Contents
Why the distinction has consequences
A teleworking station under section 2(7) of the Workplace Ordinance is a display screen workstation permanently set up by the employer in the private sphere, for which furniture and work equipment are provided and installed. The duties of the Workplace Ordinance hang on that, including the risk assessment of the workstation.
Anyone working with a laptop at the kitchen table or on a train has no teleworking station. The Workplace Ordinance does not apply there, but the Occupational Safety and Health Act and the Working Hours Act apply in full.
What applies unchanged
Maximum working time, breaks and rest periods apply at the kitchen table as in the office. And the duty to record exists as well: the Federal Labour Court order of 13/09/2022 (1 ABR 22/21) draws no distinction by place of work.
The arrangement of mobile working has been expressly subject to codetermination since 2021 (section 87(1) no. 14 BetrVG). Whether it happens stays with the employer, how it happens with the works council.
No entitlement, but an entitlement to a discussion
There is no statutory entitlement to working from home. Section 8 TzBfG concerns the duration of working time, not the place.
For employees at businesses with more than 15 employees there is, however, an entitlement to have the employer discuss a request to change the duration, timing or place of working time with the aim of reaching an agreement (section 7(2) TzBfG). That is not an entitlement to an outcome, but it is one to a conversation.
Common mistake
Recording gets suspended for mobile working because nobody is checking. That leaves records missing exactly where the limits of the Working Hours Act are most likely to be exceeded, namely in the evenings and at weekends.
This is not legal advice; for a specific case at your workplace you are better off asking someone qualified to give it.
Published by: AMNAU GmbH
Editorial responsibility: Ugur Aydogan, Product development.
Last reviewed: 2 September 2026