New overtimes rules from 1 april 2026 (extra hours calculation)

As of 1 April 2026, new rules apply for how additional hours and overtime are to be handled. The change means that additional hours for both hourly paid and monthly salaried employees must be handled in the same way as overtime. In other words, excess working time is reconciled at the end of a defined calculation period, rather than on an ongoing basis.

What is changing?

Previously, additional hours were often paid as regular hourly wages up to the full-time working hours threshold. From 1 April, additional hours will, to a greater extent, be compensated as overtime.

The change in Timeplan primarily affects customers covered by the Visita/HRF agreement and the Retail Collective Agreement. If you are unsure which agreement applies to your organisation, contact your employer organisation. The change originates from an EU directive and will eventually apply to more agreement

Key concepts you need to know

Calculation period

Primarily used within HRF/Visita

In some collective agreements, such as HRF/Visita, a calculation period is used. In others, such as the retail sector, the process is usually handled through a “New Temporary Agreement”.

During the period, the schedule may vary freely. In some weeks, the employee may work more; in other weeks, less. The important thing is that the total working time at the end of the period matches what is stated in the employment contract.

The length of the period varies depending on the collective agreement and type of employment. The maximum is 8 weeks for hourly paid employees and up to 26 weeks for monthly salaried employees. See your specific agreement for details.

⚠️ Please note: Calculation periods and time banks/annual working time cannot be combined. You must use one or the other.

Substitute employment and special fixed-term employment

If an employee needs to cover for a colleague who is, for example, off sick, this can be arranged as substitute employment or special fixed-term employment. The increased working time is then paid as regular wages, not as overtime.

In Timeplan, there are two ways to handle this:

With a temporary employment agreement
The employee receives a formal temporary agreement with an increased employment rate. When the agreement period ends, the employee automatically returns to their regular employment agreement.

Without a temporary agreement, using a shift type
If the situation arises quickly and there is no time to create a formal agreement, the shift can instead be marked with the shift type Substitute Employment or Special Fixed-Term Employment. The wages are then paid as regular hourly wages.

Please note that if the temporary agreement is not created in Timeplan, there should be other documentation, such as an email, confirming the arrangement. This setup is primarily adapted for HRF/Visita customers.

Exchange of working time

If the manager and the employee have agreed to swap a shift, for example: “If you work tomorrow, you can take next Friday off,” this is considered an exchange of working time.

The shift is normally not counted as overtime because the working time is moved rather than increased.

Overtime

If the employee works more than their contractual working time, and this is not due to substitute employment, special fixed-term employment, or an exchanged shift, it is counted as overtime.

That time must then be compensated according to the overtime rules in the applicable collective agreement.

Overtime can arise in the following ways:

• In connection with an individual work shift
• During period reconciliation, if the total worked time after the end of the period exceeds the contractual working time
• When using the shift type “Overtime”

Before you can start using the new rules

Certain preparations must be completed before you can start using the new additional-hours rules in Timeplan:

Close the payroll period for March
The March payroll period must be closed before the upgrade can be carried out.

Notify Timeplan that you are ready
Send an email confirming that you are ready for the upgrade and state the date from which you want to start using the new rules.

⚠️ Important: Do not reopen closed payroll periods after the upgrade has been completed.

Please note: This applies to all customers who actively choose to have their Timeplan environment upgraded.

Step 1 – Create calculation periods

After the upgrade, you create one or more calculation periods in Timeplan.

You can have one shared period for the whole company, or different periods for different occupational groups or departments.

Go to Agreement → Calculation periods and create your period. Enter a name, such as “8 weeks”, and fill in the date intervals that should apply going forward. Add new intervals as needed.

Step 2 – Link employees to the calculation period

Each employee who is to follow the new rules must be linked to a calculation period.

Go to Staff → Base schedule and periods, select the employee, click New, and choose the applicable calculation period. Also enter the start date, usually 1 April or the employee’s employment start date if later.

This only needs to be done once. The employee will then automatically follow the date intervals you have entered in the calculation period.

Step 3 – Handle changes during the period

When the schedule changes during an ongoing period, it is important that the correct shift type is selected. Double-click the shift in Timeplan and choose the correct shift type:

Step 4 – Ongoing follow-up during the period

You do not need to wait until the end of the period to follow up. There are three ways to monitor the status continuously:

Weekly reconciliation report
Generate the report for the relevant calculation period.

Weekly overview
Show “Scheduled time incl. absence” in the left-hand column. Deviations are marked in red text and shown as a tooltip.

Staff → Period reconciliation
Here you can see contractual time compared with worked time up to today’s date.

Approving temporary work shifts and selecting compensation

When an employee works a temporary work shift, meaning Substitute Employment, Special Fixed-Term Employment, or Overtime, it must be approved in the action list.

Depending on whether the employee is hourly paid or monthly salaried, compensation for the working time can either be given as compensatory time off or paid out in money.

Depending on how Timeplan is configured, there are three different options for approving the time in the action list:

Approved

The time is paid out as hourly wages, regardless of whether the employee is hourly paid or monthly salaried.

Approved – Money

The time is paid out as hourly wages. If it is an overtime shift, the time may also be increased according to the applicable overtime factor.

Approved – Time

The time is added to the employee’s time bank. If it is an overtime shift, the time may also be increased according to the applicable overtime factor.

This option should only be used for monthly salaried employees, since hourly paid employees do not have a time bank. If “Approved – Time” is accidentally selected for an hourly paid employee, Substitute shifts, Special Fixed-Term shifts, and Overtime shifts will still be paid out as hourly wages.

Clarification

Hourly paid employees will always have the time paid out in money. This means that regardless of whether you select Approved, Approved – Money, or Approved – Time, the compensation will always be paid out as hourly wages.

Step 5 – Period reconciliation when the period has ended

When the calculation period has ended, you perform a period reconciliation under Staff → Period reconciliation. Timeplan automatically fills in the correct start and end dates based on the employee’s period.

Timeplan calculates whether there is a difference between contractual time and worked time. If the employee has worked more than agreed, the manager decides how the excess time should be handled:

• Hourly wages – for exchange shifts and substitute employment
• Additional hours 35% – paid out in money
• Compensatory time – given as time, increased by a factor of 1.5 if selected, and primarily only given to monthly salaried employees

For hourly paid employees, if the worked time is lower than the contractual time, the remaining part is also paid out as hourly wages.

Once the period has been reconciled, the next period starts automatically.