Last Update on 10.09.2026 state: 10.9.2026, reading time approx. 2 min

BAG: Overtime pay for part-timers

German Federal Labor Court rules that part-time employees must receive overtime pay when working proportionally fewer extra hours than full-time colleagues. The 2026 decision clarifies that collective agreements cannot set uniform overtime thresholds that disadvantage part-time workers.

Rechtsanwalt Thomas Meier-Bading

Part-timers get proportional overtime pay

Part-time worker checking pay slip — Image: AI, Prompt: Thomas Meier-Bading

The Federal Labor Court (BAG) ruled on April 28, 2026 (case no. 5 AZR 96/25) that part-time employees must receive overtime pay when they work proportionally fewer extra hours than full-time colleagues. This means if a part-time worker’s hours exceed their individual weekly schedule by just 1-2 hours, they may already be entitled to overtime premiums.

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Why the court decided this way

The case centered on whether a collective agreement could set a uniform 40-hour threshold for overtime pay that applied equally to full-time and part-time workers. The court found this violated Germany’s Part-Time and Fixed-Term Employment Act, which prohibits disadvantaging part-time workers.

The judges determined that a one-size-fits-all overtime threshold disproportionately burdens part-time employees, who typically work fewer hours due to family care responsibilities or other commitments. The ruling aligns with EU law requiring proportional treatment of part-time workers.

What happened in this case

A part-time retail employee working 19.25 hours per week sued her employer for overtime premiums. The company’s collective agreement only paid overtime after 40 hours - meaning she never qualified despite regularly working extra hours.

The employee argued this was unfair since full-time colleagues (working 38-40 hours) only needed to work 1-2 extra hours to receive overtime pay, while she would need to work nearly 21 extra hours to qualify. The court agreed, finding the collective agreement’s uniform threshold discriminated against part-time workers.

This summary is based on publicly available information as of the date of publication.

Key points of this ruling

You can find more information on the topic of pay on the Pay Main Page. Deadlines usually apply here.

You can find more information on the topic of termination on the Termination Main Page. Be sure to note the 3-week notice period.

IMPORTANT Unlike in the UK or the US, under German law, a court ruling does not mean that any judge is automatically bound by the decision. Judges are bound by the law, not by case law, not even by their own. Nevertheless, lower courts generally take the decisions of higher courts into account.

Overview: All About Employment Law

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