Wages & Salary

Unpaid salary, bonus disputes, overtime claims under German law. Most contracts give you only three months to assert the claim in writing.

If your German employer pays you late, the wrong amount, or refuses to pay an earned bonus, the law is firmly on your side — but only if you act before contractual exclusion periods (Ausschlussfristen) cut off the claim.


3 months
Typical Ausschlussfrist for written demand

5 ppt
Default interest above base rate

3 months
Insolvenzgeld covers up to

What you are entitled to

Your employer owes you everything that is contractually agreed: base salary, agreed bonus, agreed commissions, agreed allowances, and any payments mandated by collective or works-council agreements. On top of that, the German Minimum Wage Act sets a hard floor (€12.82/hour) that cannot be waived even by mutual agreement.

When is your salary due?

Under § 614 BGB the salary is due after the service has been performed — typically at the end of the month. Once the contractually fixed payment date passes without payment, your employer is in default (Verzug) and owes statutory default interest of 5 percentage points above the Bundesbank base rate.

Bonus and commission disputes

Bonus disputes are common in finance, tech, and sales roles. The starting point is the contract: what does it say about the formula, eligibility on the payment date, and discretionary elements?

Overtime compensation

Whether overtime is paid extra depends on your contract:

  • “All overtime included” clauses are usually invalid for ordinary employees (no upper limit, not transparent under § 307 BGB).
  • Capped clauses (“up to 10 hours per month included”) are usually valid. Anything above the cap must be paid or time-banked.
  • Since BAG 13 September 2022 (1 ABR 22/21), employers must record working time. Where they haven’t, the evidentiary burden shifts in your favour.

What we do


  1. Contract review

    We check your contract for the Ausschlussfrist clause and any bonus, commission, or overtime provisions.


  2. Quantify and demand

    We calculate exactly what you are owed and draft the written demand to preserve the claim within the 3-month window.


  3. Labor-court claim if needed

    If the employer doesn’t pay within the deadline, we file at the competent Arbeitsgericht. These claims tend to move faster than dismissal cases.


  4. Calibrated tone

    If you want to keep the job, we tone the demand accordingly. Often a well-drafted lawyer’s letter resolves the matter without filing.