Working time account

What it means

A working time account is a way of scheduling hours unevenly: in a strong season the employee works more hours and in a weak one fewer, while the wage stays the same, set by the standard weekly hours.

It can be introduced only by a collective agreement or by a deal with the employee representatives that fixes the balancing period. A unilateral instruction or an annex signed with one employee is not enough.

It differs from flexible working time in who decides. Under flexitime the employee chooses when the day starts and ends within agreed limits; under a working time account the employer sets the schedule to suit operations and the employee adapts to it.

How it works in practice

The employer keeps an account per employee showing the difference between standard and actually worked hours. It rests on the attendance records, without which neither a positive nor a negative balance can be proved.

The balancing period may run over several years, but the law caps it at thirty months. At the end of it, or when employment ends, the account is settled, and hours above the statutory limits remain overtime with a premium.

In the payroll system we keep each employee’s balance of hours alongside their wage. The payroll accountant sees every month whether the balance is heading for the limit and tells the manager in time that time off is needed in the coming weeks, or paid overtime will arise at the end of the reference period.

What to watch out for

The costliest mistake is introducing the account by internal rules or a contract annex. Without a collective agreement or a deal with employee representatives, hours above standard weekly time are plain overtime for the whole period, premiums and levies included.

If the job ends with a negative balance because the employer had no work for the employee, the difference cannot be deducted from pay. A firm that builds up a large deficit in the slow season and then lets people go has paid for hours without work and, on dismissal, adds severance pay on top.