With the flexitime model, employees organize their working hours independently within a defined time frame. This flexibility allows your employees to determine specifically when their working day starts and ends. To ensure that flexible working is effectively implemented in practice, it is advisable to investigate various models of flexitime. In this blog article, you will learn which models are available, the advantages and disadvantages of flexitime and how you can best do time recording when flextime is carried out.
What is flexitime?
Flexitime represents a highly flexible working time model in which your employees can independently arrange their individual working hours within a predefined time frame. In contrast to the fixed nine-to-five job, the principle of flexible time management enables employees and providers to be more adaptable.
To ensure that you, as an employer and your employees, keep track of things despite all the freedom that flexitime offers, a core working time is often defined. This defined period of time serves as an orientation in which all employees should be present in the company in order to ensure a common working time basis.
A precise time recording is crucial to ensure that the flexitime model works smoothly in your company. Here, software solutions for time recording or Time tracking apps make a significant contribution by not only enabling accurate documentation of working time, but also by offering a user-friendly platform for managing flexitime accounts and monitoring overtime.
How is flexitime regulated in the Working Hours Act?
The introduction is usually carried out for all employees of a company and is usually determined by management. Individual contractual solutions only occur in very rare exceptional cases. However, flexitime models are also subject to the provisions of Working Hours Act and employment law. You should pay attention to the following paragraphs:
The rules relating to flexitime arrangements must be binding and set out in writing. If your company has a works council, it has the right to have a say in the organization of flexitime — see Section 87 BetrVG.
Flexitime time recording: These 5 models have proven effective
Adapted to the requirements of your day-to-day business and the specific way of working in your company, it is possible to flexible working time models to be implemented in different variants. This five models have proven particularly effective in practice:
Model 1: Flexitime with core working time
In addition to flexible flexitime, would you also like to integrate core working hours into your company, which is binding for all employees? Here is a suggestion:
With this model, the core working time is 5.5 hours, during which the presence of your employees is mandatory. With this model, you can flexibly adjust core working hours to suit your needs. Because: You know best when your customers need your employees to be present most often. And your employees have the flexibility to personalize their own working day. When an employee starts working at 8:00 and a 30-minute Lunchbreak , she can leave her workplace at 4:30pm after a normal working time of eight hours. Another employee is a morning grouch and would rather start later? No problem! He comes to the office at 9:30am, also takes a 30-minute break and can leave his workplace after 8 hours at 18:00.
Model 2: Flexitime without core working time
Within a time frame of, for example, eleven hours — assuming that your operating time is from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. — in this model, your employees have the freedom to flexibly arrange their presence. Prerequisite: In doing so, they fulfill their daily working hours. This concept is particularly useful for departments or areas that have a high degree of independence in their working methods — research, home office, etc.
Your employees are therefore free to choose when and how they work out their normal daily working hours during this period. Would an employee prefer to work 8 hours a day in a row? No problem The start is at 7 am, the end of work is at 3:30pm (including lunch break). Another colleague would rather work in the morning and in the afternoon, as this model is better suited to his rhythm of life? With this model, he can arrange his daily work in the way that best fits his schedule.
Model 3: Qualified flexitime
Under qualified flexitime, according to the flexitime definition, your employees not only have the option to choose the distribution of their working time over the day, but also to determine for themselves how many hours they would like to work per day. Your employees therefore enjoy maximum flexibility, but must also apply a high level of discipline at the same time. Their employment contracts contract the weekly, monthly or even annual hours worked, but your employees have the freedom to distribute their working hours according to their preferences.
In particular, this model requires the use of a software solution for Working time recording highly recommended. One Time recording app is the simple solution for recording working hours precisely and quickly — no matter how often an employee logs in and out. In this way, they ensure that all working, breaks and rest periods are observed. A reliable system for time recording significantly simplifies administrative work, especially with qualified flexitime — for your employees and you.
Model 4: Flexitime with working time
An alternative to defining a core working time is to introduce functional time. Here, working time is not defined by a fixed core working time, but rather by the specific function of your employee. An example of the application of functional working time is the length of time in which an employee must be available for customers, suppliers or the like. The main goal is to ensure that the function or work itself is covered.
Flexitime with functional time is particularly suitable for organizations in which employees are able to fully and mutually represent each other in all tasks, such as in call centers. An essential prerequisite for this is a well-functioning team with the cooperative competence of your employees. Any absenteeism or overtime can be managed using time recording software.
Model 5: Flexitime with annual working hours or working life
Maximum flexibility for your employees! If you have agreed working hours on an annual basis, your employees enjoy the freedom to decide when and for how long they work. Provided that the agreed target working time is fulfilled by the end of the year. This form of flexibility is particularly characteristic of employees who can arrange their working hours — taking into account the Working Hours Act — according to their individual needs. It is crucial that, at the end of the financial year, the contractually agreed average working time has been worked within a specific period of time.
As is the case with all flexible models, the working time worked is best precisely documented with established software. In the life-time model, working time is saved over a longer period of time and can then be used, for example, in the form of a sabbatical year or early retirement.
Advantages and disadvantages of flexitime
Working flexitime is particularly popular among employees — more flexibility, better Work-life balance, etc. But as an employer, you also benefit to a similar extent from the various flexitime models.
Advantages and disadvantages of flexitime for employees
The benefits of flexitime for employees are manifold and make this working time model an attractive benefit with numerous positive aspects:
Reconciliation of work and private lifeFlexitime enables employees to coordinate appointments better and to combine professional and private life more effectively, particularly beneficial for families.Stress-free design of work routesFlexible working hours reduce travel stress, as employees don't have to show up at peak hours and can therefore avoid traffic jams and overcrowded public transportation.Taking individual lifestyles into accountEmployees can arrange their day according to their own preferences, whether they are early risers or night owls, and thus maximize their individual productivity.More motivation & productivityThe increased flexibility and personal responsibility lead to a higher degree of autonomy, which increases employee motivation and productivity.
Of course, not everything that glitters is gold. Despite many positive aspects, there are also potential disadvantages of flexitime, which both your employees and you as an employer should be aware of:
Difficult collaborationLimited joint working hours can make it difficult to organize meetings and arrangements and impair team spirit, as colleagues only meet in short periods of time.transparencyDifferent working hours require increased communication in order to keep track of tasks and projects, which can influence transparency within the team.time recordingEmployees themselves must ensure that they comply with their contractually defined working hours and avoid working hours or overtime. Switching from trust-based working hours to time recording can be a challenge at first, but offers many benefits in the long term.
Advantages and disadvantages of flexitime for employers
Flexitime not only offers benefits for employees, but also represents added value for you as an employer:
Productivity & employee satisfactionMotivated employees tend to be ill less often, work more effectively, and show higher levels of satisfaction with their work, which improves the company's overall performance.Attractiveness as an employerCompanies with satisfied employees have a better reputation on the job market, attract qualified talent and strengthen their competitiveness.Long-term planning through loyaltyValued employees with more autonomy stay with the company longer, which enables more stable and long-term planning.
Although the disadvantages for you as an employer are limited, there may be certain challenges when introducing flexitime:
Increased need for transparencyFlexible working hours require increased communication and clear arrangements to ensure seamless collaboration.Costs & administrative expensesThe introduction of flexitime can mean additional costs and higher administrative burdens for correct time recording.Confusing work processesFlexible working hours can lead to less structured work environments, which can result in challenging planning of work processes.
The best time recording for flexitime: Discover the benefits of ZEP!
How can you now integrate flexitime with the Obligation to record working time do it without restricting the flexibility of your company's work models? With a suitable tool such as ZEP, this process is easy. Regardless of whether they are mobile from home or stationary in the office — using digital time recording via app, your employees can record their working hours anytime and anywhere. The collected data is synchronized directly with the software on the PC. As an employer, you always have an overview of who worked how much and when.
The goal of software like ZEP is to relieve you of as much effort as possible. Instead of relying on pen and paper, which can easily be lost, ZEP allows you to digitally record all working hours of your employees. With the Overtime, Absenteeism & Vacation Module You can view the attendance and absence times of your employees at the click of a mouse. Despite flexitime, the electronic recording of working hours provides a precise overview of accumulated minus or overtime, which can be compensated later.
Overtime with flexitime
The employment or collective agreement usually states how overtime should be handled. Flexitime overtime is treated in a similar way. This can either be compensated financially, for example in the event of termination, by compensation for time off. In ZEP, every employee has a personal overtime account. With the Absence module Every overtime is registered by comparing it with time recording. In the ZEP calendar, your employees can easily apply for time off to reduce overtime.
Break regulation during flexitime
Even with flexitime arrangements, the legal break times must be observed. Even with qualified flexitime, during which your employees can set their working hours and duration themselves. Here, too, it is necessary to monitor compliance with the prescribed breaks by means of time recording. As an employer, you are responsible for this. The exact break regulations can be found in Section 4 ArbSchG Read up. Because: Even with flexitime, you have to Duty of care as an employer descendants.
Conclusion
Flexitime offers numerous benefits, such as flexibility and a better work-life balance for your employees. Accurate time recording is crucial so that these benefits can be fully exploited. Regardless of the flexitime model chosen — whether with core working hours, without core working hours, qualified flexitime, functional time or annual working hours — time recording should be simple and reliable. Digital tools such as ZEP make it easier to document and manage working hours, overtime and breaks.
By using such software solutions, you as an employer maintain an overview and your employees benefit from flexibility. Efficient time recording ensures compliance with all legal requirements and contributes to satisfaction and productivity in the company.
