Check the deadline after which the claim lapses
This is where the money is usually lost. The general limitation period is three years, but contracts and collective agreements normally set a far shorter exclusion period.
✓ Verified: 11/08/2026
WHAT TO DO
› Details and tips
Look for the exclusion or forfeiture wording on your first working day, not your last. That paragraph is worth more than the salary figure once hours start accumulating.
The two-stage clause is treacherous: people send the letter, get a refusal and settle down — while the second deadline for court proceedings is already running.
Useful Tools
- BMAS — Bundesministerium für Arbeit und Soziales legal-info
Federal Ministry of Labour: official guidance on employment law, leave and working time.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What is an exclusion period? ▾
A clause in the contract or collective agreement under which a claim lapses unless asserted within the stated period. Unlike limitation it operates by itself and the court applies it without any plea from the other side.
How much time does such a clause allow? ▾
Often three months from the point the claim falls due, and not rarely in two stages: first a written claim, then court proceedings within a fresh period. The exact length is in your contract and can be longer or shorter.
And if the contract has no such clause? ▾
Then the general three-year limitation applies. Under the general rules it starts at the end of the year in which the claim arose and you knew of the circumstances.
Do negotiations with the employer extend the deadline? ▾
Verbal assurances that it will be settled later do not stop an exclusion period. The practical conclusion: assert the claim in writing and keep negotiating in parallel.
How do you assert the claim properly? ▾
In writing, stating the period, the number of hours and the amount, and in a way that proves receipt. A general please pay my overtime without figures usually fails to meet the deadline.