Overtime pay: when your employer has to pay

Overtime pay: when are you entitled to it?

Overtime means hours beyond the agreed regular working time as set by your employment contract, a collective agreement or a works agreement. In a 40-hour week, the 41st hour is overtime; with 25 hours of part-time work, the 26th. Whether you get money for it depends on two questions.

1. Are the hours attributable to your employer? The Federal Labour Court requires that the overtime was ordered, approved, tolerated or at least necessary to carry out the work owed (BAG, 5 AZR 122/12):

• Ordered: expressly ("Stay until 8 pm today") or tacitly, by assigning you so much work that it cannot be done in regular hours.
• Approved: your employer accepts the hours afterwards, for example by signing off your timesheet.
• Tolerated: it knows that you work longer, keeps accepting the work and does not intervene.
• Necessary: the task could not be done any other way.

If you stay longer voluntarily without any of these cases applying, your employer does not have to pay.

2. Could you expect to be paid? If your contract does not regulate payment, remuneration is deemed to have been agreed if in the circumstances the work could only be expected in return for payment (Sec. 612 (1) BGB). The Federal Labour Court assesses this objectively, for example by whether collective agreements in the sector pay for overtime; in large parts of working life, they do (BAG, judgment of 22 February 2012, 5 AZR 765/10).

According to the same decision, there is no such expectation for higher-level services or significantly above-average pay, so as a rule if your pay exceeds the contribution assessment ceiling (Beitragsbemessungsgrenze) of the pension insurance. In 2026, this is €101,400 a year or €8,450 a month (Sec. 4 (1) no. 1 SVBezGrV 2026). Above that, there is generally only money for overtime with an express agreement.

The amount depends on your contract. If there is no rule, the usual remuneration applies (Sec. 612 (2) BGB), in practice your pro rata salary per hour.

Overtime and additional work: the difference

Overtime (Überstunden) goes beyond your contractual working time. Additional work (Mehrarbeit) usually means work beyond the statutory limit of 8 hours per working day (Sec. 3 ArbZG). Collective agreements sometimes define both terms in their own way, for example for part-time staff. For your money, what counts is what your contract or collective agreement says.

How much is your overtime worth? How to calculate

With a fixed monthly salary, first calculate your hourly wage:

Hourly wage = gross monthly salary ÷ (weekly hours × 4.33)

The factor 4.33 stands for the average number of weeks per month (52 weeks ÷ 12 months, exactly 4.333). Multiply the hourly wage by the number of your overtime hours.

Gross monthly salary (40-hour week)	Hourly wage	10 hours of overtime	20 hours of overtime	20 hours of overtime with 25% supplement
€2,500	€14.42	€144.20	€288.40	€360.50
€3,000	€17.31	€173.10	€346.20	€432.75
€3,500	€20.19	€201.90	€403.80	€504.75
€4,000	€23.08	€230.80	€461.60	€577.00
€5,000	€28.85	€288.50	€577.00	€721.25

All amounts gross, factor 52 ÷ 12, hourly wage rounded to the cent. The column with supplement only applies if a supplement has been agreed.

Example: Jana earns €3,500 gross for 40 hours a week. Hourly wage: €3,500 ÷ (40 × 52 ÷ 12) = €3,500 ÷ 173.33 = €20.19. For 10 hours of overtime, she is entitled to €201.90 gross, with an agreed supplement of 25% €252.38. Part-time with 30 hours for €2,000, it would be €2,000 ÷ 130 = €15.38 per hour.

Is there a statutory overtime supplement? No. There is only a supplement if the employment contract, collective agreement or works agreement provides for one. A special rule applies to night work: without a collective rule, night workers are entitled to paid days off or an appropriate supplement for hours worked at night (Sec. 6 (5) ArbZG), whether overtime or not.

From how many minutes does overtime count? There is no statutory minimum, even ten minutes are working time. They are paid under the same rules as above.

"Overtime covered by the salary": when the clause applies

Lump-sum clauses are usually found in pre-formulated contracts, i.e. standard terms and conditions, and must be clear and comprehensible (Sec. 307 (1) sentence 2 BGB, Sec. 310 (4) BGB). You must be able to see when the contract is concluded which work, to what extent in time, is paid for by the salary (BAG, judgment of 16 May 2012, 5 AZR 331/11). This is how the court assessed specific wordings:

Wording in the contract	Effect	Basis
"Necessary overtime is covered by the monthly salary"	invalid, because the extent is not recognisable; the hours are paid under Sec. 612 BGB	BAG, 1 September 2010, 5 AZR 517/09
"No further remuneration for overtime and additional work"	invalid; a warehouse manager received back pay of €9,534.80 gross for 968 hours of overtime	BAG, 22 February 2012, 5 AZR 765/10
"The first twenty hours of overtime per month are included in the salary" (agreed orally)	valid, because the number is fixed; payment from the 21st hour	BAG, 16 May 2012, 5 AZR 331/11
no rule on overtime	payment under Sec. 612 BGB if there is an expectation of remuneration	BAG, 5 AZR 765/10

If a clause is invalid, not every hour is automatically paid: the overtime must still have been ordered, approved, tolerated or necessary, and above the contribution assessment ceiling there is generally no expectation of remuneration.

How many hours of overtime may be covered? The law does not set a fixed number. The Federal Labour Court has approved 20 hours a month with 40 hours a week; no general upper limit can be derived from this.

Minimum wage check: Even with a valid lump sum, the minimum wage must be paid for every hour: €13.90 gross since 1 January 2026, €14.60 from 1 January 2027 (Sec. 1 MiLoG, Sec. 1 MiLoV5). With 40 hours a week and 20 covered hours of overtime, you work on average 193.33 hours a month; this requires at least €2,687.33 gross.

Not signed yet? Then have the clause checked beforehand: employment contract review, €259 fixed price, review report within 24 hours, gross including VAT.

Pay or time off: who decides?

The law provides for money for overtime (Sec. 612 BGB). Time off in lieu instead of payment needs a basis, for example a rule in the employment contract or collective agreement, a works agreement on a working time account (Arbeitszeitkonto) or an arrangement with you.

If time off in lieu has been agreed, your employer usually decides at its reasonable discretion when you take the hours (Sec. 106 GewO). A full working time account does not entitle you to take time off on your own initiative. Agree days off in advance, ideally in writing.

Is it worth having overtime paid out?

• Tax and contributions: Overtime paid out is normal wages, fully subject to wage tax and social security contributions. Because of the progressive tax rate, proportionally less of additional wages remains net.
• Time off in lieu: Your salary continues without additional tax or contributions.
• Tax-free supplements: Under Sec. 3b EStG, only supplements for Sunday, public holiday or night work actually performed are tax-free, up to fixed percentages of the basic wage, for example 25% for night work. A pure overtime supplement is not included.
• Planned tax exemption: The Federal Government plans to make overtime supplements tax-free. According to the text on gesetze-im-internet.de as at 13 November 2026, this has not been implemented in the Income Tax Act (EStG).
• Illness: The additional pay for overtime is not part of continued pay during illness (Sec. 4 (1a) EntgFG).

Proving overtime: how to secure your claim

In a dispute, you must set out and prove the overtime. The Federal Labour Court requires two things (BAG, judgment of 4 May 2022, 5 AZR 359/21):

1. The hours themselves: on which days you worked, or held yourself ready for work on instruction, from when to when. Your employer must respond to such a statement in detail. If it does not, your times are deemed admitted.
2. The cause: that your employer ordered, approved or tolerated the hours or that they were necessary. For toleration, you must show when it learned of what and that you continued to work overtime afterwards (BAG, 5 AZR 122/12).

According to this judgment, the obligation to record working time established by the European Court of Justice in 2019 does not change this either. Employers must record the start and end of daily working time (BAG, order of 13 September 2022, 1 ABR 22/21) and record working time over 8 hours per working day and keep it for two years (Sec. 16 (2) ArbZG). However, the burden of setting out the facts remains with you.

Checklist: What you should record

• Date, start of work, end of work and breaks for every day with overtime
• Reason for the overtime and who ordered it
• Emails, chat messages, duty rosters or task lists showing the order or the volume of work
• when your manager learned of the hours, for example through a weekly report
• the balance of your working time account, saved regularly
• your payslips; they must show supplements and other remuneration (Sec. 108 (1) GewO)

If your employer shows a time credit on your account without reservation, it regularly treats the balance as undisputed; the strict rules on proving overtime then do not apply (BAG, judgment of 20 November 2019, 5 AZR 578/18).

When does overtime lapse?

Overtime does not lapse automatically at the end of the year. Two deadlines can, however, take away your claim.

Limitation: The claim becomes time-barred 3 years from the end of the year in which it arose and you knew of it or would have known of it without gross negligence (Sec. 195, 199 (1) BGB). Without any other arrangement, the remuneration falls due after the end of the period, usually at the end of the month (Sec. 614 BGB). Remuneration that fell due in 2023 therefore becomes time-barred at the end of Thursday, 31 December 2026. A letter to the employer does not stop the limitation period; an action or a served order for payment (Mahnbescheid) suspends it (Sec. 204 (1) nos. 1 and 3 BGB). More in the guide on limitation.

Exclusion periods: Many employment contracts and collective agreements let claims lapse if you do not assert them within a few months. There are often two stages: first claim in writing or in text form, then file a claim in court within a further period. In pre-formulated contracts, the period must not be arbitrarily short. In the public sector, 6 months from the due date apply, in text form (Sec. 37 (1) TVöD, see notice period under the TVöD).

Minimum wage: Exclusion periods do not apply to the minimum wage portion, and forfeiture (Verwirkung) is excluded (Sec. 3 MiLoG). A pre-formulated lapse clause in a contract from 2015 onwards that does not exclude the minimum wage is invalid as a whole (BAG, judgment of 18 September 2018, 9 AZR 162/18).

Deadline	Duration	What you have to do
Exclusion period in the employment contract	as per contract, often a few months	claim in the required form; with two stages, then file a claim in time
Exclusion period under the TVöD	6 months from the due date (Sec. 37 (1) TVöD)	assert in text form
Compensation on the working time account (minimum wage hours)	no later than 12 calendar months after the monthly recording (Sec. 2 (2) MiLoG)	check the account balance and demand compensation
Compensation after the end of the employment (minimum wage hours)	no later than in the following calendar month (Sec. 2 (2) sentence 2 MiLoG)	check the final statement
Limitation	3 years from the end of the year in which it fell due (Sec. 195, 199 BGB)	file a claim or apply for an order for payment before expiry

The account rule of the Minimum Wage Act applies to accounts agreed in writing with no more than 50% of the contractual working time per month, and only to the extent that your monthly salary does not already cover the minimum wage (Sec. 2 (2) MiLoG).

Overtime on dismissal

A dismissal does not make your overtime disappear, no matter who gives notice. If time off in lieu has been agreed, you can use up the credit during the notice period. Whatever has not been used up by the end of the employment is compensated in money (BAG, 5 AZR 578/18).

Be careful with a release from work (Freistellung). If your employer releases you from work until the end, this only reduces your time credit if this has been agreed sufficiently clearly. In a case before the Federal Labour Court, a secretary received €1,317.28 gross for her time credit despite being released from work in a court settlement, because the settlement did not regulate this (BAG, judgment of 20 November 2019, 5 AZR 578/18). More on this in the guide on release from work.

In a termination agreement, your overtime should be stated with the number of hours or the amount, otherwise a general settlement clause may cover it. Separate rules apply to outstanding holiday days (remaining holiday on dismissal); your own period is shown in the guide on the notice period for employees. For hours paid at the minimum wage, compensation must come no later than in the month after the end (Sec. 2 (2) MiLoG).

Minus hours: may the employer deduct them?

Minus hours (Minusstunden) arise when you work less than agreed. Your employer may only debit them to your working time account if it has already paid for these hours with your unchanged salary and you are obliged to make up the work because you received them as an advance. This is mainly the case when you yourself decide whether a time debt arises, for example with flexitime (BAG, judgment of 26 January 2011, 5 AZR 819/09).

No minus hours arise if you are entitled to pay despite not working, for example during illness, or if your employer could not give you work; it bears this risk (Sec. 615 BGB). In the Federal Labour Court's case, a plumbing business was not allowed to offset 217.88 minus hours against the last wage because it was in default of acceptance.

On dismissal, your employer may only offset justified minus hours against your wages if these conditions are met.

Part-time, mini-job, executive employees, collective agreement

Part-time: Overtime starts with the first hour beyond your part-time hours. Part-time staff must not be treated less favourably than comparable full-time staff (Sec. 4 (1) TzBfG). A collective rule that only pays overtime supplements above the full-time threshold violates this without objective reason. A nurse working 40% part-time therefore received a time credit of 38 hours and 49 minutes and €250 compensation under the AGG (BAG, judgment of 5 December 2024, 8 AZR 370/20).

Mini-job: Overtime is also paid in a mini-job. The mini-job threshold in 2026 is €603 a month (Sec. 8 (1a) SGB IV, calculated from the minimum wage of €13.90). An unforeseeable overrun in no more than two calendar months within a twelve-month period, each by no more than the amount of the threshold, does no harm (Sec. 8 (1b) SGB IV). More in the guide on the notice period in a mini-job.

Executive employees: The Working Hours Act (ArbZG) does not apply to executive employees (leitende Angestellte) within the meaning of Sec. 5 (3) BetrVG (Sec. 18 (1) no. 1 ArbZG). For payment, the contract is decisive; without an agreement, there is generally no expectation of remuneration for higher-level services or pay above the contribution assessment ceiling (see above).

Collective agreement: If a collective agreement applies to you, it often regulates supplements, working time accounts and exclusion periods. It takes precedence over less favourable rules in your employment contract (Sec. 4 (1) and (3) TVG).

Do I have to work overtime?

Only if there is a basis for it: a clause in the employment contract, a collective agreement or a works agreement. In genuine emergencies, there may be an obligation even without a rule. If there is a works council, it has a say in a temporary extension of the working time customary in the business (Sec. 87 (1) no. 3 BetrVG).

Payment does not make overtime permissible without limit. 8 hours per working day are allowed, up to 10 only if an average of 8 hours per working day is not exceeded within 6 calendar months or 24 weeks (Sec. 3 ArbZG). With six working days, that is an average of no more than 48 hours a week. Collective agreements (Sec. 7 ArbZG) and emergencies (Sec. 14 ArbZG) allow exceptions. According to the text on gesetze-im-internet.de as at 13 November 2026, a planned maximum weekly working time has not been implemented.

Claiming overtime: step by step

1. Secure the record: Put together your list of hours, working time account and evidence (checklist above).
2. Check the contract: lump-sum clause, time off in lieu, exclusion period and collective agreement. The exclusion period sets your pace.
3. Calculate the amount: hourly wage times hours of overtime, plus any agreed supplement.
4. Claim in writing: State the hours, period and amount and set a deadline for payment. Use the form your exclusion clause requires and make sure you have proof of receipt.
5. Involve the works council if there is one.
6. Have it legally checked and file a claim if necessary: The labour court (Arbeitsgericht) has jurisdiction. At first instance, each side bears its own lawyer's fees, even if it wins (Sec. 12a (1) ArbGG). Remember the second stage of the exclusion period and the limitation period.