Regular and Average Working Hours and Flexible Working Hours

According to the Working Hours Act the regular working hours may not exceed 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week.

The weekly working hours may also be arranged by the employer on an average maximum period of 52 weeks. This means that the regular weekly working hours may vary but the average working hours must be 40 hours calculated on the time period of 52 weeks. The average working hours don’t have an impact on the daily regular working hours, which can be up to 8 hours per day.

It is possible for the employer and employee to agree on the flexible working hours. They might agree that the employee can decide within the limits set together his/her working day’s starting and ending points. When the parties are making the agreement of flexible working hours, they should also agree on fixed working hours of the time period, the placing and limits of the flexible hours, placing the rest periods and the maximum accumulation amounts of both exceeding and falling short of the regular working hours. In the case of flexible working hours, the regular daily working hours are shortened or lengthened by the flexible hours of which maximum is four hours. This means that the average working hours are a maximum of 40 hours a week on a monitored period of 4 months, which can be exceeded or gone under within the frames of the flexible hours. When the monitored period is coming to an end, the hours can only exceed the regular working hours by a maximum of 60 hours and go under by a maximum of 20 hours. The employer and the employee can agree that the exceeding accumulation is reduced by giving the employee paid leave. If requested, the employer must give time off in full working days. A contract concerning flexible working hours can be made valid until further notice or for a fixed term. A contract which is valid until further notice may be terminated by each party at the end of the ongoing monitored period. This also applies to a contract which is valid for a fixed term longer than a year if it has not been made at least 4 months ago.