Working-time rules

Working-time rules in Switzerland

What the law says in Switzerland about rest, hours, breaks, night work and workers under 18, with the provision behind each figure, and what helloswap checks when a shift is planned, swapped or taken.

The figures for adults

Each figure is the law's, with the number of its source. The last column says what helloswap does with a shift that breaks it.

Rule	What the law says	In helloswap
Rest between two shifts	At least 11 hours in a row¹	Blocks the shift
Longest single week	A weekly maximum that depends on the kind of work; the higher one is 50 hours²45 hours in industry, offices and large retail businesses²	Blocks the shift
Weekly rest	35 hours in a row every week³	Warning
Break	At least 15 minutes when the working day is longer than 5.5 hours⁴⁵	Warning
Longer break	30 minutes in all when the working day is longer than 7 hours⁶	Warning
Night period	23:00 to 06:00⁷⁸	Definition
Night work	Any work in the night period is night work¹⁰	Definition
Limit for night work	At most 9 hours of work in a night shift⁹	Blocks the shift

Workers under 18

Someone who is under 18 on the day of the shift gets these figures. helloswap goes by the date of birth on the person's profile. An empty cell means the law has no figure there that this page can state.

Rule	Under 15	Age 15	Ages 16–17	In helloswap
Rest between two shifts	12 hours¹¹	12 hours¹¹	12 hours¹¹	Blocks the shift
Longest working day	3 hours during school term¹²8 hours in the school holidays¹³	9 hours¹⁴	9 hours¹⁴	Blocks the shift
Longest working week	9 hours during school term¹²40 hours in the school holidays¹³	50 hours, the higher of the law's two weekly maximums¹⁵45 hours in industry, offices and large retail businesses¹⁵	50 hours, the higher of the law's two weekly maximums¹⁵45 hours in industry, offices and large retail businesses¹⁵	Blocks the shift
No work between	20:00 and 06:00¹⁶¹⁷	20:00 and 06:00¹⁶¹⁷	22:00 and 06:00¹⁶¹⁷	Blocks the shift
Break	15 minutes when the day is longer than 5.5 hours⁴¹⁸	15 minutes when the day is longer than 5.5 hours⁴¹⁸	15 minutes when the day is longer than 5.5 hours⁴¹⁸	Warning
Longer break	30 minutes when the day is longer than 7 hours¹⁹	30 minutes when the day is longer than 7 hours¹⁹	30 minutes when the day is longer than 7 hours¹⁹	Warning

Nobody under 13 may be employed, apart from narrow exceptions such as performances with a permit.¹²
Where the law has one figure for school days or school weeks and another for free days or holidays, the first figure in the cell is the one helloswap applies, every day and every week. It does not know which days are school days.
The longest day and week count hours of work: the company's unpaid break is taken off first when the shift is long enough to need a break.
helloswap does not check whether someone of a given age may be employed at all, or in which kind of work.

How helloswap applies them

The law's figure is one thing, the check another. Where the two differ, it says so here.

Rest between two shifts: helloswap measures from the end of one shift to the start of the next. A shift that leaves less than 11 hours is not saved.
Longest single week: helloswap adds up the shifts of the company's week, from start to end, and does not save a shift that takes the week over 50 hours.
Weekly rest: helloswap looks at the 7 days up to the shift and gives a warning when they hold no rest of at least 35 hours in a row. A rest that began before those days counts in full.
Break: helloswap compares the 15 minutes with the break length the company has set and gives a warning when a shift longer than 5.5 hours has a shorter one.
Longer break: From there the company's break has to be at least 30 minutes, or helloswap gives a warning.
Night period: The hours that count as night for adults, where no agreement sets others. Workers under 18 have hours of their own, in their own table.
Night work: The law speaks of someone who normally works like this. helloswap goes by the shift: every shift that meets it is treated as a night shift.
Limit for night work: A ceiling for each night shift, not an average. helloswap does not save a night shift with more than 9 hours of work; the company's unpaid break is taken off first.

What blocks a shift, and what only warns

The split is the product's own and the same for every company.

Blocks: the shift is not saved

Nobody can override these, whether a manager plans the shift, someone takes it from the swap board or it is part of a swap.

Rest between two shifts
Longest single week
Limit for night work
The figures for workers under 18, except the break

Warns: the manager decides

The shift can still be saved. The warning names the rule and says why.

Weekly rest
Break
Longer break
The break for workers under 18

Sources

Every figure on this page carries the number of the provision it was read in. The links go to the official text.

Arbeitsgesetz (ArG), SR 822.11, Stand am 1. September 2023Art. 15a Abs. 1
Arbeitsgesetz (ArG), SR 822.11, Stand am 1. September 2023Art. 9 Abs. 1
Verordnung 1 zum Arbeitsgesetz (ArGV 1), SR 822.111, Stand am 1. September 2024Art. 21 Abs. 2
Arbeitsgesetz (ArG), SR 822.11, Stand am 1. September 2023Art. 15 Abs. 1
Arbeitsgesetz (ArG), SR 822.11, Stand am 1. September 2023Art. 15 Abs. 1 Bst. a
Arbeitsgesetz (ArG), SR 822.11, Stand am 1. September 2023Art. 15 Abs. 1 Bst. b
Arbeitsgesetz (ArG), SR 822.11, Stand am 1. September 2023Art. 10 Abs. 1; Art. 16
Arbeitsgesetz (ArG), SR 822.11, Stand am 1. September 2023Art. 10 Abs. 1
Arbeitsgesetz (ArG), SR 822.11, Stand am 1. September 2023Art. 17a Abs. 1 and 2
Arbeitsgesetz (ArG), SR 822.11, Stand am 1. September 2023Art. 16
Jugendarbeitsschutzverordnung (ArGV 5), SR 822.115, Stand am 1. April 2024Art. 16 Abs. 1
Jugendarbeitsschutzverordnung (ArGV 5), SR 822.115, Stand am 1. April 2024Art. 11 Bst. a
Jugendarbeitsschutzverordnung (ArGV 5), SR 822.115, Stand am 1. April 2024Art. 11 Bst. b
Arbeitsgesetz (ArG), SR 822.11, Stand am 1. September 2023Art. 31 Abs. 1
Arbeitsgesetz (ArG), SR 822.11, Stand am 1. September 2023Art. 9 Abs. 1 (applies through ArGV 5 Art. 2)
Arbeitsgesetz (ArG), SR 822.11, Stand am 1. September 2023Art. 31 Abs. 2
Arbeitsgesetz (ArG), SR 822.11, Stand am 1. September 2023Art. 10 Abs. 1; Art. 31 Abs. 4
Jugendarbeitsschutzverordnung (ArGV 5), SR 822.115, Stand am 1. April 2024Art. 2; Art. 11 Bst. b (with ArG Art. 15)
Arbeitsgesetz (ArG), SR 822.11, Stand am 1. September 2023Art. 15 Abs. 1 Bst. b and c

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