bank of hours

Meanings

1. 1phrasefixed phrasebusiness

   A system in which employees work extra time that is saved and later used as paid time off.

   Grammar: Used as a singular concept; do not say 'a bank of hour' or 'banks of hours' in this sense.

   Patterns

   • build up a bank of hours
   • use hours from the bank of hours
   • have a bank of hours

   Under the new policy, overtime goes into a bank of hours that you can draw on for vacation.

   She built up a bank of hours by working weekends and later took two weeks off.

   The company replaced the bank of hours with simple overtime pay.

2. 2phrasefixed phrase

   A stored amount of time that can be used later for a service or benefit.

   Grammar: Often appears with 'build up' or 'draw on' when describing how the stored time is used.

   Patterns

   • a bank of hours for something
   • draw on a bank of hours

   The charity offers a bank of hours for free legal advice to small businesses.

   Members pay into a bank of hours and then book help when they need it.

Common combinations

build up a bank of hours

You can build up a bank of hours instead of taking overtime pay.

draw on a bank of hours

Parents may draw on their bank of hours when a child is sick.

bank of hours policy

The bank of hours policy was popular with part-time staff.

put something into a bank of hours

Extra shifts are put into a bank of hours that never expires.

Synonyms and how they differ

time bank

Time bank is broader and often refers to community exchanges of services, while bank of hours usually means stored work time for an employee.

flexitime

Flexitime lets you choose when to work; a bank of hours is about saving extra time you have already worked.

Commonly confused: bank of hours or bank hours?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “bank of hours”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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