If your salary is not paid, overtime goes unpaid or there is a dispute about your bonus, your livelihood is at stake. Pay claims can be enforced effectively – provided you know the deadlines and can prove your claims. For employers, the focus is on legally sound pay systems and avoiding back-pay claims.
Key points at a glance
- Since 1 January 2026, the statutory minimum wage has been €13.90 gross per hour; it will rise to €14.60 on 1 January 2027.
- As a rule, salary is due at the end of the month (§ 614 BGB), unless otherwise agreed.
- Pay claims become time-barred after three years – but contractual cut-off periods can extinguish them after as little as three months.
- To be paid for overtime, in the event of a dispute the employee must show that it was ordered, approved or tolerated.
- Employers are obliged to record working time.
Salary not paid or paid late
If the employer does not pay on time, it is in default even without a reminder. You can then claim default interest. In the case of substantial arrears, you also have a right to withhold your work – although this may only be exercised after prior notice and in reasonable proportion. In serious cases, resigning without notice may be an option after a formal warning.
It is important to assert claims early in writing or in text form in order to comply with cut-off periods. If the employer is facing insolvency, insolvency benefit (Insolvenzgeld) from the Federal Employment Agency (Agentur für Arbeit) covers the last three months before the insolvency event; the application must be filed within two months. Find out more under Insolvency and employment law.
Cut-off periods and limitation
Pay claims become time-barred three years after the end of the year in which they arose (§§ 195, 199 BGB). However, many employment contracts and collective agreements contain cut-off periods (Ausschlussfristen) of three to six months – sometimes in two stages, followed by a deadline for bringing a claim. Anyone who misses them loses their claim, even if it was justified. We first check whether a contractual cut-off period is valid; cut-off periods in collective agreements, by contrast, are generally valid.
Overtime
Whether overtime must be paid depends first on the contract. If there is no valid provision, payment is deemed to have been tacitly agreed if, in the circumstances, the additional work could only be expected in return for payment (§ 612 BGB).
In court proceedings, the employee must set out on which days they worked from when until when, and that the employer ordered, approved or tolerated the overtime or that it was necessary to get the work done. The Federal Labour Court (Bundesarbeitsgericht) upholds this requirement despite the obligation to record working time (BAG, judgment of 4 May 2022 – 5 AZR 359/21). If the employer has recorded working hours itself, this makes it considerably easier to present the claim.
- Keep your own records of start times, finishing times and breaks.
- Save e-mails and instructions that show additional work was necessary.
- Request access to the employer’s time records.
According to the Federal Labour Court, the obligation to record working time already follows from the Occupational Health and Safety Act (Arbeitsschutzgesetz) (BAG, decision of 13 September 2022 – 1 ABR 22/21). A new statutory provision in the Working Hours Act (Arbeitszeitgesetz) is in preparation.
Bonus, commission and target agreements
Variable pay frequently leads to disputes: were targets agreed in good time? How is target achievement determined? Is the bonus forfeited if the employee leaves during the year? Reference-date clauses, under which a bonus already earned is forfeited if the employee leaves before a certain date, are usually invalid in standard-form contracts. If the employer sets targets late or not at all, it may be liable for damages; the decisive factor is then generally what pay could have been expected had the targets been set in good time.
Equal pay
Women and men are entitled to equal pay for equal work or work of equal value. According to the Federal Labour Court, a male colleague’s „better negotiating skills“ do not justify higher pay. In establishments with more than 200 employees, there is a right to information under the Pay Transparency Act (Entgelttransparenzgesetz). The EU Pay Transparency Directive should have been transposed by 7 June 2026; a German implementing act is still pending, but the courts interpret the current law in conformity with the Directive. Employers should therefore review their pay structures now.
Continued payment of wages during sickness
If you are unfit for work, the employer continues to pay your salary for up to six weeks (§ 3 EFZG), provided the employment relationship has existed for at least four weeks. If the employer doubts the incapacity for work – for example, where a sick note covers exactly the notice period – the evidential value of the certificate may be undermined. The employee must then set out the illness in concrete terms.
Practical examples
The following cases are simplified, typical scenarios from employment law practice. They are for illustration only; every individual case must be assessed separately.
Three months‘ salary outstanding
Situation: For three months, a restaurant manager has received only partial payments. The owner keeps putting him off. The employment contract contains a three-month cut-off period.
Legal assessment and course of action: The outstanding amounts were immediately claimed in text form and then sued for. At the same time, the possibility of applying for insolvency benefit was examined. The court ordered the employer to pay by default judgment, and enforcement led to payment.
Overtime in field service
Situation: A service technician regularly works longer hours because customer appointments require it. She has her own records as well as the company’s job logs.
Legal assessment and course of action: The logs showed that the assignments had been allocated by the dispatcher and could not be completed within regular working hours. The overtime had therefore at least been tolerated. A settlement was reached for around 85% of the pay claimed.
Target agreement in October
Situation: A sales employee only receives his targets for the financial year in October. He misses the targets and is told he will not receive a bonus.
Legal assessment and course of action: Targets set so late can no longer fulfil their incentive function. The employer was liable for damages in the amount of the bonus that would have been achieved had the targets been set in good time – in this case based on target achievement in previous years.
Lower pay than a male colleague
Situation: Through a pay information request, a divisional manager learns that her male colleague in a comparable role earns €900 more. The employer points to his salary negotiations.
Legal assessment and course of action: The pay gap gave rise to a presumption of discrimination on grounds of sex. The employer was unable to rebut it. It had to pay the difference retrospectively and pay compensation.
Frequently asked questions
May my employer cut my salary unilaterally?
No. A pay cut requires your consent or a valid notice of dismissal with an offer of altered terms (Änderungskündigung). Short-time work must also be permitted by the employment contract, a collective agreement or a works agreement.
Does the minimum wage also apply to mini-jobbers and interns?
For mini-jobbers, yes. It generally also applies to interns, with exceptions including mandatory internships and orientation internships of up to three months.
Can I still claim wages years later?
Until the three-year limitation period expires, provided no valid cut-off period applies. Check your contract and any applicable collective agreement.
Am I entitled to holiday pay or a Christmas bonus?
Only if it has been promised in the employment contract, a collective agreement, a works agreement or through established company practice, or if the principle of equal treatment applies.
Would you like us to review your case? Send us your documents – we usually respond within 24 hours and will tell you the expected costs in advance.
Note: This information provides a general overview of the legal situation (as of November 2026) and does not replace legal advice on your individual case.
This page is a translation of the German original. It is for general information only and does not replace legal advice on your individual case. German version