Defining contract types

Defining contract types

Contract types are the basis for Shiftdesk correctly distinguishing between full-time, part-time, mini-job, and freelance workers. Each employee is assigned to exactly one contract type — payroll calculation, working time rules, and plus/minus hours are derived from it.

Creating a contract type

1. Go to Settings → Contract types.
2. Click Add contract type.
3. Fill in the fields (see table below).
4. Save with Create.

Important fields

Field	Description	Example value
name	Display name	"Full-time 40h"
payment_basis	Payment basis	hourly or salary
is_minijob	Mini-job flag (538 € limit in 2026)	true / false
plus_minus_enabled	Plus/minus hours active	true / false
weekly_hours	Target working time per week	40
default_rate_card	Default rate card	"Standard DE"
default_absence_policy	Vacation/sick leave rule	"30 days full-time"

Standard contract types

Shiftdesk ships with four templates that you can adopt or adjust:

• Full-time — salary or hourly, 40 h/week, plus/minus active
• Part-time — hourly, individual weekly hours, plus/minus active
• Mini-job — hourly, is_minijob: true, automatic 538 € warning
• Freelance — hourly, no plus/minus, no vacation entitlements

Mini-job specifics

With is_minijob active, Shiftdesk automatically warns you as soon as the employee would exceed the 538 € limit in the current month. The calculation is based on the stored hourly wage × planned/clocked hours.

Plus/minus hours

If plus_minus_enabled is active, Shiftdesk collects differences between target and actual time in a working-time account. For mini-jobs and freelancers, you usually leave this option deactivated.

Assigning employees

In the employee profile under Contract, you choose the contract type and override default values if needed (e.g. differing weekly hours).