

Termination by the employer usually comes as a surprise to employees. Therefore, employees almost never have the opportunity to compensate for their ‘minus hours’ before they are terminated by the employer. So what happens to minus hours in the event of termination? How do ‘real’ minus hours arise, when are they subject to compensation at all, and what happens in the event of ordinary or summary termination? Can the employer simply deduct minus hours from the employee’s final salary? The following blog article answers these questions:

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The most important information at a glance:
- Minus hours can only arise if a working time account has been agreed.
- Holiday, sick leave and public holidays do not count as minus hours.
- There are no minus hours if the employee himself/herself has caused the minus hours.
- If there are ‘real’ minus hours when the employee gives notice, they can be compensated either by working overtime or by offsetting them against wages/salary.
- When an employee gives notice or a termination agreement is concluded (by the employer), minus hours can be included in an overall package of severance pay and termination.
- Whether it is sensible for employees with minus hours to give notice depends on the individual case.
Contents
What are minus hours?
If you work less than the number of hours contractually agreed, you accrue so-called ‘negative hours’ (also: deficit hours, under-hours). For example, if you have agreed to work 38 hours per week but only work 35 hours, you accrue 3 negative hours. Negative hours are therefore the opposite of overtime.
It is important to know that minus hours can only arise if a working time account has been contractually agreed. Maintaining a working time account therefore depends largely on the agreement of the employee. The mere absence of an objection cannot be regarded as agreement. Although there has been an obligation to keep comprehensive records of working hours since the ECJ’s ‘Stechuhr ruling’ in 2019, this only means that the start, end and duration of working hours must be recorded. However, there is no obligation to maintain a working time account.
A working time account can be used to ensure flexible working hours, for example. If you work more, it results in a ‘plus’; if you work less, it results in a ‘minus’. However, if there is no agreement at all regarding a working hours account, there can be no real minus hours. If the employee then works less than contractually agreed, he may be in breach of his labour law obligations and may be warned for it in individual cases. However, minus hours do not arise.
No minus hours: These cases do not count
Holidays, sick leave and public holidays do not count as minus hours. Rather, these ‘free’ days are intended for rest and recovery.
Even if the employer orders further training during working hours, no minus hours will accrue.
Furthermore, no minus hours will accrue if the employer has himself caused the minus hours. If, for example, there is a power outage in the company, there is a lack of orders or the employer is unable or unwilling to offer work for other reasons that fall within his sphere of risk, the employer is in default of acceptance (Annahmeverzug) (Section 615 of the German Civil Code (BGB)). This means that no minus hours are incurred. Rather, the employee is entitled to ‘wage without work’.
Termination with minus hours
If you have accumulated minus hours as an employee, your employer will go into wage advance. This means that you will receive your full salary even though you have worked less than contractually stipulated (and minus hours arise). But what happens to the minus hours when you quit? It doesn’t matter whether you quit yourself or are quit.
Compensation through overtime
The minus hours can initially be compensated for by working overtime. In the event of an ordinary termination, the employment relationship continues until the end of the notice period. During this period, overtime can be worked to compensate for the minus hours.
Offsetting against wages/salaries
Sometimes, however, it is not possible to settle minus hours by working overtime. This may be the case, for example, if the notice period is too short, if there is no work to be done or if the employee is released from work during the notice period. In such cases, the employer can then offset the minus hours against the employee’s wages. However, strict conditions apply:
- The employer has given the employee a salary advance because the employee has received his full salary even though he has worked less.
- The employee must have been given the chance to reduce the deficit hours.
- There is an agreement that deficit hours can be offset at the end of the employment relationship. However, simply keeping a working hours account is not enough.
It is therefore not that easy for the employer to simply offset the amount against the employee’s wages. If the above conditions are met, the garnishment exemption limits must also be observed.
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Negative hours due to short-time work, training and maternity leave
In economically difficult times, employers can order short-time work. The offsetting of negative hours during short-time work is particularly advantageous for employers. However, employees do not have to accept this! Minus hours that arose due to Corona, for example, were not permissible because the employee is not responsible for the reduced working hours. He was willing to work and offered his labour. The responsibility for the minus hours lay with the employer, who was unable to provide work.
Furthermore, minus hours are not allowed during training periods either. Trainees are not legally in a regular employment relationship, which is why the employer is obliged to guarantee the agreed working hours. If a trainee is sent home early because there is not enough work, this counts as a paid leave – so minus hours do not arise.
Pregnant women are subject to the same rules as other employees. However, preventive medical check-ups are an exception. Although pregnant women are obliged to fulfil their duty of loyalty to their employer, which means that they should try to schedule medical appointments in their free time, they are entitled to paid leave if this is not possible.
If pregnant women go on maternity leave with minus hours, they are treated similarly to a dismissal. If a working time account has been effectively agreed, these minus hours can be offset against the salary.
Should employees with minus hours resign?
Whether it is advisable for employees with minus hours to resign depends on the individual case.
If there is no working time account or you have not agreed to one, there are no ‘real’ minus hours. In this respect, there is no reason not to resign.
If there is no such contractual agreement regarding the compensation of minus hours, the same applies in principle. In practice, however, it will sometimes happen that the employer will still try to compensate for the minus hours by reclaiming them or offsetting them against the employee’s wages. In this case, there is a risk of a legal dispute. It may therefore be advisable to seek legal advice before resigning.
If, on the other hand, there is a valid agreement to make up minus hours, this should be taken into account before giving notice. Resigning is only sensible if it is possible to make up the minus hours during the notice period or if you are able to financially cope with offsetting them against your wages/salary.
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Is it possible to resign because of minus hours?
In individual cases, it may happen that an employee has accumulated an extremely large number of minus hours and does not comply with the request to compensate for them (by working overtime). In this case, the labour courts consider this to be a serious breach of contract (Hamburg Higher Labour Court, judgment of 02.11.2016 – 5 Sa 19/16). Such behaviour may therefore even result in immediate termination without notice in individual cases. However, this is only possible if the employee has previously been admonished.
FAQ on minus hours at termination
No, holiday, sick leave and public holidays do not count as minus hours.
Negative hours can be offset either by overtime or by offsetting them against the salary. In this case, it is important to check whether the ‘negative hours’ can really be considered as such. If, for example, there is no contractual agreement regarding a working time account or if the negative hours are due to the employer’s fault, there is no obligation for the employee to compensate for them.
If the employer has no work, for example due to a lack of customers or a power outage in the company, this cannot be at the expense of the employee. No minus hours arise. Rather, ‘wage without work’ applies.
Whether or not it makes sense for an employee with minus hours to resign depends on the individual case. If there is no agreement regarding a working time account or the compensation of minus hours, you usually have nothing to fear. However, if there is a valid agreement on the compensation of minus hours, this should be considered before resigning. In this case, resigning is only sensible if it is possible to make up the minus hours during the notice period or if the person concerned is financially able to cope with a wage deduction.
In principle, it is possible for the employer to offset minus hours against the wage when terminating the contract. However, strict conditions apply. In addition, the attachment exemption limits must be observed.
‘Actual’ minus hours can only arise if a working hours account has been effectively agreed. However, keeping a working hours account is the exception. If there are “actual” minus hours when notice is given, they can be compensated either by overtime or by offsetting them against wages/salary.

Free initial consultation with a specialist lawyer
- Free initial consultation with a lawyer
- Quick callback after 1 to 2 hours
- Strategy for negotiating the severance pay