Money or time off: how overtime is compensated
German law knows no single overtime rate. It knows a different rule: work that in the circumstances can only be expected against payment must be paid.
✓ Verified: 11/08/2026
WHAT TO DO
› Details and tips
Ask for the hours balance to be confirmed monthly by email or in the system. That gives you employer confirmation without a dispute and without asking for an extract after the fact.
Time off in lieu gets postponed to better times, and better times do not arrive: if the balance has grown for three months running, converting hours into money while the deadline runs is the wiser move.
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
Who decides between money and time off? ▾
First the contract, a collective agreement or a works agreement. Where they are silent, the general rule applies: remuneration is deemed tacitly agreed where the service, in the circumstances, could only be expected against payment.
How much is paid per overtime hour? ▾
There is no statutory rate. Where the amount is not determined, the customary remuneration applies — as a rule your normal hourly rate. Premiums above it arise only from a collective agreement or the contract.
Does all overtime is covered by the salary work? ▾
Courts test such clauses for transparency: at signing it must be clear how many hours are meant to be covered. Unlimited wording usually fails that test, though the outcome depends on the exact text and the circumstances.
Which is better, time off or money? ▾
It is not only a money question: time off reduces the risk of losing hours when you leave, money is safer where the balance grows over years. What matters is that the chosen route is recorded in writing.
What happens to the balance when employment ends? ▾
Time off can no longer be taken, so the hours usually turn into a payment claim. That is exactly where the deadline question surfaces: the claim may have lapsed before the employment did.