Core working hours
Core time is the part of the flexitime framework in which all employees have to be present. Outside it, the start and the end can be chosen freely.
As of:September 2026
What it is for
Core time secures a period in which arrangements, handovers and availability are possible. Four to five hours is typical, for instance from 09:30 to 15:00, and often shorter on Fridays.
It does not follow from the law but from a works agreement, a collective agreement or the employment contract. Where a works council exists, setting it is subject to codetermination (section 87(1) no. 2 BetrVG).
MetronHR works these figures out itself: time accounts, premiums, overtime and the limits of the German Working Hours Act, with every booking.
Why it is becoming less common
With distributed teams and mobile working, fixed attendance loses its value, because arrangements run through calendars and chat anyway. Many businesses therefore replace core time with rules on availability or with fixed meetings.
Anyone abolishing it should settle that expressly. A core time lived for years can continue to have effect as established company practice, and where it is set out in a works agreement, abolishing it needs the works council's consent.
Example: a framework with core time
- Flexitime framework 06:00 to 20:00.
- Core time Monday to Thursday 09:30 to 15:00, Friday 09:30 to 13:00.
- Anyone starting at 07:00 and taking a 30-minute break reaches eight hours at 15:30.
- Anyone starting at 09:30 works until 18:00.
Common mistake
A core time that effectively covers the whole day is no longer flexitime. If only half an hour lies between the end of core time and the end of the framework, the flexibility exists only on paper.
Further reading
- Section 87(1) no. 2 BetrVG
- Section 3 ArbZG
This is not legal advice; for a specific case at your workplace you are better off asking someone qualified to give it.
Published by: AMNAU GmbH
Editorial responsibility: Ugur Aydogan, Product development.
Last reviewed: September 2026
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Related terms
Flexitime
With flexitime, employees determine the start and end of their daily working time themselves within a given framework. The agreed working time stays unchanged, only its timing is flexible.
Trust-based working time
With trust-based working time the employer dispenses with dictating the start and end of daily working time and looks at the result. The agreed working time is still owed.
Target hours
Target hours are the hours a person has to work contractually in a period. They are the comparison figure for the hours actually worked and therefore the basis of every time account.
Flexitime window
The flexitime framework is the period within which daily working time may fall. It limits flexitime at each end.