Accurate time tracking is required by law in Switzerland and also plays an important role in practice. It creates transparency, prevents conflicts, and helps to comply with legal requirements. But what specific rules apply? What needs to be considered for business trips? And what tools simplify time tracking?
What does Swiss law say about time tracking?
Employers in Switzerland are legally required to accurately record their employees' working hours. This means they are responsible for ensuring that working hours are recorded completely and correctly. This obligation is set out in Article 46 of the Labor Act (EmpA) and in Ordinance 1 to the Labor Act (EmpA). The aim is to ensure compliance with maximum working hours, rest periods, and vacation entitlements and to prevent the legal limits from being exceeded.
With a modern time tracking solution, overtime, vacations, and absences can be managed transparently and the requirements of collective bargaining agreements can be easily met. In certain industries, collective agreements may provide for specific adjustments to simplify time tracking.
Good to know: Anyone who fails to comply with their legal obligations risks sanctions.
What are the exceptions to time tracking?
Although time tracking is generally mandatory, the law provides for a number of exceptions. These relate in particular to:
employees with a high degree of autonomy in organizing their working hours (e.g., managers)
persons who are subject to a special collective agreement or perform activities that require increased flexibility
In such cases, a simplified recording or—under certain conditions—a waiver of detailed recording may be agreed. This always requires a written agreement between the employer and the employee.
How is time tracking for trips abroad?
Even on business trips abroad, recording working hours remains mandatory. However, there are a few special features to consider:
Travel time (e.g., flights or train journeys) counts as working time if professional tasks are performed during this time.
Actual hours worked must be recorded, but rest periods do not.
Companies can use tools that enable mobile time tracking, such as apps or cloud-based systems.
Tip: Mobile solutions or networked time clock systems allow time tracking regardless of location.
Which tools enable reliable time tracking?
Swiss companies today have access to numerous digital solutions for recording and managing working hours.
Time tracking software offers clear advantages over Excel spreadsheets or paper-based systems:
automated recording of working hours, breaks, and absences
integration with payroll accounting, project tracking, or HR reports
reduction of errors and administrative workload
data security and ease of use
Modern time clock systems or mobile apps also enable accurate time tracking, regardless of whether employees are working in the office, on the road, or from home.
Regardless of the tool, it must ensure accurate and transparent recording, be easy to use, comply with legal requirements, and suit the needs of the company.
This is how companies ensure that working hours are managed efficiently—for greater fairness, transparency, and relief in everyday HR work.
Conclusion
Time tracking is mandatory in Switzerland and is much more than just an obligation. It ensures legal certainty, transparency, and efficiency in the organization of working hours. With modern digital tools, it becomes a strategic lever: it simplifies everyday administrative tasks, builds trust, and opens up new possibilities in the analysis of HR data. This leads to better decisions and greater well-being within the team.
Would you like to further develop working time organization together with your employees? Our memo shows what is important in practice.
