{"id":97428,"date":"2026-06-18T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/spectrelegal.de\/?p=97428"},"modified":"2026-05-26T13:41:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T11:41:11","slug":"personal-errands-during-working-hours-what-is-allowed-and-where-the-limits-lie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spectrelegal.de\/en\/private-erledigungen-waehrend-der-arbeitszeit-was-erlaubt-ist-und-wo-grenzen-liegen\/","title":{"rendered":"Personal errands during working hours: what is allowed and where the boundaries lie"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2 class=\"gb-text\"><strong>How much personal time is permitted during working hours? Rights and limits for employees<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In day-to-day working life, the boundaries between work and personal matters are becoming increasingly blurred. A quick message, a phone call or arranging an appointment \u2013 many things are dealt with \u201eon the side\u201c.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Employers therefore regularly find themselves faced with the question:&nbsp;<strong>What is allowed during working hours \u2013 and where is the line drawn?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"gb-text\"><strong>Principle: Working hours are for work<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">From a legal point of view, there is, first and foremost, a clear principle:<br>Working time is, in principle, intended for the performance of work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Private activities are therefore only permitted to a limited extent. At the same time, experience shows that a certain degree of flexibility is necessary in everyday life \u2013 particularly when it comes to short, unavoidable errands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"gb-text\"><strong>Short tasks vs. appointments<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">An important distinction is that between short-term actions and more extensive commitments:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Short plays<\/strong><br>(e.g. short messages, phone calls or arranging appointments)<br>\u2192 are often tolerated in practice, provided they only take a few minutes and do not affect work performance.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Personal appointments<\/strong><br>(e.g. doctor\u2019s appointments, visits to government offices, bank appointments or tradespeople)<br>\u2192 have a significantly greater impact on working hours and generally require separate consideration.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"gb-text\"><strong>Doctor\u2019s appointments during working hours<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"gb-text\"><strong>Policy: Appointments outside working hours<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Doctor\u2019s appointments should, as a general rule, be scheduled to take place outside working hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"gb-text\"><strong>Exception: Appointment during working hours<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If this is not possible \u2013 for example, due to limited consultation hours or acute symptoms \u2013 the appointment may, in exceptional cases, take place during working hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"gb-text\"><strong>Exemption \u2013 when is it required?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In such cases, an employee may be entitled to paid leave if the appointment must be attended during working hours. The specific circumstances of each individual case are decisive in this regard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"gb-text\"><strong>Other private appointments \u2013 what are the rules here?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A stricter standard applies to other private appointments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In principle, these must be carried out outside working hours. Only in exceptional circumstances \u2013 for example, where the matter cannot be postponed \u2013 may time off work be considered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In practice, it is advisable to consult with your employer at an early stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"gb-text\"><strong>Employees\u2019 obligations<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Employees are obliged to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>to carry out their work properly\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>to keep private activities to a minimum\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Arrange appointments outside working hours where possible\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>to inform the employer in good time\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Unauthorised absence from work may have consequences under employment law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"gb-text\"><strong>The employer\u2019s scope for action<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Employers have the option of establishing clear rules, for example by:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Internal guidelines on personal use\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>specific guidelines on meeting deadlines\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Approval processes for exemptions\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A transparent framework provides clarity and helps to avoid conflicts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"gb-text\">Conclusion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dealing with personal matters during working hours is not strictly prohibited, but is subject to clear limits. The key is to strike a balance between the company\u2019s interests and practical flexibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you have any questions on this or other topics, please contact us - we will be happy to advise you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<a class=\"gb-text button-standard\" href=\"https:\/\/spectrelegal.de\/en\/contact\/\">to the contact form<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How much personal business is allowed during working hours? Rights and limits for employees In everyday working life, the boundaries between work and personal matters are becoming increasingly blurred. A quick message, a phone call or arranging an appointment \u2013 many things are dealt with \u201eon the side\u201c. Employers are therefore regularly faced with the question: What is permitted during working hours \u2013 and where \u2026 <a title=\"Personal errands during working hours: what is allowed and where the boundaries lie\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/spectrelegal.de\/en\/private-erledigungen-waehrend-der-arbeitszeit-was-erlaubt-ist-und-wo-grenzen-liegen\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about personal errands during working hours: what is allowed and where the limits lie\">Read more<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"Private Erledigungen w\u00e4hrend der Arbeitszeit: Was erlaubt ist und wo Grenzen liegen","_seopress_titles_desc":"Was ist w\u00e4hrend der Arbeitszeit privat erlaubt? Erfahren Sie, welche Rechte Arbeitnehmer haben und welche Pflichten gelten.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_seopress_news_disabled":"","_seopress_video_disabled":"","_seopress_video":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas_manual":[],"_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable_all":"","_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-97428","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-expertenblog","infinite-scroll-item","masonry-post","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33","no-featured-image-padding"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/spectrelegal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97428","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/spectrelegal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/spectrelegal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spectrelegal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spectrelegal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=97428"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/spectrelegal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97428\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/spectrelegal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=97428"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spectrelegal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=97428"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spectrelegal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=97428"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}