Wages, Overtime and Other Employee Receivables
For receivables tied to wages and working time, the work actually performed, the working arrangement, the shift system, payroll, bank payments and workplace records are assessed together. For the employer, tracking working time, leave and payments through regular and verifiable records reduces the risk of dispute.
The principal claims:
- Unpaid or underpaid wages
- Wage differences and disputes over incomplete payroll
- Overtime pay and pay for extra hours worked
- Weekly rest day pay
- National holiday and public holiday pay
- Pay for unused annual leave
- Bonuses, gratuities, sales commissions and target bonuses
- Transportation, meals, accommodation and other fringe benefits
- Tips, percentage-based pay and service charges
- Wage deductions and late payment of wages
- Equal pay for equal work claims
- Disputes over advances, expenses and per diems
- Training, assignment and travel expenses
- Losses and receivables the employer claims from the employee
may be listed in this way. The evidentiary value of a signed payroll, a reservation of rights, a bank payment, an entry-exit system, a shift schedule, an electronic record, correspondence and witness statements is assessed according to the circumstances of each file.
Evidence, Calculation and Expert Examination in Employment Cases
In employment disputes, different facts such as the fact of employment, wages, working time, the reason for termination and payment may be subject to different rules of proof. The employer’s duty to keep records and the employee’s burden to substantiate and prove the claim are assessed together.
The principal documents and records:
- The employment contract and its annexes
- The employee’s personnel file
- Payroll slips and bank records
- Timesheets, shift and entry-exit records
- Annual leave documents
- Job descriptions and workplace regulations
- Minutes, defense statements and disciplinary decisions
- Performance targets and evaluation records
- Termination notice and service documents
- SGK hiring-termination records and service statements
- Email, message and corporate system records
- Camera and location records
- Witness statements
- The final mediation record
- Work accident report, risk assessment and training documents
- Medical board, disability and fault reports
- Expert’s main and supplementary reports
The evidence must have been obtained lawfully, its integrity must have been preserved and it must be connected to the dispute. Whether the calculation report shows the length of service, wage, working arrangement, payment, limitation period, interest and set-off data in a verifiable way is also examined separately.
Competent Court, Time Limits and Appeals
Disputes arising from the employment contract or employment relationship are, as a rule, heard by labor courts. Where there is no labor court, the court of first instance in civil matters may act as a labor court. In disputes concerning social security, trade union rights, foreign work permits, administrative fines or public officials, the competent authority may differ.
Before filing an action or application:
- Whether the dispute is based on the employment contract
- Whether the labor court, the administrative court or another authority is competent
- The competent court by territory
- The scope of mandatory mediation
- The statute of limitations and preclusive periods
- Special time limits in reinstatement and trade union disputes
- Whether a prior application to the SGK or another institution is required
- The conditions for an undetermined receivable, a partial action and an increase of the claim
- Appeal to the regional court of appeal and to the Court of Cassation
- Enforcement of the judgment and collection of the receivable
are determined. Because the start of time limits may depend on different events such as the termination notice, service, learning of the event, the final mediation record or an institutional act, action should not be taken on the basis of general information.
Determine the Claim Item, the Period and the Evidence Together
The wage payroll, bank payment, timesheet, leave record, shift schedule and witness testimony are examined together. A claim that the wage is shown as lower in the payroll, the actual working arrangement and fringe benefits are assessed with separate evidence. The same grossed-up wage or the same interest is not applied to every receivable.
While employment continues and after it ends
The conditions under which unpaid wages and receivables for work performed arise differ from those for pay for unused annual leave. The conversion of annual leave into a monetary claim, as a rule, depends on the termination of the employment contract. While the employment relationship continues, the obligation to allow leave is the basis.
Statute of limitations: a separate starting point for each claim
A five-year statute of limitations generally applies to receivables of a wage nature. A five-year period is also provided for annual leave pay under Supplementary Art. 3 of Law No. 4857 and for the listed termination-related compensation; transitional provisions are assessed for earlier periods. A single, collective final date cannot be given without taking into account the due date, the termination date, the type of action and the time spent in mediation.
Digital records and witness preparation
Preserve the date, sender and integrity of messages and emails you can lawfully access. Do not access another person’s account without permission and do not treat making covert recordings as an ordinary method of collecting evidence. The period during which witnesses worked together and the events they know about directly must be determined.
Collection and appeal after the judgment
The type of the judgment, its service, the finality thresholds and special provisions are examined. An appeal to the Court of Cassation is not available in every employment case; in reinstatement proceedings the decision of the regional court of appeal is final. The judgment and actual collection are different stages; the payment and enforcement plan is assessed separately.
Preparing for the Consultation
Prepare the employment period, contract, termination or application documents and the related records. Mention missing documents and any approaching deadline at the first consultation.