How to reflect a flexible work schedule in an employment contract, sample document

Definition

The flexible working time regime implies the organization of working time, when individual employees or the team as a whole are allowed, within established limits, to regulate the beginning, end and total duration of working time. This process is governed by agreement of the parties.

If the organization has adopted such a regime, then during the accounting period the required working hours must be worked in total. Elements of a flexible schedule include:

• variable time (the employee himself regulates the working day within the established time frame);
• fixed time (the employee is required to be at the workplace at set hours);
• break (time allocated for food and rest, which is not included in the general working period);
• accounting period (a certain period during which the hours required by law must be worked).

The flexible working time regime in the employment contract must clearly define the type of accounting period. It may be equal to:

• working day;
• work week;
• working month.

General procedure for establishing

Article 100 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation stipulates that working hours are regulated by internal labor regulations . It is based on legal acts that reflect labor law norms, collective agreements and agreements.

A flexible schedule can be set for an employee based on his personal request or with his consent . The decision depends on certain circumstances.

If the labor regulations established in a given organization allow the possibility of a flexible schedule at a personal request, then the employer is obliged to satisfy the request .

The basis is statement . In the case where a local act presupposes an agreement between the parties on this issue, upon receipt of an application, the employer has the right to resolve the issue taking into account expediency and production necessity. In such a situation, a reasoned refusal .

Kinds

Flexible working hours are divided into three types:

1. Sliding. An employee who works according to such a schedule has standard hours specified in the employment agreement. It should work like everyone else, but with floating hours. Example: an employee comes to work several hours earlier than everyone else, but also leaves several hours earlier.
2. Free. The schedule assumes a free visit, not tied to time. Suitable for people of creative professions.
3. Shift. A work schedule in which duties are divided into shifts. A good example is nurses or doctors.

In flexible working hours, the start is determined by the terms of the contract or additional agreement. And the duration of work is regulated by the institution’s work schedule.

Where is it fixed?

Most often, work in flexible working hours is enshrined in the following local documents:

1. Rules that regulate internal regulations. It reflects: conditions of employment, the presence of a probationary period, grounds for dismissal, conditions for fulfilling assigned duties, work and rest hours, grounds for providing compensation.
2. Collective agreement. This document is intended to establish a list of guarantees for employees, as well as stipulate the terms of cooperation between the parties.
3. Contract of employment. Flexible working hours are required in the employment contract. It is entered initially, regardless of what the previous schedule was.

If, after a citizen is hired, his working conditions, including his work schedule, change, this will reflect an additional agreement and an order to change the work schedule.

Limitation

The flexible working time regime, despite the ability of employees to independently regulate their time, has an important limitation.

There are situations when an employee simply needs to be at work. For example, to take part in a meeting or meet with an important client. It is for this purpose that a flexible schedule provides for a certain time when the employee must be at his workplace.

What does flexible working time look like in practice? An example of such a graph looks like this:

Decor

The introduction of a flexible regime involves not only establishing working hours, but also a written agreement. Where should it be recorded? The flexible working time regime in the employment contract must be specified in a separate clause, and the registration procedure itself takes place in several stages.

If the initiator is an employee, then he needs to write an application to change the work schedule and indicate what hours he can work, indicating the break time. Based on this application, an order is issued. After signing the administrative document, an additional agreement to the main employment contract must be drawn up. It indicates a change in work schedule. The additional agreement comes into effect from the moment it is signed.

If the change in schedule is initiated by the employer, then the changes are made in accordance with Article 74 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. First, the head of the department submits a memo to senior management, where the situation is analyzed and problems are identified due to which the organization incurs losses. For example, they can arise if employee time is used irrationally. And in order not to overpay for overtime hours, it is advisable to change the existing work schedule to a flexible one. Thus, the cost of paying wages will be reduced.

Based on the memo, an order is issued. It must indicate that flexible working hours are established after two months for specific employees. Of which they must be notified in a timely manner.

After two months, another order must be issued, which will approve the list of employees transferred to the new schedule, the new regime itself and the date for the document to come into force. After this order is issued, an additional agreement is signed.

If the flexible schedule is temporary, it is not mandatory. The parties work and interact based on the conditions specified in the order.

To approve a flexible working time regime, an order, a sample of which is offered below, must be communicated to employees against signature.

Application for changing the working hours at the initiative of the employee: sample, how to fill it out?

The time during which the employee undertakes to be present at the place of work and perform his work function is an essential condition of work.

Its change can only occur through the preparation of mandatory accompanying documentation.

The presented changes cannot be established unilaterally, but are quite acceptable on the initiative of the worker or employer with mutual consent.

If there are objective reasons, the employee has the right to draw up an application for an individual change in the working regime.

[upto]

The legislator establishes the employer's obligation to establish the work schedule in local regulations (collective or individual labor agreements, internal labor regulations) and familiarize each employee with it before signing an employment contract.

The same provision applies when making any changes to the labor regime.

However, it is permissible to make appropriate adjustments only if the party initiating them has objective reasons. For an employee this could be:

• Family circumstances (presence of seriously ill close relatives, disabled children, etc.);
• Having a special status in society (single mother, large families, etc.);
• State of health (disability, other diseases that do not allow you to perform work duties for a whole working day, etc.).

Important! Any reasons indicated by the employee in the application for changing working hours must have official documentary confirmation (medical certificates, birth certificates of children, disability certificates, extracts from the Unified Register of the Civil Registry Office, etc.).

Changing essential working conditions, which, in accordance with labor legislation, includes working hours, is impossible without the consent of the employee.

It is important that verbal consent cannot be considered sufficient. When accepting innovations at work, the employee should write a statement - an addition to the employment agreement.

An application is also required to change the work schedule on an individual basis if the employee has special life circumstances. The document is submitted to the management of the enterprise (organization), which reviews the application and makes a decision on approval or refusal.

The time during which a worker must perform a production function varies based on the order of the management. The submitted administrative document must indicate the basis for the instructions.

In an order to change the working hours for one employee on his initiative, such a basis is the request of the employee himself, submitted in the form of an application.

How to apply?

If a worker has grounds to request the establishment of an individual work schedule, he should draw up a corresponding application addressed to the employer or the head of the personnel department authorized to review such documentation.

The legislator has not provided a unified form of this document, but this does not deprive the management of the enterprise of the right to establish a sample application required for use at a specific enterprise (organization).

In other cases, such official paper is drawn up in any form, on A-4 paper or on the company’s letterhead (if any):

• The header of the application indicates the position and personal data of the person in whose name it is being issued, as well as information about the applicant himself.
• The main part sets out the essence of the appeal (a request to change the operating mode, indicating the desired dates for the innovations to come into force), as well as the circumstances underlying it.
• Next, you need to indicate the norm of the Labor Code that allows you to request appropriate amendments and a list of documents officially confirming the existence of reasons for changing the work schedule on an individual basis.
• At the bottom you must put the date the paper was drawn up and the detailed signature of the compiler.

When drawing up an application, you should adhere to the official writing style and avoid mistakes and omissions. Both printed and handwritten versions of the submitted document are acceptable.

Application for change of work schedule - the first step

If, for family reasons or other reasons, there is a need to change the work schedule, the employee can ask management about this using a statement.

• Change of residence, as a result of which it became more difficult for the employee to get to work.
• The appearance of a child in the family. If an employee returns from maternity leave, she can negotiate with management on new working conditions.
• Change in financial situation, due to which you have to look for part-time work, etc.

Changing the schedule is possible if what is important to the employer is not the time of presence at the workplace, but the result of work.

Application for change of work schedule: sample

Sometimes it becomes necessary to change the work schedule of employees in one department or the entire enterprise. For example, production is switching to round-the-clock operation, and new shifts need to be introduced, or some employees need to be transferred to work in three days. Naturally, some workers may not like such conditions, and it is necessary to correctly draw up documents on transfer to a new schedule or dismissal in order to avoid mutual claims.



According to the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the employer is obliged to notify employees of changes in the work schedule at least 2 months in advance. You can issue a collective notification and familiarize employees with it against signature, or send out personal notifications to each employee indicating their new schedule. If someone refuses to sign the notification, a report is drawn up about this.

Personal notices are drawn up in two copies, and on what remains with the employer, a receipt mark must be placed with the employee’s signature. This precaution avoids claims that employees were not notified of a transfer to a new schedule in a timely manner.

In any case, the employer does not have the right to force employees to work according to a new schedule. It is necessary to involve representatives of the trade union in its development, if there is one at the enterprise. All changes to labor regulations must be agreed upon with the head of the trade union or other body representing the interests of workers in the organization.

The employer issues an order to transfer to a new schedule. If the employee agrees, he either signs the order confirming his consent, or writes a statement addressed to management. After this, an additional agreement with a new schedule is drawn up in two copies: one remains for the employer, the second for the employee.

Payment

Even if an employee has a flexible schedule, he is still entitled to guaranteed wage payments in the amount established by local regulations. But this condition is met only if the standard hours established by law are met.

According to the labor code, employees have the right to all benefits, compensation and guarantees. In other words, if a standard is developed, then the employee is obliged to receive a salary. If an employee is involved in work beyond the established time, the employer must guarantee him:

• payment for overtime hours;
• double compensation for performing work duties on weekends;
• payment of benefits in case of staff reduction.

As for vacation, the employee rests for the time allotted to him according to the established priority schedule.

Flexible working hours in the employment contract provide for payment for overtime and performance of duties on weekends. This work is regulated by Article 99 of the Labor Code. In this case, payments for time worked are made at the end of the accounting period, after which they are calculated. So, for the first few hours of processing, payment is no less than one and a half times the rate, for subsequent hours of processing - at double the rate.

Also, remuneration for overtime work can be replaced with additional rest time. This fact is discussed with the employee; the given time cannot be more than actually worked above the norm.

Weekends and holidays, if they are included in working days, are paid in accordance with Article 153 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation:

• if payment is made at a daily or hourly rate, then the remuneration will be at a double rate;
• if the employee receives a salary, the work is paid in an amount not less than the daily or hourly rate, provided that it is performed within the boundaries of the monthly working time norm, and in the amount of double the rate if the norm is exceeded.

If an employee wishes to take a day off instead of increased remuneration, the employer must pay for the worked day off or holiday in a single amount, but not pay for the day of rest.

For the information of workers, it is worth mentioning that the law does not establish a time frame when the employer must provide time off in lieu of pay. Therefore, this fact must be determined by agreement of the parties.

Results

The legislation does not provide for the procedure for calculating the hourly tariff rate, so the organization independently makes its choice , which it enshrines in local regulatory documents.

The use of GDV should not harm the production process; not all employees have sufficient self-organization skills, so making such a decision should be preceded by a thorough analysis of the possible consequences.

At the same time, the employer’s refusal to establish a flexible schedule should not contradict current legislation and internal regulations.

The main purpose of using this regime is to provide comfortable conditions for the employee, which will allow him to increase the productivity of his work.

Such a decision should contribute to the optimal combination of the economic interests of the organization with the social and personal needs of employees.

How to keep records

The law requires employers to take into account the actual hours worked by their employees. The main document confirming the fact of work activity is called a time sheet.

Since the flexible working time regime is specified in a separate clause in the employment contract and fixes the specific number of hours allotted for the employee to work, it is precisely this time that should be displayed in the timesheet.

There are two types of accounting:

1. Not summarized. This type includes either daily or weekly accounting.
2. Summarized.

Daily accounting is applicable when an employee has the same working hours every day. Weekly accounting is necessary when an employee works a different number of hours on different days of the week. But in general, it fulfills the required temporary norm. It is equal to the 40 hours established by law.

With cumulative accounting, the duration may vary. Shortfalls on one day can be compensated by overtime on another, but during the accounting period the employee works out the required quota.

All nuances of an employee’s activities must be reflected in the employment contract. Flexible working hours (sample agreement) can be seen below.

If the accounting is violated, then the authorized person bears administrative responsibility, which is imposed by the federal labor inspection body.

Before the work day begins, the employee is required to mark the start of the shift. And after completion of work – the end of working hours. Time sheets must be publicly available to employees half an hour before the start of work and immediately after it ends. The employer or authorized person must ensure control over the accuracy of filling out the time sheet.

If an employee deviates from the established working hours, he must be counted as absenteeism.

Questions

In order to thoroughly understand what a flexible mode of performance of duties is, below are explanations on current topics.

Is this a five-day period and a special nature of the work?

This is the procedure for performing functions, which allows you to ensure that the total number of hours is worked out in the accounting period.

What to choose - a shift schedule or a rotating schedule?

In the first case, it is necessary to fulfill a certain norm during the working day, and in the second, the results are assessed based on the results of the reporting period.

How to determine the beginning and end of the working day?

According to the variable time periods established in the company’s local act.

Is it possible to have irregular working hours?

No, since a flexible schedule requires working a certain number of hours.

Is it possible to apply without drawing up a schedule?

It is impossible, you need to define the periods of the main and changing parts of the working day.

How to work on holidays?

According to general rules, working hours are reduced by one hour.

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Personnel

Who is it suitable for?

Recommendations for the use of flexible working time regimes state that they can affect absolutely any position and any organization.

An employment agreement with a sliding schedule can be concluded with a manager, marketer, secretary, etc., the main thing is to understand how appropriate such a schedule will be for a particular position.

For example, a staggered schedule will be convenient for both the employee and the employer if the former has other things to do besides work. This includes studying or working part-time.

The shift schedule has been known since Soviet times, when the employer needed round-the-clock production, and the performance of labor duties depended on the physiological characteristics of the workers. Since a person cannot work the whole day and 7 days a week, a shift work schedule was invented. And production does not stop, and employees have the opportunity to rest. Today it is widely used in factories, medical institutions, fire departments, law enforcement agencies, etc.

The establishment of flexible working hours in the form of a free schedule is well used in creative professions. The legal aspect is not violated here - both parties draw up an agreement on the performance of labor duties, and the employer himself does not overpay the employee for the time that he does not work. This schedule may be suitable for artists, designers, musicians, and writers.

There are, of course, professions where a flexible schedule would be inappropriate. This may include organizations where special security conditions or weak labor discipline apply. Also, a flexible schedule is not suitable for civil servants due to bureaucratic “sluggishness”.

Advantages and disadvantages

To date, flexible scheduling has not become widespread among companies operating in our country.

However, this approach can give the company a number of advantages, listed below:

Nuances

Flexible working hours are determined by mutual agreement of the two parties, namely the employee and the employer. But there are categories of workers for whom a flexible working time schedule is established initially. The basis for this is federal or industry legislation. The list of jobs where a flexible schedule should be introduced due to special specifics is indicated in Order No. 112 of the Ministry of Communications of the Russian Federation.

A normative document has also been established for women who are pregnant or have small children. And since it is still in effect today, it can be used as a guide for both the employee and the employer.

The use of a flexible schedule should provide a woman with an optimal combination of economic, social and personal aspects. According to the law, such a regime can be established either indefinitely or for a certain period. For example, for the duration of the school year or until the child reaches a specific age (16 years or adulthood).

Peculiarities

If the GDV is determined for the day, then the employee must, regardless of the time of his arrival, work the required time (mostly 8 hours) during the current day.

In a flexible weekly schedule, daily office time may vary, but must add up to the required amount (usually 40 hours). The same principle applies to the summation of working time in a flexible mode set for a month.

The employee determines the time of his arrival and departure independently , recording the time spent at work in a special journal or electronically.