- Working Time Act (ArbZG)
- German law governing the daily maximum working time, rest breaks, rest periods and rest on Sundays and public holidays — the framework for every shift plan.
- Rest period (Ruhezeit)
- Continuous time off between the end of one shift and the start of the next. At least 11 hours under § 5 ArbZG (reducible to 10 hours in certain industries).
- Rest break (Ruhepause)
- An interruption of working time within a shift. At least 30 minutes for more than 6 hours and 45 minutes for more than 9 hours of work (§ 4 ArbZG).
- Maximum working time
- The legally permitted daily working time: 8 hours per working day, extendable to up to 10 hours with corresponding compensation (§ 3 ArbZG).
- Shift-wish plan (Wunschdienstplan)
- A schedule that considers employees’ shift and holiday wishes. In vigotime via a points system that distributes popular and unpopular shifts fairly.
- Floater (Springer)
- Flexibly deployable employees without a fixed duty who cover short-notice absences. vigotime automatically suggests suitable floaters when someone drops out.
- Shift swap (Schichttausch)
- The exchange of an assigned shift between two employees. In vigotime requested and approved digitally, including rule checking.
- Schedule (Dienstplan)
- The assignment of employees to shifts over a planning period, taking demand, qualifications and legal rules into account.
- On-call duty (Bereitschaftsdienst)
- Time during which employees stay at a specified place to take up work if needed. Generally counts as working time.
- Night work (Nachtarbeit)
- Work during the night (usually 23:00–06:00). Special protective rules apply to night workers under § 6 ArbZG.