Work time policies
Work time policies define working time rules and constraints for your employees, such as maximum daily hours, mandatory breaks, and flex balance tracking.
Overview
A work time policy combines three types of rules:
- Constraints — Validate time registrations against working time limits (e.g., maximum hours per day or week, mandatory breaks)
- Auto-registrations — Automatically adjust worked time (e.g., deducting unpaid lunch breaks)
- Settlement — Define what happens when flex balance is settled at the end of a period (only relevant when flex tracking is turned on)
Work time policies are assigned to employees through their employment terms.
Flex balance tracking
Each policy has a Flex Balance Tracking toggle. When turned on, the system tracks the difference between actual worked hours and expected hours as a flex balance. This allows employees to accumulate or use flex time within the limits defined by constraint plugins.
When flex tracking is turned off, only constraint and auto-registration rules apply.
Getting started
To create a work time policy:
- Go to
- Click Add Policy and select Work Time
- Enter a name and optional description
- Turn on Flex Balance Tracking if needed
- Add constraint plugins to enforce working time rules
- Click Save
Constraint plugins
Constraint plugins validate time registrations and flag warnings or errors when limits are exceeded.
| Plugin | Description | Configuration |
|---|---|---|
| Max daily hours | Limits the total worked time per day (e.g., 10 hours for German labor law compliance) | Maximum minutes per day |
| Max weekly hours | Limits the total worked time per week (e.g., 48 hours for EU Working Time Directive) | Maximum minutes per week |
| Mandatory break | Requires a minimum break after a period of continuous work (e.g., 30 minutes after 6 hours) | Work threshold in minutes, required break in minutes |
| Balance cap | Limits how far the flex balance can go in either direction (only applies when flex tracking is turned on) | Maximum positive balance, maximum negative balance |
Auto-registration plugins
Auto-registration plugins automatically adjust worked time based on predefined rules. For example, an auto-registration plugin could automatically deduct an unpaid lunch break from the worked hours.
Settlement plugins
Settlement plugins define what happens at the end of a settlement period when flex balance is reconciled. These are only relevant when Flex Balance Tracking is turned on.
Troubleshooting
| Issue | Solution |
|---|---|
| Cannot add settlement plugins | Make sure Flex Balance Tracking is turned on for the policy |
| Constraint warnings not appearing | Check that the constraint plugin is configured with the correct values and that the policy is assigned to the employee’s employment terms |