The pandemic normalised working from home in Germany as everywhere, but the legal reality lagged the practice, and many employees are unclear on what they are actually entitled to. Can you demand to work from home? Must your employer kit out your spare room? Do the famous German working-time protections still apply when your "office" is your kitchen table? And can you write any of it off on your taxes? The answers are a mix of "it is agreed, not guaranteed" and "yes, your protections follow you home", with a useful tax deduction on top. Knowing the distinctions keeps your home-office arrangement clear and your rights intact.
This guide covers working from home in Germany: whether there is a right to it, the Homeoffice-versus-mobile-work distinction, employer obligations, working-time rules at home, and the tax deduction. Set your remote arrangement up properly.
Is there a right to work from home?
The question everyone asks, and the answer is generally no automatic legal right to demand home office. It is usually agreed between you and your employer, set in your contract or a company agreement.
There have been policy debates about introducing a right to home office, but as it stands, whether you can work from home depends on agreement with your employer, not a universal entitlement. So you cannot simply insist on it as a legal right; you negotiate or agree it.
In practice, many employers offer home office or hybrid arrangements (common since the pandemic), and it is often set in the contract or a company-wide agreement (where a works council may have negotiated terms). So the path to working from home is agreement, in your contract, via a company policy, or negotiated, rather than a right you can demand. If home office matters to you, raise it when negotiating your role.
Homeoffice vs mobile working
A distinction that affects your obligations and arrangement: Homeoffice/Telearbeit versus mobile working.
- Homeoffice (Telearbeit) traditionally means a more formally set-up home workplace, a defined home workstation, which can bring employer obligations around equipment and workplace standards
- Mobile working (mobiles Arbeiten) is more flexible, working from anywhere (home, a cafe) without a fixed home workstation
The distinction matters because it can affect employer obligations and how the arrangement is treated. A formal Telearbeit home workplace may trigger more employer responsibility (equipment, ergonomics, health-and-safety) than flexible mobile working, which is lighter-touch.
So when you agree to work from home, understand which type it is: a formal home workplace (more structured, more employer obligation) or flexible mobile working (more freedom, fewer formal requirements). The terminology in your contract or company policy tells you which regime applies, and what each side is committed to.
Employer obligations and equipment
A common question: must your employer provide equipment (laptop, monitor, desk) for home working? It depends on the arrangement and what is agreed:
- For a formal home workplace (Telearbeit), employers may have obligations around suitable equipment and workplace health and safety
- For flexible mobile working, this is often lighter
The specifics are usually set in the contract or company agreement, so check what your employer is committed to provide. Some employers supply full equipment and even contribute to home-office costs; others expect you to use your own setup for mobile working. There is no single rule, it is governed by your arrangement.
So do not assume your employer will (or will not) equip your home office, read the agreement. If equipment matters, negotiate it as part of agreeing the home-office arrangement. A formal Telearbeit setup gives you more standing to expect proper equipment and an ergonomic, safe workspace; informal mobile working may leave more to you.
Working-time rules apply at home
A protection that follows you home: the Working Time Act (Arbeitszeitgesetz) applies regardless of where you work. So the limits on daily hours, required breaks, and rest periods still apply at home.
This matters because home working can blur boundaries, the laptop is always there, the line between work and life dissolves. But legally, working from home does not remove your working-time protections:
- Daily hour limits still apply
- Required breaks still apply
- Rest periods between working days still apply
So you should not be working unlimited hours just because you are at home, the same overtime and working-time rules protect you. Recording your working time and respecting the limits matters as much at home as in the office. If home working is pushing you into excessive hours, the working-time law is on your side, the protections do not evaporate because your office moved to your spare room.
A separate caution: working from home within Germany is straightforward, but working remotely from abroad (a "workation") raises tax and legal issues that home working domestically does not, covered in our remote work and workation guide. Do not conflate "working from my German home" (simple) with "working from another country" (complicated).
The home-office tax deduction
A genuine perk: you can claim a home-office tax deduction in Germany.
Germany allows:
- A home-office allowance, a flat daily/annual amount for days worked at home (a simple deduction you can claim without a dedicated room)
- In some cases, deduction of a dedicated study room's costs (Arbeitszimmer) if it meets the conditions (a separate room used for work)
You claim it on your annual tax return, so keep track of your home-working days and any qualifying costs. For most people, the flat home-office allowance is the easy win, a deduction for each day worked at home, no dedicated-room requirement, claimed on the return. If you have a genuine separate home study used for work, the room-cost deduction may apply with stricter conditions.
So working from home is not just about rights and rules, it can reduce your tax too. Track your home-office days through the year and claim the allowance when you file, it is money back for the days you worked from your kitchen table.
The overall picture: home office in Germany is agreed not guaranteed, comes in formal (Telearbeit) and flexible (mobile) flavours with different obligations, keeps your working-time protections intact, and offers a tax deduction. Set it up clearly in your agreement, respect (and claim) the working-time limits, and use the tax allowance.
What to do this week
- Check your contract or company policy for your home-office arrangement, there is no automatic right, so confirm what is agreed and whether it is formal Homeoffice or flexible mobile working.
- Clarify what equipment your employer provides, since obligations depend on the arrangement, and negotiate it if it matters.
- Respect (and record) the working-time limits even at home, and track your home-office days to claim the home-office tax allowance on your annual return.
