The salary is the monetary equivalent paid by the employer to the worker for his work, but when the salary is paid at state level, then the average salary of all employees in a sector is taken. Numerous employees do not agree with such an account because it gives an unrealistic picture of it. As the salary for an employee's income is and he strives and will strive to make it as high as possible, so is the employer's paycheck to make it as low as possible to earn as much profits as possible. Employee salary represents the award for his work, and from the point of view of the compensation manager it belongs to the group of material awards. It is a powerful sign of change, and the change of salary attracts the attention of employees. It’s structure is the basic salary, the variable part of the salary, the group incentive reward and the benefits. In order for the company to know where the remuneration system should be directed, it is very important to shape the remuneration strategy, so that the organization gains competitive advantage in the national or global economy, it must develop such a rewarding system that fully supports it’s corporate and business strategy. While based on the chosen market direction in the direction of the company intends to go, define the remuneration policies. Apart from the organization itself which, based on the remuneration system, forms the salary, the state imposes on its laws a certain regulation which employers must adhere to. The paper analyzes the average and minimum wages in the Republic of Croatia and European Union and will try to explain the persistence of these differences.