The Ausschlussfrist is one of the most under-appreciated dangers in German employment contracts. It is a clause that requires you to assert specific claims (typically wage claims) within a short window — most often three months — or they are lost forever, regardless of merit. Missing the deadline ends the claim more reliably than even the statute of limitations.
How the clause usually reads
A typical two-step Ausschlussklausel reads something like this (in German): “Ansprüche aus dem Arbeitsverhältnis verfallen, wenn sie nicht innerhalb von drei Monaten nach Fälligkeit schriftlich gegenüber der anderen Vertragspartei geltend gemacht werden. Wird der Anspruch abgelehnt oder erklärt sich die Gegenseite nicht innerhalb von zwei Wochen, verfällt der Anspruch, wenn nicht innerhalb von weiteren drei Monaten gerichtlich geltend gemacht wird.”
In plain English: three months to assert, three more months to sue.
What “assert” means
“Assert” (geltend machen) requires a written statement to the other party that identifies the claim with sufficient specificity: which months, which amounts, which legal basis. A casual mention in conversation, a generic complaint, or a payslip dispute lodged with HR does not count. Email is fine; registered post is safer.
What is excluded by the clause
Typical Ausschlussklauseln cover all claims arising from the employment relationship — wages, bonuses, overtime, vacation payout, reference-letter claims, and even damages claims arising from the employment. Some claims are protected by statute and cannot be excluded by contract (notably: minimum wage claims under § 3 MiLoG, claims based on intentional conduct, claims for personal-injury damages).
When the Ausschlussklausel is invalid
Many older contracts contain Ausschlussklauseln that fail current legal standards and are therefore invalid:
- If the clause does not expressly carve out the statutory minimum wage, it is invalid in its entirety for contracts concluded after 1 January 2015 (BAG, judgment of 18 September 2018, 9 AZR 162/18).
- If the first-step deadline is shorter than three months, it is invalid.
- If the clause is hidden in the contract without clear formatting, it can be a “surprising clause” (überraschende Klausel) and unenforceable.
We check every contract for these defects when assessing wage claims. A well-drafted demand exploits any defect to keep the claim alive.
Statute of limitations
Even where no Ausschlussklausel applies, the ordinary statute of limitations on contractual claims is three years (§ 195 BGB), running from the end of the year in which the claim arose. The Ausschlussklausel is therefore much harsher than the default — three months instead of three years.
What to do
Read your contract for the clause as soon as a wage dispute begins to take shape. If the clause exists and might apply, draft a written demand within the first six weeks. We do this routinely on a same-day basis.
How to write a valid Geltendmachung
A demand that preserves the claim under the Ausschlussfrist must (a) identify the specific claim (e.g. “overtime compensation for March 2026 in the amount of €1,250 gross”), (b) be in text form (email is fine; the BAG eased the form requirement in 2017), and (c) reach the employer before the deadline expires. A generic complaint, a meeting comment, or “we should talk about pay” does not preserve anything.
The minimum-wage carve-out
If your contract’s Ausschlussklausel was concluded after 1 January 2015 and does not expressly carve out the statutory minimum wage, the entire clause is invalid (BAG 18 September 2018, 9 AZR 162/18). Your wage claims then follow only the three-year statute of limitations. We check every contract for this defect on intake.
When the clause is silent on form
Older clauses sometimes require “written” demand. Under current law, this means text form (email is enough). A clause that requires “Schriftform” with original signature is invalid as overly burdensome (BAG 24 August 2016, 5 AZR 703/15).