Working hours
"Back at 6 tomorrow morning — you were here until 10pm yesterday."
There are fewer than 11 hours between the end of work and the next start of work.
§ 13 JArbSchG / § 5 ArbZG
The boss may NOT do that
No, uninterrupted rest is mandatory!
Between two working days there must be an uninterrupted rest period of at least 12 hours (young people, § 13 JArbSchG) or 11 hours (adults, § 5 ArbZG). This also applies if overtime was worked the previous day. Violations are an administrative offence (§ 22 ArbZG) — the company faces a fine.
What the law says
§ 13 JArbSchG – Shift time
After the end of the daily working time, young people must be granted an uninterrupted rest period of at least 12 hours.
§ 5 ArbZG – Rest period
After the end of the daily working time, employees must have an uninterrupted rest period of at least eleven hours.
What you can do
- Do the maths: end yesterday + 11 (or 12) hours = earliest start today.
- For repeated violations: inform the supervisory authority (trade inspectorate) — they monitor this.
- Note the start and end of each shift — your own records are sufficient in court.
- In a few industries (hospitals, restaurants, agriculture) reductions to 10 h are possible — only with compensation.
Email template for your trainer
Subject: Compliance with the minimum rest period between shifts
Dear [name of trainer],
on [date] my working time ended at [time], and the next day I am to start at [time]. This leaves less than the legally required minimum rest period of [11/12] hours between shifts (§ 5 ArbZG or § 13 JArbSchG).
I kindly ask you to adjust the roster so that the legal rest period is observed.
Kind regards
[Your name]
More cases: Working hours
- You're working overtime today!
- You're coming in Saturday too!
- A break? Just power through!
- You're taking the late shift!
- We're taking those two hours off you again.
- You just have to be reachable — that doesn't count.
- Getting to the construction site is your problem.
- You're working six days this week.
- We're open on the public holiday — you're in.
- Pop into work before school.
- Changing clothes is your own time — before and after.
- Work from home today, but don't keep asking.
- We don't record hours here.