What are core hours in flextime?

Core hours are the part of the day when every employee on a flextime scheme must be working, for example 10am to 4pm. They make meetings and collaboration predictable, while the flexible bands before and after let people choose their own start and finish times.

Is flextime the same as flexible working?

No. Flexible working is the broad term for any change to hours, timing or location, including part-time work, compressed hours, job sharing and remote work. Flextime is one type of flexible working that changes only start and finish times, within limits the employer sets.

Do employees on flextime still work full hours?

Yes. Flextime does not reduce contracted hours. Employees choose when to work them, and the total is checked over a settlement period such as a week or a month. Any surplus or shortfall is carried forward or settled under the scheme's rules.

What Is Flextime (Flexitime)?

Definition

Flextime is a working arrangement that lets employees choose when they start and finish each day, within limits set by the employer, as long as they work their contracted hours. Most schemes include core hours when everyone must be available, with flexible bands on either side.

How flextime works

A flextime scheme has three parts. Core hours are the fixed window when everyone must be working, for example 10am to 4pm. Flexible bands sit either side, such as 7am to 10am and 4pm to 7pm, and employees choose their start and finish times within them. A settlement period, often a week or a month, is the span over which the contracted hours must add up.

Many schemes let employees build up a credit or a debit of hours within set limits, and some allow banked hours to be taken as time off, often called a flexi day. Simpler schemes just let people start any time in the morning band and work a full day.

If a role still needs people available during set hours, springhire's qualifying questions can ask every applicant about working hours before any assessment starts.

How to calculate a flextime balance

The flextime balance is hours worked minus contracted hours for the settlement period. An employee contracted for 37.5 hours a week who works 40 hours has a balance of plus 2.5 hours. Over a four-week settlement period with 150 contracted hours, working 156 hours gives a credit of 6 hours, which the scheme may let them carry forward or take as time off.

Set a maximum credit and debit that can move into the next period, so balances stay manageable and nobody accumulates weeks of time owed.

Flextime vs other flexible working

Flextime changes when work happens, not how much or where. Compressed hours fit the same total into fewer days, part-time work reduces the total, and remote or hybrid work changes the location. Shift work is different again: the employer sets the schedule, while flextime gives the choice to the employee within agreed limits.

In the UK, employees can request flexible working, including flexitime, from their first day in a job. Employers must deal with requests in a reasonable manner and can refuse them if they have a good business reason.

Benefits and common problems

Employees gain control over commuting, caring responsibilities and the hours when they work best. For employers, flextime can help with attracting and keeping staff, and it can stretch the hours a team covers without paying overtime.

Problems usually come from weak rules: no core hours, so meetings are hard to arrange; no time recording, so balances are guessed; or roles that need fixed cover being offered flextime they cannot really use. Write down which roles are eligible, the core hours, how time is recorded and the carry-forward limits.