"This article deals with some recent trends in the patterns of working time in Germany as well as in industrial relations. Flexible forms of working time, particularly working time accounts, are gaining ground. At the same time, their introduction promotes a decentralization of collective bargaining. The industrial relations system typical of Germany has become far more elastic: the company level is gaining regulatory powers, without the protective framework of collective agreements being completely abandoned. The example of working time accounts illustrates how the interplay between the two levels of regulation can fulfil the ever more disparate requirements of companies and employees. Companies can cast off the straitjacket of uniform contractual working time standards, while regulated flexibility prevents employees from being placed at the mercy of flexible working time arrangements decided arbitrarily by the employer. This changed working time model can be described as ‘regulated flexibility'. Time management has become a new area of negotiation for workplace representation bodies."

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