What Is Annualised Hours? | HR Glossary | BambooHR
A contract that sets total working hours over a year rather than per week, allowing flexible scheduling.
Annualised hours arrangements set an employee's working time as a total number of hours across the whole year, instead of a fixed number each week. Hours can then be distributed to match demand — more in busy periods, fewer in quiet ones.
The approach suits organisations with seasonal or fluctuating workloads, giving flexibility while offering employees a stable, predictable income spread evenly across the year.
It requires careful record-keeping to track hours worked against the annual total, and clear rules on rostering, overtime and how any shortfall or excess is handled.
