Accrual and taking of saved hours. ▪ The employer may require the employee to accrue up to 80 saved hours each calendar year. Accrual may be spread over a total of 26 weeks. In the case of infrastructure work under the framework scheme, the maximum amounts to 160 saved hours. ▪ Mandatory extra hours are worked in units of at least half an hour. This is subject to limits of 3 hours per week and 64 hours per calendar year. In the case of infrastructure work under the framework scheme, limits of 5 hours per week and 128 hours per calendar year apply. To reach the maximum number of saved hours per year, the employee may also submit travel hours. ▪ The employer converts the mandatory extra hours and travel hours to the number of hours saved. - One mandatory extra hour is equal to one saved hour plus the applicable allowance percentage for that hour according to Table 2.9.4. - The conversion from travel hours to saved hours is as follows. If the employee's guaranteed wage is equal to the guaranteed wage of job group A or lower, one travel hour equals one saved hour. If their guaranteed wage is higher, the employer divides the guaranteed wage of job group A by the employee's guaranteed wage. In this latter case, one travel hour yields less than one saved hour. The employer may not compensate this using mandatory extra hours. As an example, Table 2.9.3 shows how the conversion of travel hours into saved hours works out for an employee with a guaranteed wage according to Table 4.2. ▪ The employer may apply the saved hours in periods when there is less work. Saved hours are exclusively applied in blocks of an entire day. ▪ The employer provides the employee with an overview showing when it will apply what number of saved hours. It shall do so at least seven days in advance. The employer keeps the overview in its records. ▪ The employer has until 1 April each year to apply accrued saved hours. If any saved hours remain on that date they will expire, unless the employee has opted to carry them over to the next saved hours period. In the latter case, the employer can apply these hours until 1 April of the following calendar year.
