diff --git a/contrib/backup/functions b/contrib/backup/functions
index e3d807199..32415b99d 100644
--- a/contrib/backup/functions
+++ b/contrib/backup/functions
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ function backup_dir_create () {
 
 function backup_files () {
   echo "creating file backup..."
-  tar -czf ${BACKUP_DIR}/${TIMESTAMP}_zammad_files.tar.gz ${ZAMMAD_DIR}
+  tar -C / -czf ${BACKUP_DIR}/${TIMESTAMP}_zammad_files.tar.gz ${ZAMMAD_DIR#/}
   ln -sfn ${BACKUP_DIR}/${TIMESTAMP}_zammad_files.tar.gz ${BACKUP_DIR}/latest_zammad_files.tar.gz
 }