Hours bank: individual and collective agreements, and the deadline for each

In an hours bank, extra hours worked become credit to take time off later, instead of being paid as overtime. Hours short become a debit, to be made up. It works well when demand varies over the year, as long as the rules are followed.

The three forms under the CLT

Form	How it's agreed	Deadline to offset
Collective hours bank	Collective agreement or collective bargaining agreement	Up to 1 year (art. 59, § 2)
Individual hours bank	Written individual agreement	Up to 6 months (art. 59, § 5)
Offsetting within the month	Individual agreement, tacit or written	Within the same month (art. 59, § 6)

In all of them, the limit of 10 hours worked per day applies when offsetting (art. 59, § 2).

What happens when the deadline passes

If the deadline ends with a positive balance, the unoffset hours must be paid as overtime, with the premium. That's why each balance's deadline needs to be visible: an hour worked in March under a 6-month agreement expires in September, not at the end of the year.

Does habitual overtime cancel the hours bank?

No. Since the 2017 reform, art. 59-B says habitual overtime doesn't invalidate the offsetting agreement or the hours bank. That doesn't remove the need to watch the daily limits and each hour's deadline.

Good practices

• Put it in writing, even when the law accepts a tacit agreement: it's easier to prove what was agreed.
• Show the person their balance. People who track their own bank schedule their time off in advance.
• Track expiration hour by hour, not just the total balance.
• Simulate before changing the rule. Use the hours bank simulator to see the effect of a longer week.