Unpaid wages, overtime, allowances, expense reimbursements and employer claims cannot be enforced indefinitely. An employment-law claim is generally subject to a three-year limitation period, but some employer measures must be challenged in court within only 30 days.
These deadlines should not be confused. Their starting point, calculation and legal consequences may differ.
1. The general limitation period is three years
Under the Hungarian Labour Code, employment-law claims generally become time-barred after three years. This may cover an employee’s wage, overtime, allowance, holiday-compensation and expense claims, as well as an employer’s employment-related claims.
A time-barred claim does not necessarily cease to exist, but it can no longer be judicially enforced. In employment cases the court considers limitation ex officio, even if the other party does not separately invoke it.
2. When does the period begin?
Limitation normally begins when the claim becomes due. For wages, the decisive date is not necessarily termination of employment: each monthly salary, allowance or recurring benefit may have its own due date and limitation period.
If an allowance or overtime payment was omitted for several years, older monthly claims may expire before newer ones. The pay date, working-time records and monthly settlements should be reviewed separately.
3. Common employee claims
- unpaid basic salary or incorrect classification;
- overtime and extraordinary working-time pay;
- night, Sunday, shift and public-holiday allowances;
- unpaid bonus or commission;
- compensation for untaken holiday at termination;
- necessary employment-related expenses;
- unlawful deductions or payroll errors;
- employment-related damages.
Correct classification matters because entitlement, due date and evidence vary by legal basis.
4. Claims by the employer
An employer may claim, for example, employee-caused damage, repayment of wages or advances paid without legal basis, inventory shortages, and sums arising from a study agreement or non-compete arrangement. A shortage or business loss is not automatically transferable to the employee: legal basis, fault, causation, evidence and statutory liability limits must be examined.
An employment-related claim not exceeding three times the statutory minimum wage may also be enforced by the employer through a written payment demand. Larger claims generally require court proceedings.
Important: an employer’s written payment demand is not the same as a notarial payment order. The employee has 30 days from service to challenge the employer’s demand before the court.
5. When is the deadline only 30 days?
Unlike the general three-year period, several disputes require a statement of claim within 30 days of service of the employer’s declaration. These include unilateral amendment of the employment contract, unlawful termination, a sanction for employee misconduct, and an employer’s payment demand.
Relief may be sought for a missed deadline, but after six months the claim can no longer be enforced. A recipient of a dismissal or payment demand should therefore never assume that three years are available.
6. Interruption and suspension
The Labour Code refers other limitation questions to civil-law rules. Limitation may be interrupted by acknowledgement of the debt, agreed modification, settlement, or judicial enforcement ending with a final decision on the merits.
An ordinary demand letter does not necessarily interrupt limitation. Suspension may arise only where the claimant was unable to enforce the claim for an excusable reason, assessed case by case.
7. Damage caused by a criminal offence
A claim for damage caused by a criminal offence, or for non-pecuniary damages connected to a personality-right violation constituting an offence, is subject to a five-year period. If the criminal limitation period is longer, that longer period applies. This is an exceptional rule requiring close factual analysis.
8. Documents to retain
- employment contract and amendments;
- job description, collective agreement and internal rules;
- payslips and bank statements;
- work schedules, attendance sheets and working-time records;
- holiday records;
- bonus or commission policies;
- emails, instructions, performance and handover records;
- dismissal, payment demand and proof of service.
A wage claim should be calculated monthly, by legal basis, stating the gross amount and due date.
9. Common misconceptions
- “Limitation starts only when employment ends.” Monthly wage claims normally fall due separately.
- “An email demand automatically restarts the three years.” It does not necessarily do so.
- “Every employment claim has three years.” Some employer measures must be challenged within 30 days.
- “The employer may deduct any claim from the next salary.” Wage deductions have separate statutory conditions.
- “It is enough to state the net difference.” Wage claims normally require a gross, itemised calculation.
10. What should be done?
First identify the legal basis, due date and amount of each claim. Collect payroll and working-time records and evidence of service of any employer measure. A short 30-day deadline requires immediate legal review; even ordinary wage claims should not be left until the end of the limitation period.
Summary
The general limitation period for employment claims is three years, but separate monthly pay elements may have separate starting dates. Dismissals, employer payment demands and several other measures may have to be challenged within 30 days. The legal basis, due date and date of service must be assessed together.
Do you have a question about unpaid wages, an employer claim or a short court deadline?
This article provides general information and is not individual legal advice. The applicable limitation or court-filing deadline must be determined from all documents of the particular case.