One question we receive all the time is, what happens when the family goes on vacation? Does the nanny get paid as usual? The answer depends on the kind of contract between the two parties. Freelancers are generally only paid for the time they work, so they likely wouldn’t be compensated when a family travels. It’s different, however, if the nanny works on an employment contract.
On an employment contract, the employer is obligated to provide the employee the opportunity to work. If they aren’t able to do that for any reason (such as going out of town on vacation), then the employee’s wages aren’t affected. Imagine if an office had to close for construction, and all the employees salaries were paused. If the employees are available and able to work, then their salaries are paid all the same.
However, with part time employment situations, German labor law does leave some opportunity for flexibility. Every Lighthouse employment contract contains a clause allowing the use of an Arbeitszeitkonto, or, in English, a working-time account.
What Is an Arbeitszeitkonto?
An Arbeitszeitkonto is a system used in Germany to track working hours outside of the regular working hours. Instead of adjusting pay according to the hours worked, the salary remains the same each month, and positive or negative hours are recorded as a balance.
So what happens if you go out of town and don’t need your nanny to work for a few days? Or what if you have evening plans and want her to come for a date night, outside of her usual hours? For occurrences like these, you’d use the Arbeitszeitkonto.
The Arbeitszeitkonto gives you some flexibility to rearrange hours, always with prior notice (at Lighthouse, we have a minimum of 48 hours) and mutual consent. That means both sides have to agree on the new working time.
It is designed for occasional use, such as family vacations, during which the nanny’s work isn’t needed. It is NOT for daily use. If you are adjusting the hours every single shift, then the contract needs to be amended to allow for on-call work.
It is also NOT for reallocating hours at the last minute. So if, for instance, mom or dad decide to come home early from work one day and let the nanny go an hour early, this is considered a last-minute change. That hour would not be added to the Arbeitszeitkonto, but would be paid as usual.
Key Rules
- Must be clearly defined in the contract (this is the case with Lighthouse Nanny employment contracts created after February 2026).
- Minimum wage must always be paid in the pay period it is worked. So if you need to work a lot of hours in addition to your regular hours in one pay period to make up a deficit or store up a surplus, you need to make sure your monthly salary still manages to pay at least minimum wage for the number of hours actually worked in that pay period.
- Set limits on surplus/deficit hours. In general, Lighthouse contracts have a deficit cap of 10 hours, and a surplus cap of 20 hours.
- The account should be maintained in a spreadsheet or other document to which all parties have access.
- Always be arranged with prior notice (at Lighthouse, that means at least 48 hours) and mutual consent (both sides have to agree).
A few Arbeitszeitkonto examples
A family employs a nanny for 8 hours per week. The family goes on holiday for a week, and so the nanny won’t be working during that time. The nanny’s monthly salary stays exactly the same, and the family would add those 8 hours to their Arbeitszeitkonto. Then they would arrange a time for the nanny to make up the hours after they return from holiday.
At Lighthouse nanny, the Arbeitszeitkonto has a limit of a deficit of 10 hours, which means there can’t be more than -10 hours recorded at any time. Let’s say a family employs a nanny for 20 hours per week. They are going on holiday for a week. The nanny can then work an additional 10 hours before the family leaves for holiday, giving the Arbeitszeitkonto a balance of +10. Then when the family returns from holiday, the Arbeitszeitkonto balance is at -10.
In cases of lengthy holidays (several weeks or months) it won’t always be possible for all the missed hours to be recovered.
How does the Arbeitszeitkonto work at Lighthouse Nanny?
If you set up a part time employment contract with Lighthouse Nanny, an Arbeitszeitkonto is automatically allowed. It is generally capped at -10 hours and +20 hours, giving you the possibility to recover up to 30 hours, but individually nanny’s terms may vary.
Want to learn more about setting up an Arbeitszeitkonto with Lighthouse? Fill out a family application and we’ll be in touch.
