Step 2: CLAIM your rights

Here are your 4 steps to claim your rights to get paid. Again: its easier to do this with a friend or co-worker. Better do it together. Many workers have issues with payment. Many are struggling. Help each other. You are not alone.

1. Get your PAPERS


Get the basic documents needed:

2. Get your EVIDENCE


Every claim needs to be specific. This means the claims needs to state specific details

  • Who makes the claim towards whom?
  • What is claimed? (Include the following info)
    • How much money?
    • For which work?
    • In which time?

The template provided below helps you to answer these questions. But you need to provide the data and evidence for your claims. This evidence can be found in different places. Here are some ways to get evidence for missing pay:

Can you still make a claim or did the deadline already pass?

Here are the relevant deadlines:

  1. Exclusion clauses = Deadlines for workers to make a claim: 3 months.
  2. Fullfilment deadlines = Deadlines for your boss to fullfill your claim: 5-14 days.
  3. Deadline to object against terminations: 3 weeks AFTER termination / end of contract!
  4. Statutory period of limitation (“Verjährungsfrist”): 3 years.

How much does your boss owe you?

To find out how much money the boss owes you, answer the following two questions and try to provide evidence:

How much did your boss pay?

Find out how much you where actually paid. Evidence can be

  • payments on your bank account
  • payslips

Write down missing payments per month.Take photos / screenshot of the evidence, print the evidence or make copies of it. Put all evidence in a folder.

How much did your boss miss to pay?

The following evidence helps you to find out how much your boss actually should have paid you.

  • Contractual workhours: The minimum your boss owe you are the work hours as stated in your work contract

No matter how many hours you actually worked, even if the boss didnt give you any work (shifts), you have to be paid the workhours stated in your contract. Besides the contract itself no further evidence is needed. The contractual work hours have to be paid as long as you did offer to work.

  • Timesheets / shiftplan (schedule): any worktime that your boss scheduled you above your contractual work hours needs to be paid.

Did you work for more hours then stated in your contract? You need to be paid for them. Proof for workhours above the contractual work hours can be

  • Screenshots / photos of the shiftplan (schedule)
  • E-Mails / Messages stating your shifts
  • anything else proofing that you did actually work more then the workhours stated in your contract

Its best not to rely on the company to keep track of your worktime. If you want to make sure that you are paid for all the time that you work then you should keep track yourself. Proof for personal worktime tracking can be

  • written timesheets
  • screenshots of your worktime tracking app
  • any other time tracking, time keeping that you did

3. INFORMALLY claim your payment (E-mail or messenger)


Once you know and can proof it you can make an informal claim through your normal means of communication. Be it e-mail or messenger: write a message stating your claim.

State the following information:

  • How much money did you get?
  • How much money is missing?
    • For which work?
    • When?

4. FORMALLY claim your payment (“assertion of claims”)


CLAIM THUMBNAIL

Your boss ignored your informal claim (again)? No problem! We actually did get all the evidence to write a formal claim. As you did Step 1 to 3 you are already prepared for filing a lawsuit but first you have to make a formal claim outside of court.

The formal process is called “assertion of claims” (“Geltendmachung”). Formally requesting payment builds up more pressure and enables you to take the next step of filing a lawsuit. In many cases bosses pay after an assertion of claims within a month. So lets make a formal claim!

  1. Fill out the template to formally request payments (“assertion of claims”)
  2. Sign the filled out and printed german template with a pen
  3. Take a photo and make a copy of the filled out german template
  4. Send the assertion of claims to your boss (with proof of delivery)

Next Step? #SueYourBoss!


You did step 1 to 4? The Deadline passed and nothing happened?
Perfect! Its about time to #SueYourBoss! Proceed with Step 3!