11-hour rest period between shifts

What does §5 ArbZG say?

Under §5 of the German Working Hours Act, there must be an uninterrupted rest period of at least 11 hours between the end of one work shift and the start of the next. This rule protects employees from overwork and safeguards recovery.

Example

If a shift ends at 10:00 PM, the next may begin at the earliest at 9:00 AM the following day.

Exceptions

§5 (2) ArbZG permits a reduction to 10 hours in certain industries:

• Hospitality and hotels
• Hospitals and care
• Agriculture and animal husbandry
• Broadcasting, theater, film
• Transport operations

Compensation requirement

If the rest period is reduced to 10 hours, the missing hour must be compensated within one calendar month or four weeks by a correspondingly extended rest period (at least 12 h).

How Shiftdesk checks this

When a shift is saved, Shiftdesk automatically calculates the gap to the employee's previous and next shift:

• Green — rest period ≥ 11 h
• Orange — rest period between 10 h and 11 h (only permitted with an exception flag)
• Red — rest period < 10 h, error

Under Settings → Locations you can set the industry flag to enable the 10-hour rule. Compensation hours are tracked as open items in the compliance checker until they are balanced out.

You will find all findings under Compliance → Rest periods (/dashboard/compliance).

Note

Collective agreements may prescribe stricter rules. When in doubt, consult a lawyer — Shiftdesk does not replace legal advice.