A recent case in Germany has highlighted the contentious nature of coffee breaks in the workplace, as a labor court upheld the dismissal of a cleaning employee for taking an unregistered ten-minute break. The case, which involved a woman working for a small cleaning company since 2013, escalated after she took a short coffee break without properly logging it in the timekeeping system. Despite her long service, the court ruled that even brief unapproved breaks could constitute a violation of labor obligations.