Annualised hours systems were first adopted in the UK in the early 1980s .
Based on Scandanavian models, they were a response to the challenging market conditions and operational practices of the time and targeted as cost reduction and efficiency improvement vehicles.
Perhaps even more importantly, those organisations implementing them found that the concept had additionally provided a powerful catalyst for change in how their business operated and the relationship with their workforce.
Today, however, annualised hours seem to have developed a bad name. Organisations steering away from those principles either by way of reputation or through failed ‘local’ implementations.
The premise of this white paper is to maintain that the principles of annualisation are still sound and viable in today’s market and perhaps even more so than ever before.
The aim of the paper is to remind the reader of the core principles of annualisation and some sound strategies around the introduction and on-going management of such a system.
Definitions:
There are numerous definitions of annual or annualised hours, some of which are:
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