home a minimum of $14 a month, while at the other end of the scale, workers in Luxembourg can expect to get $1,474 a month. While most countries’ minimum rates of pay are around 50% of their median pay level, in the case of both the Russian Federation and Spain, the minimum wage is well below the average rate of pay among employees in those countries.

FedEE Secretary-General Robin Chater stated that “statutory minimum pay remains a rather bleak safety net for many workers. However, in many EU accession states changes in these rates are clearly helping to drive up general living standards and in countries such as Malta and Estonia they now represent a realistic starting point for company pay scales”.