What Is a Contract in KiDig?

A contract in KiDig defines the terms that drive all time calculations for an employee: how many hours they should work, on which days, and in what role. Every employee must have at least one active contract for KiDig to calculate target times.

Contract Fields

Field Description Example
Weekly hours Total contracted hours per week 39.0 h
Workdays Number of days worked per week 5
Employee type Role classification for staffing calculations Fachkraft (Specialist)
Valid from Start date of the contract 01.01.2026
Valid to End date (leave empty for open-ended contracts) 31.12.2026

Employee Types

KiDig distinguishes the following employee types, which are relevant for KVJS staffing calculations:

  • Fachkraft (Specialist): Qualified childcare worker (Erzieher/in)
  • Hilfskraft (Assistant): Support staff without full qualification
  • PIA (Praxisintegrierte Ausbildung): Trainee in the integrated training programme
  • Leitung (Manager): Facility director
  • Stellvertretung (Deputy): Deputy director
  • Hauswirtschaft / Non-care: Kitchen, cleaning, or administrative staff not counted in care ratios

The employee type determines whether and how the person counts toward the staff-to-child ratio in group planning.

How Contracts Drive Target Time

The contract's weekly hours and workdays directly determine the daily target:

  • In Average Daily mode: daily target = weekly hours / workdays
  • In Framework Duty Plan mode: daily targets are set per weekday in the tariff settings, but the contract's weekly hours serve as the reference total

Example: An employee with 30 weekly hours over 5 workdays has a daily target of 6.00 hours in Average Daily mode.

Validity Periods

Each contract has a valid from and an optional valid to date.

  • Open-ended contracts: Leave the valid to field empty. The contract remains active indefinitely.
  • Fixed-term contracts: Set both dates. When the contract expires, the employee becomes inactive in KiDig (see below).
  • No gaps allowed: If an employee transitions from one contract to another, the new contract should start the day after the old one ends.

Multiple Contracts

Employees can have multiple sequential contracts -- for example, when hours change mid-year or when a fixed-term contract is renewed. KiDig uses the contract that is valid on each calendar day to determine the correct target.

Important: Only one contract can be active on any given day. Overlapping contracts cause calculation errors.

What Happens When a Contract Expires

When an employee's contract reaches its valid to date:

  • The employee disappears from the default employee list in the admin view. This is the most common reason for the "missing employee" issue (see the related article).
  • Historical data is preserved. Past months remain fully accessible.
  • The employee cannot log new time entries for dates beyond the contract period.
  • To reactivate, create a new contract with the appropriate start date.

Tips

  • Review contracts at year-end. Fixed-term contracts expiring on December 31 will cause employees to vanish from the list on January 1.
  • Update weekly hours promptly when an employee's contract changes. Retroactive changes are possible but may require reviewing affected months.
  • Use the contract history to verify past settings. KiDig stores all contract versions for audit purposes.