Employment Law2026-10-24

I'm resigning in January – do I have to pay back my Christmas bonus?

Your Christmas bonus landed with your November pay, you want to hand in your notice in January – and there's a repayment clause in your contract. Here's when it really bites and when it doesn't.

Your Christmas bonus arrived with your November pay, and now, just as the year is turning, you’re planning your next career move. Your employment contract contains a clause requiring you to repay the bonus if you resign before a particular cut-off date. Whether that clause actually binds you depends on several details – and they’re well worth understanding before you hand in your notice.

In brief

A clause requiring you to repay your Christmas bonus is only valid if it stays within certain limits: for payments under 100 euros a repayment obligation is generally not permitted; for amounts up to one month’s salary the tie-in can run no later than 31 March of the following year; and only for larger sums are longer tie-in periods even conceivable. If you resign after the permitted tie-in period has expired, or if the clause is drawn too widely – for example because it also demands repayment where the employer dismisses you on operational grounds – then in most cases you will owe nothing. Whether that applies in your situation turns on the precise wording of your contract and the date of your resignation.

How I can help

Checking whether your contractual clause is valid – the time limits, the wording, the exceptions
Working out whether, and in what amount, any repayment is even on the table
Rejecting an invalid repayment demand from your employer
Agreeing the right moment to resign with you, where that is still possible
Representing you if your employer is already demanding repayment or withholding the money

What actually counts as a “Christmas bonus”

Not every payment that arrives in November or December is treated the same way in law. What matters is the purpose the payment serves under the contractual or collective-agreement basis for it:

Pure reward for work done (remuneration character): If the payment is simply an additional part of your pay for work you have already performed – for example a thirteenth month’s salary paid regardless of whether the employment still subsists on the cut-off date – then it is already earned wages. A repayment obligation for it is invalid, because in effect it would amount to a reduction in pay.
Pure loyalty bonus: If, on the other hand, the payment is intended solely to reward your future loyalty to the business, then a repayment obligation is in principle possible – but only within the limits described below.
Mixed character: In practice, Christmas bonuses often contain both elements: a portion for work done and a portion as a loyalty incentive. In that case you are generally entitled to keep the part attributable to your work in any event, even if you resign before the cut-off date – only the loyalty portion can be subject to the repayment clause at all.

How exactly your payment is to be classified follows from the wording of your employment contract, a supplementary agreement, or an applicable collective agreement. Where a special payment is provided for under a collective agreement, the collective rules apply directly and bindingly to both sides if employer and employee are bound by the agreement – and an individual repayment clause in your contract may not then depart from those rules to your disadvantage.

The limits on a repayment clause

A repayment clause almost always appears in pre-formulated contract terms and is therefore subject to the review that applies to standard contract terms. A clause that places you at an unreasonable disadvantage contrary to the requirements of good faith is invalid – and an unreasonable disadvantage also exists where the clause is not drafted clearly and comprehensibly. This review of standard terms applies to employment contracts too, with the particular features of employment law being given appropriate weight.

From this, a recognised sliding scale has developed in practice, against which any repayment clause must be measured:

Under 100 euros: A repayment obligation is not permitted. The amount is too small to justify tying you to the business.
Up to one month’s salary: A tie-in is possible, but it may bind you no later than 31 March of the following year. If you resign after that date, the repayment obligation falls away regardless of the precise wording of the clause.
More than one month’s salary: Here longer tie-in periods are conceivable, but they must be proportionate to the size of the payment – even so, a tie-in that is unlimited in time or disproportionately long is not permitted.

There is a further point: a clause that demands repayment even where the employer itself dismisses you on operational grounds is as a rule invalid. It places you at an unreasonable disadvantage, because in that situation the loss of your job is through no fault of your own and yet you would still be “penalised” for the ending of the contract. A clause drawn this widely can be invalid in its entirety – with the result that there is no repayment obligation at all, not even in cases where you resign yourself.

How to assess your own case

Read the clause word for word. Does it set a fixed cut-off date, a tie-in period, a phrase such as “where notice is given by the employee” – or is it drawn more widely, so that it also catches cases it should not?
Classify the size of the payment. Is it under 100 euros, up to one month’s salary, or more? That determines which tie-in period would be permissible at all.
Clarify the character of the payment. Remuneration, loyalty bonus or a mixture – depending on which, the prohibition on disguised reductions in pay may already protect you.
Compare the date of your resignation with the permitted period. For payments up to one month’s salary, the tie-in regularly comes to an end after 31 March of the following year.
Test the clause as a whole against good faith. A clause that also catches terminations that are no fault of yours, or that is drafted in an opaque way, can fall away entirely.

An example from practice

An employee receives her Christmas bonus in November, equal to one month’s salary. Her contract states that she must repay the bonus if she resigns before 31 March of the following year – regardless of who gives notice. She resigns in January with effect from 28 February. Two points work in her favour. First, her resignation still falls before 31 March, so the tie-in period would, taken on its own, be permissible. Second, however, the clause also catches the situation where the employer itself gives notice – and is therefore drawn too widely and invalid as a whole. The upshot is that, despite resigning early, she has to pay back nothing.

Common mistakes

Accepting the clause without checking it. Many employees pay up as soon as the employer asks, without ever checking whether the clause is valid.
Calculating the cut-off date wrongly. What matters is not the date notice is given on its own, but often the date on which the employment actually ends.
Failing to separate the remuneration portion from the loyalty portion. Anyone who accepts the whole payment as a “loyalty bonus” may be giving away the part to which they are entitled as wages in any event.
Delaying your resignation out of deference to the clause, when on closer inspection the clause would be invalid anyway.
Accepting a set-off against your final pay without objection, when the employer would first have to establish a valid repayment claim before doing so.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to repay if my contract sets no cut-off date at all, but only says “on termination”?

Where there is no specific date or time limit, the clause is often too vague and therefore lacks transparency. A clause of that kind can be invalid, because it places you at an unreasonable disadvantage – but that has to be assessed against the precise wording.

For calculating the time limit, does the date of notice count or the end of the employment?

For the permitted tie-in period running to 31 March, what generally matters is the legal end of the employment, not the day notice is given. Where a long notice period applies, the employment may not end until after the cut-off date even if notice is given in January.

What if I sign a settlement agreement instead of resigning?

A settlement agreement can also trigger a repayment obligation if the clause provides for it – so check this before you sign, not afterwards.

Can my employer simply deduct the Christmas bonus from my final pay slip?

No. A unilateral set-off requires a repayment claim that genuinely exists and is due. If the clause is invalid or the tie-in period has already expired, you can object to the set-off and demand the amount withheld.

Does the same apply to other special payments such as holiday pay or a bonus?

The principles on the review of standard terms and on the sliding scale by size of payment apply regardless of what the payment is called – what always matters is the actual purpose and the design of the particular clause, not the label “Christmas bonus”, “holiday pay” or “bonus”.

Your next step

If you are now facing the decision whether to resign in January and there is a repayment clause in your contract, check the clause before you resign or pay – it is often drawn more widely, or dates from further back, than it is allowed to be, and so is wholly or partly void. I will look at your contract and the specific wording and tell you whether, and in what amount, any repayment is even on the table. And if, instead of resigning yourself, you have already been handed a settlement agreement, have it checked before you sign.

Advice is available nationwide, by video or telephone.

This article provides general information and is no substitute for legal advice in an individual case. Last updated: 2026-10-24.

Christian Czirnich, Rechtsanwalt (attorney at law), Kirchseeon near Munich

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