Terms of Service

1. Definitions and scope

1.1. hours24 is a workforce management software service (the Service) owned and provided by Hours OÜ, Estonian registry code 16434060, Nikolai 10, 80011 Pärnu, Estonia (Hours). The Service is used through the website hours24.com and the mobile applications.

1.2. The Customer is a legal person, or a person acting in the course of economic or professional activity, that has concluded an agreement with Hours to use the Service (the Customer). The Service is intended solely for business use; by registering, the registrant confirms that they act in the course of economic or professional activity and are authorised to represent the Customer.

1.3. A User is a natural person (e.g. the Customer's employee) whom the Customer has authorised to use the Service. Users use the Service under the Customer's authority; the contractual relationship is between Hours and the Customer.

1.4. The Privacy Policy and the Cookie Policy form part of these terms (together, the Terms). The Terms are made available to the Customer before the agreement is concluded and are an integral part of the agreement. If Hours and the Customer have agreed on special terms in writing, the special terms prevail in case of conflict.

2. The Service

2.1. The Service enables, among other things, working time records, shift scheduling, absence and leave management, HR data and document management, reporting and team communication. The Service modules and their contents are described on the website; the Customer's chosen set of modules applies.

2.2. Physical clock-in devices (e.g. biometric terminals, RFID tags, QR kiosks, Bluetooth beacons, turnstiles) and third-party systems chosen by the Customer (e.g. payroll and accounting software, e-signing services, access control systems) can be connected to the Service. Third-party services are governed by their own terms; Hours is not responsible for the operation of third-party services.

2.3. Hours develops the Service continuously and may change its functionality provided the essential nature of the Service is preserved. Hours gives the Customer reasonable advance notice of any material reduction of functionality.

3. Account and users

3.1. When creating an account, the Customer provides true information and keeps it up to date. The Customer is responsible for the confidentiality of its account credentials and for all activity carried out through its accounts.

3.2. The Customer decides which Users receive which permissions in the Service and is responsible for its Users' activity in the Service.

3.3. If a security breach is suspected, each party notifies the other without delay and the Customer changes the relevant passwords.

4. Trial period and free plan

4.1. A new Customer may try the Service free of charge for 14 days. During the trial the Service features are available without payment obligation; no credit card is required. At the end of the trial the Service continues only if the Customer chooses a paid plan or qualifies for the free plan.

4.2. The free plan (Small Business) is intended for teams of up to 5 employees as described on the website. Hours may change the content and limits of the free plan with at least 30 days' notice; changes do not deprive an existing Customer of the right to use the free plan while its team has up to 5 employees. Abuse of the free plan (e.g. creating multiple accounts to avoid fees) is prohibited; in case of abuse Hours may merge accounts or restrict use.

5. Fees and invoicing

5.1. The prices of the paid Service are published in the price list on the website. Billing is monthly or annually in advance, at the Customer's choice; the discount published in the price list applies to annual billing.

5.2. Hours issues invoices by e-mail. The payment term is stated on the invoice and is at least 14 days. If the Customer wishes to dispute an invoice, it does so within a reasonable time; an undisputed invoice is presumed accepted, without depriving the Customer of the right to raise justified objections later.

5.3. In case of late payment, Hours may claim statutory default interest (Estonian Law of Obligations Act § 113) and compensation for collection costs to the extent provided by law. If the debt remains unpaid for more than 14 days after a reminder, Hours may restrict access to the Service until payment; data is not deleted during that time.

5.4. Price changes do not affect a period already paid for. Hours gives at least 30 days' notice of price changes and the new price applies from the next billing period. If the Customer does not agree with a price change, it may terminate the agreement before the change takes effect without additional charges; in that case Hours refunds prepaid fees for the unused period proportionately.

6. Devices

6.1. Rented devices. Hours rents the terminals and devices named in the price list to the Customer for a monthly fee. Rented devices remain the property of Hours. The Customer uses the devices with care and for their intended purpose and returns them at the end of the agreement, normal wear and tear excepted. In case of culpable damage, destruction or loss of a device, the Customer compensates its replacement value.

6.2. Purchased devices. The price and installation fee of purchased devices (e.g. turnstiles) are agreed in a quote. Title to a device passes to the Customer upon full payment of the purchase price; the risk of accidental destruction and damage passes upon delivery. Defects are governed by the sales provisions of the Estonian Law of Obligations Act; the Customer notifies Hours of a defect within a reasonable time after discovering it.

6.3. Installation, configuration and maintenance of devices are agreed separately. Hours is not responsible for device malfunctions caused by the Customer's infrastructure (e.g. lack of power or network) or non-intended use of the device.

7. Personal data processing (data processing agreement)

7.1. For personal data entered into or collected through the Service by the Customer (e.g. employee data), the Customer is the controller and Hours is the processor. This chapter constitutes a data processing agreement (DPA) under GDPR Art 28 and takes effect together with the Terms.

7.2. Subject matter and duration: hosting and processing of personal data to provide the Service for the term of the agreement. Nature and purpose: working time records, scheduling, absence and HR management and related reporting. Categories of data subjects: the Customer's employees, other Users designated by the Customer, and employees' family members where the Customer enters their data (e.g. children's dates of birth for leave entitlement). Types of personal data: identification and contact data, working time and absence data (including the fact of sickness-related absence), pay-related data, documents, attendance events from devices, location data of the optional geofence automation, location data from fleet integrations activated by the Customer, workspace content (chat messages, announcements, survey responses, uploaded files), and biometric identification events (where the Customer has adopted biometric identification).

7.3. As processor, Hours:

• processes personal data (including transfers to a third country or international organisation) only on the Customer's documented instructions (including instructions given through Service settings), unless processing is required by law - in which case Hours informs the Customer before processing, unless prohibited; for transfers outside the EEA, Hours ensures a safeguard under Chapter V of the GDPR (an adequacy decision or standard contractual clauses); if Hours considers an instruction to infringe the GDPR, it immediately informs the Customer;
• ensures that persons authorised to process personal data are bound by confidentiality;
• implements technical and organisational security measures under GDPR Art 32 (encryption in transit and at rest, role-based access, access logging, backups - see also the Privacy Policy);
• assists the Customer with reasonable measures in responding to data subject requests (the Service provides export, rectification and deletion functions) and in complying with GDPR Art 32-36;
• notifies the Customer of a personal data breach without undue delay after becoming aware of it;
• at the end of the agreement, deletes or returns all personal data at the Customer's choice (see section 14), except data whose retention is required by law;
• makes available to the Customer the information necessary to demonstrate compliance with Art 28 and allows audits and inspections by the Customer or an auditor mandated by the Customer (bound by confidentiality) on reasonable terms (advance notice, as a rule no more than once a year, except after a personal data breach or at the request of a supervisory authority).

7.4. Sub-processors. The Customer grants Hours a general authorisation to engage sub-processors (the categories are listed in the Privacy Policy; the current list is available on request at info@hours.ee). Hours gives the Customer advance notice of any intended addition or replacement of sub-processors; if the Customer objects on justified data protection grounds, it may terminate the agreement. Hours imposes equivalent data protection obligations on sub-processors and remains liable for their acts as for its own.

7.5. Customer's obligations as controller. The Customer ensures that it has a legal basis for processing employee data, that employees have been informed of the processing (including monitoring and clock-in systems) in accordance with GDPR Art 13, and that the Service settings (including location-based features) comply with applicable law. When adopting biometric identification, the Customer ensures the employee's explicit prior consent, offers an equivalent alternative clock-in method without adverse consequences, and deletes the template when consent is withdrawn.

7.6. Hours does not use the Customer's personal data for its own purposes. Hours may use anonymised, aggregated data (from which neither individuals nor the Customer can be identified) for Service development and statistics.

8. Customer obligations and acceptable use

8.1. The Customer undertakes to:

• use the Service in accordance with applicable law and the Terms, and not use it for fraud or unlawful activity;
• ensure that the data it enters does not infringe third-party rights;
• not upload malware or content that impairs the operation of the Service;
• not sell, rent or sublicense the Service to third parties without Hours' written consent;
• not reverse engineer the Service or use it to build a competing service.

8.2. The Service's default settings and helper features (e.g. overtime, break, rounding and leave calculation rules, document templates, reminders) are aids. The Customer is responsible for ensuring that its chosen settings, and decisions based on them, comply with the laws and collective agreements applicable to the Customer. The Service and its outputs are not legal, tax or HR advice.

8.3. The e-signing and acknowledgement features of the Service are based on a simple electronic signature or on a third-party signing service chosen by the Customer. The Customer decides which signing method is legally appropriate for which document and is responsible for the content and retention of signed documents.

9. AI features

9.1. The AI features of the Service (e.g. the AI assistant, schedule drafting help, document generation) are optional and may be subject to usage limits (e.g. a monthly token quota) in accordance with the price list.

9.2. AI outputs are assistive suggestions and may contain inaccuracies. The Customer reviews outputs before making decisions based on them; AI outputs are not legal or HR advice. Hours may reasonably limit the use of AI features (e.g. in case of misuse or technical issues).

10. Intellectual property

10.1. The Service, its software, design and content (excluding Customer data) belong to Hours or its licensors. The Customer receives a non-exclusive, non-transferable right to use the Service in its business in accordance with the Terms for the duration of the agreement.

10.2. Data entered into the Service by the Customer belongs to the Customer. The Customer grants Hours the right to process that data solely to provide the Service during the agreement and to comply with legal obligations.

10.3. If the Customer provides feedback or suggestions about the Service, Hours may use them free of charge to develop the Service.

11. Confidentiality

11.1. Each party keeps confidential the other party's confidential information and trade secrets (information that is secret, has commercial value and is subject to reasonable protective measures) and uses them only to perform the agreement. This obligation survives termination.

11.2. Disclosure is permitted where required by law or a competent authority, with advance notice to the other party where possible, and to advisers bound by equivalent confidentiality obligations.

12. Availability and support

12.1. Hours provides the Service with due care and strives for continuous availability but does not guarantee uninterrupted or error-free operation. Hours gives advance notice of planned maintenance expected to cause a material interruption.

12.2. Hours provides reasonable customer support by e-mail on business days. Dedicated support and service level agreements (SLA) are available in the Enterprise plan by separate agreement.

13. Liability

13.1. Neither party is liable to the other for indirect damage or loss of profit.

13.2. Hours' aggregate liability under the agreement is limited to the amount paid by the Customer for the Service during the 12 months preceding the event giving rise to liability. If the Customer uses only the free plan or the trial, Hours' aggregate liability is limited to EUR 500.

13.3. The limitations in sections 13.1 and 13.2 do not apply to damage caused intentionally or through gross negligence, to causing death or damage to health, or in any other case where limiting liability is prohibited by law.

13.4. The Customer compensates Hours for damage arising from justified third-party (including data subject) claims caused by the Customer's breach of the Terms or of data protection requirements as controller (e.g. missing legal basis or failure to inform).

13.5. Neither party is liable for a breach caused by force majeure (including a large-scale cyber attack, power outage or extensive failure of third-party infrastructure). Force majeure does not excuse the performance of payment obligations. If force majeure lasts more than 60 days, either party may terminate the agreement.

14. Term and termination

14.1. The agreement is concluded for an indefinite term. The Customer may terminate the agreement at any time with effect from the end of the current billing period by notice in a form enabling written reproduction. Prepaid fees for unused periods are not refunded, except where the agreement is terminated under section 5.4 or 15.2, due to force majeure (section 13.5) or by the Customer for cause due to Hours' material breach (section 14.2) - in those cases Hours refunds prepaid fees for the unused period proportionately.

14.2. Either party may terminate the agreement for cause if the other party materially breaches the agreement and fails to remedy the breach within 14 days of a written warning. Each party's statutory right to terminate a continuing contract for good reason remains unaffected.

14.3. After the agreement ends, Hours retains the Customer's data for export for 30 days; during that time the Customer may request its data in a machine-readable format. Hours then deletes the Customer's data from active systems within 3 months at the latest; data in backups is deleted in the course of their normal rotation. Data whose retention is required by law (e.g. accounting source documents for 7 years) is excepted.

15. Changes to the Terms

15.1. Hours may amend the Terms for good reason (e.g. changes in law, development of the Service, security requirements, material changes in input costs). Hours notifies the Customer of amendments by e-mail or through the Service at least 30 days before they take effect.

15.2. If the Customer does not agree with an amendment, it may terminate the agreement before the amendment takes effect; in that case Hours refunds prepaid fees for the unused period proportionately. Continued use of the Service after the amendment takes effect constitutes acceptance.

16. Governing law and disputes

16.1. The Terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of Estonia.

16.2. The parties seek to resolve disputes through negotiations. Failing agreement, disputes are resolved by Harju County Court, Estonia.

17. Final provisions

17.1. If any provision of the Terms proves void, the remainder of the agreement remains in force and the statutory rules apply in place of the void provision.

17.2. The Customer may not assign its rights and obligations under the agreement without Hours' consent. Hours may assign the agreement to a group company or as part of a business transfer, notifying the Customer.

17.3. Notices are sent by e-mail: to Hours at info@hours.ee, to the Customer at the account e-mail address.

Contact

Hours OÜ (registry code 16434060)
Nikolai 10, 80011 Pärnu, Estonia
E-mail: info@hours.ee