What is a flextime balance?
With flextime you decide, within an agreed framework, when you start and finish. So that your target still adds up, the difference between hours worked and target hours is collected in a working time account: work more and your balance grows, work less and you’re hours short.
Key terms
Which of these rules apply to you is set by your employer’s policy, a collective agreement or your contract – and the law where you work may set limits, too.
- Core hours: the period when you must be at work.
- Flextime band: the earliest start and latest finish.
- Settlement period: by when the account should be balanced again.
- Cap: how many hours over or short may build up at most.
An example
Your flextime balance is +3 h at the start of the week. This week you work 2 h 30 min more than your target – your balance rises to +5 h 30 min. The week after you work exactly your target from Monday to Thursday and leave 4 hours early on Friday to take time off: afterwards your balance is +1 h 30 min.
Flextime and working time limits
Flextime doesn’t switch off working time law: daily and weekly limits, breaks and rest periods still apply. In Germany, for example, that means at most 8 hours per working day (Monday to Saturday), up to 10 if the average stays at 8, the required breaks and at least 11 hours of rest after work.