📋 Your rights in case of overload at work

Working time limits, rest periods and the right to report overload: what you can already do before an illness develops.

Working Hours Act (Arbeitszeitgesetz) Overload notification (Überlastungsanzeige) Rest period

In brief

Even before overload develops into an illness, you have certain rights as an employee: the Working Hours Act (Arbeitszeitgesetz) limits maximum daily working time and prescribes minimum rest periods. If you feel permanently overwhelmed, you can formally notify your employer (a so-called Überlastungsanzeige, overload notification) – this is not expressly regulated by law, but can be significant under employment law, in particular to protect yourself.

For further, general employment-law questions on working time, overtime and protection against dismissal – which are not specific to burnout – see the Employees module.

Step by step

Document your working hoursKeep your own records of hours worked, overtime and rest periods, if the company does not already record them without gaps.
Seek a conversation with your managerDescribe specifically which tasks cannot be handled in which time.
Submit an overload notification in writingDescribe factually which tasks, deadlines or staff shortages cause the overload, and what you fear (e.g. mistakes, damage to health).
Involve the works council or staff councilIt can raise the workload and point to the risk assessment of psychological stress.
If nothing continues to happen, seek external adviceA trade union, employees' chamber or a specialist lawyer for employment law can help further.

Deadlines

11 hours

Minimum rest period between two working days§ 5 Abs. 1 ArbZG

8 hours (exceptionally up to 10)

Maximum working time per working day, unless an average of 8 hours per working day is kept within 6 calendar months or 24 weeks§ 3 ArbZG

Watch out – common mistakes

An overload notification is not an instrument laid down by law with a fixed legal consequence – but in a dispute (e.g. if you are accused of mistakes) it can serve as proof that you informed the employer in good time.
You do not have to "enforce" breaches of maximum working hours or rest periods yourself – if necessary, report persistent, systematic breaches to the competent occupational safety authority.
This page does not replace general employment-law advice on topics such as overtime pay or time recording – for this see the Employees module.

In depth · legal basis, figures and practice – for advisers and professionals

Working Hours Act (ArbZG)

Under § 3 ArbZG, working time on working days must not exceed eight hours; it can be extended to up to ten hours if an average of eight hours per working day is not exceeded within six calendar months or 24 weeks. § 5 Abs. 1 ArbZG prescribes an uninterrupted rest period of at least eleven hours after the end of daily working time. These limits are also meant to counteract excessive, health-endangering permanent strain.

Overload notification

The "Überlastungsanzeige" is not a separately regulated institution in German employment law, but has become established practice, in particular in nursing, social and public services. It can be understood as an expression of the ancillary duty under the employment contract to point out to the employer circumstances that endanger the proper performance of tasks or one's own health. Legally it does not force the employer to do anything in particular, but can in an individual case serve an evidentiary function, for example on the question of contributory fault on the part of the employer.

Interplay with the risk assessment

Individual overload notifications can – but do not have to – be a reason to review the company's risk assessment of psychological stress (see separate topic page). The two instruments complement each other: the risk assessment works in a structural-preventive way, the overload notification individually and acutely.

Who is responsible

Employer
State occupational safety authority (for breaches of the ArbZG)

Quick questions

Worum geht es bei „Your rights in case of overload at work“?

Working time limits, rest periods and the right to report overload: what you can already do before an illness develops.

Which deadlines and figures matter?

11 hours: Minimum rest period between two working days (§ 5 Abs. 1 ArbZG)
8 hours (exceptionally up to 10): Maximum working time per working day, unless an average of 8 hours per working day is kept within 6 calendar months or 24 weeks (§ 3 ArbZG)

What should I do first?

Document your working hours: Keep your own records of hours worked, overtime and rest periods, if the company does not already record them without gaps.
Seek a conversation with your manager: Describe specifically which tasks cannot be handled in which time.
Submit an overload notification in writing: Describe factually which tasks, deadlines or staff shortages cause the overload, and what you fear (e.g. mistakes, damage to health).

What do I need to watch out for?

An overload notification is not an instrument laid down by law with a fixed legal consequence – but in a dispute (e.g. if you are accused of mistakes) it can serve as proof that you informed the employer in good time.
You do not have to "enforce" breaches of maximum working hours or rest periods yourself – if necessary, report persistent, systematic breaches to the competent occupational safety authority.
This page does not replace general employment-law advice on topics such as overtime pay or time recording – for this see the Employees module.

Evidence

§§ 3, 5 ArbZG (gesetze-im-internet.de)

As of

As of September 2026. · Sources and method

A question about your situation that this page does not answer? Write to us or use the contact form – we will tell you which office is responsible and what to bring. Free of charge, without individual legal advice.