Is time tracking mandatory in Switzerland?

Under Art. 73 of Ordinance 1 to the Labour Act (ArGV 1), this includes the start, end and duration of daily and weekly working time, including compensatory work and overtime, as well as breaks of half an hour or more. The records must be available to the enforcement and supervisory authorities.

When employees can set a significant part of their working hours themselves (Art. 73b ArGV 1). Then only daily working time is noted, plus start and end for night and Sunday work. In companies with fewer than 50 employees, this is agreed in writing with each person individually, and a documented conversation about workload takes place once a year. From 50 employees, an agreement with the employee representatives is required.

Only under strict conditions (Art. 73a ArGV 1): the waiver must be provided for in a collective labour agreement, the person has great autonomy over working hours, earns over CHF 120,000 gross per year (pro rata for part-time) and agrees in writing. For most SMEs without a collective agreement, this is not an option.

Checked solutions by starting price, with our score for time tracking. Make sure holidays and absences are included and that hours can be transferred to payroll software.