The “bank of hours” system and its advantages in the service industry
Many companies use the “bank of hours system” to be more productive, as they set their workers' hours according to their needs.
A "bank of hours" is an irregular distribution of an employee's hours in a determined period of time. In other words, it is a flexible working schedule that adapts to a company's busiest times.
This system is designed for those cases where a full time employee doesn’t have enough work to fill all the hours. The company then reduces his working hours for a period of time, and later he will work the remaining hours when there is a greater fluctuation in production.
An employee's working hours and the way they are organised is one of the factors that have to be specified in the contract. It will be an agreement between the employee offering a service, and the employer who is contracting such services.
How does it work?
From the outset, the company has to establish the amount of working hours based on the work to be done, taking into account all the physical factors involved.
We must keep in mind that the total number of annual hours stipulated by law may not be exceeded. Through this flextime system, a percentage of working hours can be taken out and distributed irregularly.
Applying flexitime in compliance with the law
The law dictates the following rules for contracts with bank of hours:
- It can only be applied to full time workers.
- Only 10% of the time can be redistributed in a year.
- The company cannot schedule past the limit of working hours in an employee’s working day.
- The company must give five days' notice of the new working hours.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of flexitime in the HORECA industry?
The “bank of hours system” can be a mutually beneficial agreement between the company and the employee in the following ways:
- Resources are better utilised: there are no wasted hours, or hours worked in vain, whereas there is more support in hours of higher demand.
- Higher business productivity.
- Customer service may improve, as enough employees are available when customers need them.
- Helps to reconcile family life: when an employee has accumulated extra hours, they can use them to spend time with their family.
- It is a relatively stable contract, since the employee does not work less or more hours than the ones stipulated by law.
A disadvantage for employees could be that they must remain flexible, as the company has the legal right to change their schedule within five days' notice. This could complicate an employee's planning, as far as their personal life is concerned.
We must keep in mind that flextime is a complicated process to do manually, therefore it is advisable to use a time and attendance software.
Why are time and attendance software important in flexitime scheduling
A time and attendance software allows for the hours count to be an automated process, which saves management time, and is a reliable tool for both employees and employers since it is able to track working hours with accuracy.
Additionally, you could synchronise hourly absences to the Time & Attendance and Shift Management of your workforce, not only to better monitor hours worked but to have a broader and clearer picture of what is happening and when it is happening.
This system has become quite popular in the last few years and, with flexible working times, it is an attempt to adapt the legal framework to the current economy.
