Flextime

As flextime or flex hours ( GLAZ ) is referred to a certain extent free regular working hours.

For operational reasons, such agreements between employees and employers are usually combined with a system of core hours, which is the same for all employees.

Operating or service agreement

A flexitime is regulated in Germany in most cases between the company management and the works council by company agreement (or in the public service between Heads of Services and Staff by service agreement). Otherwise, an individual employment contract agreement is possible, but unlikely in practice.

For the purpose of flexible working hours provided the Federal Labour Court found: The rules on flexible working hours followed ... in so far as it does not affect the core time, the purpose of permitting within the limits specified in the service agreement flexitime the employee, the timing of the work performance in free self-determination by determine its needs and desires.

Framework and core time

The agreement sets usually called a frame work time, so the earliest possible start and latest possible end of work as well as a core time ( ie the latest possible start of work and the earliest possible end of the work, in principle, all employees must be present ) ( Traditional flextime ). An example would look like this: Frame work time 6:30 bis 18:30 clock clock, core working hours 8:30 bis 15:30 clock.

The working hours before and after the core hours are left to the individual employees, but he has to hold a total average of the labor or collectively agreed weekly working time. However, it is often the amount of work to be maintained or appointments that actually determine the use of such working time accounts. A limitation experienced by the flexible working hours by the labor protection provisions of the Working Time Act. This includes rules on the breaks to be observed.

Working time account

Restrictions also include flexitime often by limiting the time credit ( plus hours ) and time liabilities ( minus hours). Often there are more plus hours to the end of a period, for example, End of the month as possible minus hours. An example of this would be: possible Plus Hours: 120, possible minus hours: 40

Unless a specific time credits accumulated under the flexible working hours, this again either by shorter working hours ( or so-called flexitime, so completely free days ) may be reduced or refunded. The details must of course govern the agreement.

Individual areas and people

Sometimes flextime is agreed only in individual departments in a large company or an institution - what then the Head of Department and staff are tied up to a possible, a majority expressed or "from above" change request.

Furthermore, flexitime not in any kind of activity possible, such as shift work, on-call duty or training of any kind, as it is here in the nature of things, that all participants must be present at the same time (except for interactive Internet training ).

Also, for certain groups, the use of flexible working hours is restricted: for as yet of full age workers because of the maximum working time of 8 hours after the youth employment law ( § 8 Paragraph 1) and for pregnant women, which according to the Maternity Protection Act ( § 8 para 2) have maximum working day of 8.5 hours.

The working hours of civil servants is regulated by the respective working time regulation of the federal or state. Meanwhile let many of these regulations on the introduction of flexible working hours for civil servants through service agreements.

Long-term accounts

In more recent collective agreements are long- term arrangements, annual work time to hit working-life accounts (eg in the public service by § 10 TVöD ). These are then to concretize by operating or maintenance agreements.

Overtime / overtime

The classic overtime compensation is therefore largely past, at least in the service-providing sector. This does not affect, however, the arrangements for service to extraordinary times such as weekend shifts. These are paid either a surcharge or with a corresponding time factor rewards ( d hz as eight hours Sunday service with 10 hours of free time can be compensated on a working day ). This should be made clear that not only the periods completed one time, but when that time has been completed.

Time recording

In most cases, the work beginning and the end of the work are recorded, for example, a time clock, other, often electronic devices at the time of capture or by hand by independent entries, and is present in the latter, a high potential for abuse.

Violations of the registration requirements are usually associated with significant labor law sanctions, up to an extraordinary behavioral termination, since in this case a so-called " working time fraud " is committed, which may lead to the employer to high handicaps and employees enriched themselves here at the expense of the employer by being paid for not actually worked. Therefore, even a criminal offense, the fraud ( § 263 StGB - Germany ) be given.