Head of People

Salary band

Base salary, gross annual

25th percentile

€95,000

Median

€125,000

75th percentile

€165,000

For reference: the statutory minimum wage in Germany has stood at €13.90 gross per hour since January 1, 2026 — roughly €2,410 gross a month for a full-time role at 40 hours/week. (BMAS: Mindestlohn steigt zum 1. Januar 2026 auf 13,90 Euro)

Gross fixed salary per year for a Head of People or HR Director with 8 to 15 years of experience, of which at least 3 in a leadership role with full HR functional ownership. Berlin and Munich pull the range up (+10 to +15 %); Frankfurt and Hamburg sit slightly above; Stuttgart is Mittelstand-typical at the median; eastern German locations and smaller cities sit well below. Profiles with strong labor-law expertise, documented experience in collective bargaining or large-scale workforce measures, and Mitbestimmung (co-determination) experience in structures of 200+ employees sit at the top of the range. Hyper-growth tech SMBs (Series B+, 200 to 500 employees) often pay in the P75 band plus a substantial equity component not included in this fixed range. Classic Mittelstand structures (industry, trade, family businesses) frequently stay at or slightly below the median even at comparable size. This role typically leads an HR team of 3 to 15 people and either sits on the executive committee or reports directly to the managing directors.

Sources: Destatis Verdiensterhebung (April 2025); Stepstone Gehaltsreport 2026, Führungskräfte HR; Kienbaum HR-Vergütungsstudie 2025