Am I covered by accident insurance during breaks and in the toilet at work in Germany?
In short
Partly. In Germany, statutory accident insurance (gesetzliche Unfallversicherung) covers the walk to the toilet and to the canteen during breaks at work, but cover ends at the door of the toilet facilities. If you slip at the washbasin, the employers' liability insurer (Berufsgenossenschaft) pays nothing. Private accident insurance covers you there too, for office jobs from about EUR 60 a year.
Lasting wrist impairment after a fall in the washroom, 5 percent disability on EUR 100,000
EUR 5,000 private, EUR 0 statutory
Premiums from publicly quoted tariff examples, as of July 2026.
The benefit is a worked example;
the disability degree depends on the medical findings and your limb schedule.
Worked example
Fall at the washbasin at work
An employee slips on a wet floor in the washroom of the office toilets and breaks her wrist. A slight loss of movement remains.
Berufsgenossenschaft
not a workplace accident, no benefit
Health insurer
pays the treatment, sick pay (Krankengeld) after six weeks of continued salary
Private accident insurance, EUR 100,000
assumed 5 percent disability
Disability benefit
EUR 5,000
Without private accident insurance only the health insurer pays. With it, she receives a one-off EUR 5,000 for the lasting harm.
Why the toilet visit itself is not covered
German statutory accident insurance only protects the insured activity, meaning what you do for your employer (section 8 of Social Code VII, SGB VII). Going to the toilet is necessary to keep working, but the courts treat the act itself as part of your private life.
That creates a firm line during breaks at work: the walk across the premises to the toilet is covered, anything beyond the outer door of the toilet facilities is not. In 2020 the Baden-Württemberg Higher Social Court refused to recognise a sales assistant's fall in the washroom in front of the cubicles as a workplace accident (L 10 U 2537/18). Washing your hands counts as part of the toilet visit.
What is covered during breaks and what is not
During breaks it depends on where you go and why. The walk to the canteen or a nearby snack bar is covered, because eating keeps you fit for work. A walk for fresh air is private: the Hesse Higher Social Court did not recognise a fall during a lunchtime stroll (L 9 U 208/17).
Fetching something private from your car during a break is not covered either (Berlin-Brandenburg Higher Social Court, L 21 U 40/21). The exception: if a typical workplace hazard hurts you during your break, such as a forklift in the yard, it can still be a workplace accident.
Situation during a break or toilet visit
Covered by statutory insurance?
Walking from your desk to the toilet
yes
Falling in the washroom or cubicle
no
Walking to the canteen or the bakery next door
yes
Lunchtime walk
no
Fetching something private from the car
no
Hit by a forklift while on your break
may be covered
Working from home: different since 2021
If you work from home, you have been covered to the same extent as on the employer's premises since June 2021 (section 8 (1) sentence 3 SGB VII). So the walk to the kitchen or toilet in your own home is covered as well.
The line at the toilet room applies at home just as at the office. See our page on working from home for details.
Where private accident insurance closes the gap
Private accident insurance (private Unfallversicherung) does not ask whether an accident was work related. Under the German model terms it applies worldwide and around the clock, so also in the washroom, on a lunchtime walk and at the weekend.
It only pays its disability benefit for lasting harm, though, not for every bruise. A fall during your break that heals completely brings nothing from the core benefit. For employees its real value lies in leisure time, where the Berufsgenossenschaft never pays.
When you do not need anything extra
If you already have private accident insurance with a sufficient sum, breaks and toilet visits are included. There is no separate add-on for the workplace.
If you have savings and income protection through disability insurance, you can skip accident insurance just because of the toilet gap. The case is annoying but rarely expensive.
Step by step
Report the accident to your manager straight away and have it entered in the first aid log, even if it happened on the way to the toilet.
Note exactly where you fell: in the corridor before the toilet door or already inside.
See an accident insurance doctor (Durchgangsarzt) if you think it is a workplace accident.
Also report the accident to your private accident insurer if you have one.
If the Berufsgenossenschaft refuses, check the reasons and consider an objection within one month.
Checklist
Exact location described, witnesses noted
Photos of the wet floor or trip hazard
Report from the accident insurance doctor requested
Private accident insurer informed
Lasting problems confirmed by a doctor months later
Common mistakes
Not reporting a fall in the corridor because you think toilet trips are never covered
Describing the location vaguely when the toilet door is the line
Assuming the Berufsgenossenschaft pays for anything during a break
Not telling your private insurer because the accident happened at work
Questions and answers
Frequently asked
Am I covered when having coffee in a work meeting?
Possibly, if the coffee is part of a work meeting.
In 2025 the Saxony-Anhalt Higher Social Court considered cover possible in such a case (L 6 U
45/23).
Is the walk to the bakery during my lunch break covered?
Yes, the walk to get food near your workplace is covered.
Longer private detours break the cover.
At what point am I no longer covered on the way to the toilet?
From the door of the toilet facilities.
Everything behind it, including the washroom, the basin and the cubicle, is private.
Does this apply at a company party?
At an official company event the walk to the toilet can be covered,
but the toilet room itself stays private.
Does private accident insurance pay for a fall in the company toilet?
Yes, it applies around the clock.
It only pays the disability benefit if lasting harm remains.
