Creating, managing and correctly changing contracts

How Contracts Work in Jobilino

1. One contract = one period with clear rules

   A contract defines what applies to an employee during a specific period: how many weekly hours they work, on how many days per week, in which country (relevant for public holidays), which holiday policy applies, and how their remaining leave from the previous year is handled.

   Tipp: You can create as many contracts per employee as you wish – each one applies to a clearly defined period.

2. The current contract drives day-to-day operations

   Jobilino automatically identifies, based on the date, which contract applies to a time entry. This means, for example, that a holiday day in January is calculated according to the old contract, and a day in February according to the new one – without any intervention on your part.

   Tipp: The decisive factor is always the 'date' or the start of the time entry, not the day on which it was recorded.

3. Contract links employee, country and leave policy

   Three fields in the contract have far-reaching effects: 'Country' (determines which public holidays apply to this employee), 'Leave Policy' (entitlement and counting method) and 'Weekly hours / days per week' (target hours for reporting).

   Tipp: Without an assigned leave policy, no leave balance will be maintained for this employee.

4. Contract history is traceable

   All contracts of an employee remain visible – including old ones. This allows you to check at any time with what number of hours they were employed in, for example, the last quarter.

   Tipp: Contracts are never silently deleted. Corrections are made either by editing an existing contract or by creating a follow-up contract.

5. Target-actual comparison is based on contract data

   Weekly hours and 'days per week' define the target. Jobilino compares this target with the actual recorded times and displays overtime/shortfall hours in the reports.

   Tipp: If the number of hours changes mid-month, the proportions are automatically weighted on a daily basis.

Create initial contract for a new employee

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1. Invite employee

   Create the employee via 'Administration' → 'Users' → 'Add'. Even during the invitation process you can set weekly hours, days per week and country – Jobilino will automatically create the initial contract based on this information.

   Tipp: Default values are 40 hours per week / 5 days. Adjust these as needed, e.g. 22 hours / 4 days for part-time.

2. Entry date as contract start date

   Enter the employee's actual entry date as the contract 'Start date' – not the date on which you create the employee in the system.

   Tipp: The pro-rated holiday entitlement in the first year is calculated on the basis of this date.

3. Select country

   Select the country in which the employee works. This determines which public holiday calendar entries are skipped when they book 'working days' leave.

   Tipp: You can manage the public holidays themselves under 'Administration' → 'Public Holidays'.

4. Assign leave policy

   Under 'Leave Policy', select the appropriate policy. This controls entitlement, working days/calendar days counting, and the leave year (calendar year or contract start date).

   Tipp: If you save the employee without a policy, they can record time entries – but no leave balance will be maintained.

5. Define carry-over rules

   Optional: Enter 'Maximum carry-over' (in days) and 'Carry-over expiry date' (DD.MM, e.g. 31.03.). These fields belong to the contract, not to the policy.

   Tipp: Leaving these fields blank means: unlimited carry-over, no expiry. This allows two employees with the same policy to have different carry-over rules.

6. Save

   Click 'Save'. Jobilino will automatically create a period with a pro-rated entitlement for the current leave year.

Edit contract data (minor correction)

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1. When is a correction appropriate (instead of a follow-up contract)?

   A correction to the existing contract is appropriate if you made a typing error or a value was incorrect from the very beginning (e.g. country set incorrectly, start date shifted by one day).

   Tipp: Rule of thumb: 'It has always been this way' → correct the existing contract. 'Something new applies as of today' → create a follow-up contract (see next section).

2. Open employee

   Go to 'Administration' → 'Users' and select the employee. Open the 'Contract' tab.

3. Adjust value and save

   Correct the affected field and click 'Save'. Existing time entries will be re-evaluated retroactively based on the new values.

   Tipp: Please note: Changing the weekly hours in an existing contract takes effect retroactively for the entire contract period. If you only want to make changes 'from now on', please use a follow-up contract.

Contract change: hours, part-time/full-time, new role

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1. When is a follow-up contract needed?

   A follow-up contract is the clean solution when something changes from a specific date: different weekly hours, different days per week, a new leave policy, a change of country (e.g. a transfer), or new carry-over rules.

   Tipp: Advantage: the old and new phases remain separately traceable. Before/after evaluations display the respectively applicable target values.

2. End current contract

   In the current contract, set the 'End date' to the last day of the previous arrangement (e.g. 31 January).

   Tipp: The end date is inclusive – the old contract is still valid on that day.

3. Create successor contract

   Click on 'Add contract' and enter the day after the end of the previous contract as the 'Start date' (e.g. 1 February). Set all fields anew: weekly hours, days per week, country, holiday policy, carry-over.

   Tipp: Do not leave a gap between the end of the old contract and the start of the new one – otherwise days within the gap will be evaluated without a contract.

4. Save

   Click 'Save'. From the start date onwards, the new values take effect immediately – for new time entries, target/actual evaluations and holiday bookings.

   Tipp: Already approved holiday days in the old phase retain their previous valuation. New holiday days in the new phase are calculated according to the new rules.

5. Effect on the Holiday Balance

   If the holiday policy or the weekly hours change, Jobilino adjusts the entitlement for the current holiday year on a pro-rata basis: entitlement of the old phase × proportion + entitlement of the new phase × proportion.

   Tipp: Example: Full entitlement 25 days. Switch on 1 July to a policy with 30 days → balance for the year 12.5 + 15.0 = 27.5 days.

Terminate contract / Employee departure

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1. Enter the last working day

   Set the 'End date' in the current contract to the employee's last working day.

   Tipp: Up to and including this date, they can log time and book holiday.

2. Clarify remaining leave

   Check the balance as of the leaving date under 'Leave Bookings'. For any unused days, decide: payment (manual adjustment with a negative value and the reason 'Payment of remaining leave') or forfeiture.

   Tipp: This ensures that the journal clearly shows why the balance is zero on the last working day.

3. Deactivate employee

   Set the employee to 'inactive' under 'Users'. They will then no longer be able to log in, but all historical data will be retained.

   Tipp: We recommend 'inactive' instead of 'delete'. This keeps reports for past periods and payroll records complete.

Re-entry: same employee, new period

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1. Reactivate employee

   Set the employee back to 'active'.

2. New contract with re-entry date

   Create a new contract. Use the re-entry date as the 'start date', not the original joining date.

   Tipp: This ensures the holiday year starts correctly on a pro-rata basis for the new phase. The old contracts and times remain documented.