In the CLA hospitality 2025-2026, improved agreements have been made regarding overtime and its compensation. How did it work again and what has changed?
In hospitality, we work with an annual hours system. You agree with your employer on the number of hours you need to work annually, but the allocation and distribution of these hours throughout the year can vary. For example, you often work more during the busy summer period and holidays than in quieter periods.
The number of hours you must work annually is determined per reference period. This is a period of 12 consecutive months. This period is usually the same as a calendar year or holiday year. Your employer may apply a different 12-month period, but it must apply to all your colleagues and be stated in your employment contract.
The normal working time in hospitality is 1,976 hours per reference period and is based on an average working duration of 38 hours per week (full-time). During this period, your employer can add and subtract hours. At the end of the reference period, your employer then balances the hours.
Under hours, extra hours and overtime
- Under hours are hours that you have worked less per reference period than you should have based on your employment contract, but for which you have still been paid.
- Extra hours are the hours that you have worked more per reference period at the request of your employer than you have agreed upon.
- If you work more than the normal working hours (1,976 hours per year) per reference period at the request of your employer, it is considered overtime.
Compensation for deficit hours, additional hours, and overtime
Deficit hours expire at the end of the reference period, unless the cause of the deficit hours lies with you. This may be the case if you schedule yourself too little. These deficit hours must then be made up no later than three months after the end of the reference period. If you assume a reference period per calendar year, this means that these deficit hours will expire on 1 April 2026.
Additional hours and overtime are compensated in time for time within three months after the end of the reference period. If that is not possible, your employer must pay each additional or overtime hour at 100% of the hourly salary no later than the following month. This means that any additional or overtime hours accumulated over the whole of 2025 must be compensated in free time before 1 April 2026. If this is not achieved, your employer must pay the additional or overtime hours in April.
New agreements in CLA 2025/2026
More control over taking time for time hours
Have you accumulated time for time hours as a result of additional or overtime work? Then you may request your employer to take those hours. This request must be made in a timely manner, at least before the schedule is made and at least three weeks in advance, so that it can be taken into account when creating the duty and work schedule. An employer may only refuse the request if it causes problems for the work in the company, such as in companies dependent on seasons.
Limitation on additional hours and overtime
Your employer cannot require you to perform more than 10% overtime or additional work within the reference period. If the total number of extra hours worked exceeds 10%, you may refuse a request for additional or overtime work. If you wish to work more, that is of course allowed.
For employment contracts with a scope of less than 1,040 hours per reference period, a different maximum of 104 hours of additional work applies. If the total number of additional hours exceeds this, you may refuse a request for additional hours.
Your employer is responsible for proper scheduling and maintaining a register of hours worked. However, it is wise to keep track of your own hours during a reference period. This way, you maintain insight into your own hours.
Do you expect to work a lot of extra hours? Then think ahead about when you want to take your time-for-time hours, and when you can no longer be obliged to do overtime or additional work. Are you accumulating a lot of negative hours? Discuss this with your employer in good time and ask to be scheduled for more hours.
Keeping track of and checking your worked hours can be challenging. That’s why De Horecabond has developed the shift logbook. In it, you can easily record your hours, breaks, leave days, sick days, and any negative hours.