There are no clear working hours in your contract – what do you need to know?

For example, if your employment contract states that you have to work between 10 and 40 hours a week, this rule is unclear and not permitted.

If your employment contract states unclear working hours, you need to calculate how many hours you work on average: For example, you work 20 hours in the first week of the month, 40 hours in the second week, 20 hours in the third and 20 hours again in the fourth. Then your average working hours are 25 hours per week. You must be paid for this time, even if you sometimes work less.

How to calculate your average working hours:

Working hours in week 1

+  working hours in week 2

+  working hours in week 3

+  working hours in week 4 

= B        

Divide the result B by 4 (because there are 4 weeks in one month)

B / 4 = average number of working hours per month

Example calculation: 20 + 40 + 20 + 20 = 100 / 4 = 25

There are also jobs where you have flexible working hours, such as flexitime (Gleitzeit). For this purpose, a flexitime account is kept which records minus and plus hours. You can then decide for yourself when and how much you work within a defined framework (in the employment contract or a company agreement).