Working Time Rules: Switzerland
Switzerland: working hours, holiday calendars and annual leave rules for practical workforce planning.
This is a general overview, not legal advice. Limits, reference periods, exceptions, and record-keeping duties vary by sector and contract and change over time. Confirm the current rules with the official source and a qualified adviser.
Working week used in calculations40 hours per week8 hours a day over 5 days
Minimum annual leave4 weeksSwiss employees have at least four weeks of annual leave, and at least five weeks before age twenty. Four weeks mean twenty scheduled days only for someone working five days each week. The number of holiday dates depends on the canton and is separate from personal annual leave.Source
Statutory working time
Swiss maximum weekly hours depend on the employee category. The cited federal guide gives 45 hours for office staff, technical staff and other covered groups. Contractual hours may be shorter. An eight-hour, five-day planning model is editable and must not be presented as the statutory limit for every Swiss occupation.
What to check before you rely on this
- The current statutory limits, reference periods, and any opt-outs.
- Sector or collective-agreement rules that may override the defaults.
- How overtime is authorised, recorded, and compensated.
- What working-time records you must keep and for how long.