Night and Sunday work: permits and rules

In Switzerland, night and Sunday work is not prohibited, but it starts from a baseline prohibition: the Labour Act (LA) allows it only with a permit and under precise conditions. Anyone who treats it as a mere organisational matter risks penalties and incorrect wage calculations. Here is the map for the employer.

The time bands that count

The law draws precise distinctions between the periods of the day:

• day: from 6.00 to 20.00;
• evening: from 20.00 to 23.00;
• night: from 23.00 to 6.00.

Day and evening work (6.00–23.00) is in principle free, without a permit, within the limits of the maximum weekly working time. Night work (23.00–6.00) and Sunday work (from Saturday at 23.00 to Sunday at 23.00) are instead subject to the regime of prohibition and permit.

When a permit is needed

To have people work at night or on Sundays, the employer must demonstrate a recognised need:

• technical necessity (processes that cannot be interrupted);
• indispensable economic necessity.

The permit is temporary (issued by the Canton) or permanent/regular (within the competence of the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, SECO). Some activities have exemptions already provided for by the ordinance and do not require an individual permit: think of hospitals, hotels, catering, certain retail activities. Always check whether your sector falls under an exemption before starting the procedure.

The worker’s consent

No employee may be compelled to work at night or on Sundays without their consent. For regular night work there is also an entitlement to medical examinations and counselling, and reinforced protection rules for young people, pregnant women and nursing mothers.

Supplements: be careful not to confuse them

This is where calculation errors concentrate. The logic of the LA differs depending on whether the work is occasional or regular:

• Temporary/occasional night work: gives entitlement to a 25% wage supplement.
• Regular or periodic night work: not a monetary supplement, but a 10% time compensation, i.e. additional rest equal to 10% of the time worked at night.
• Temporary Sunday work: 50% wage supplement.

The 10% time compensation for regular night work is not cumulative with the 25% supplement: they are two distinct regimes. A collective labour agreement (CLA) may provide for more favourable conditions, never worse than the legal minimum.

The duration limits

Even with a permit, insurmountable limits remain:

• the duration of an individual employee’s night work may not, as a rule, exceed 9 hours within a span of 10 hours;
• daily rest periods (normally 11 consecutive hours) and weekly rest must be respected;
• the shift to extended night schedules requires rotation and health-protection measures.

The mistakes that cost

• Having people work at night without checking the exemption or applying for the permit: the activity can be halted and penalised.
• Confusing the 25% with the 10%: they are alternatives, they do not add up; applying them wrongly generates arrears or undue costs.
• Forgetting the written consent of the employee.
• Ignoring the Sunday supplements in the monthly wage calculation.
• Neglecting the special protections for young people and maternity.

Why it pays to systematise it

Night and Sunday are not a detail: they affect the cost of labour, shift planning and compliance. A repeated error on the supplements multiplies for every pay slip and every employee, turning into a substantial arrears. Better to set clear rules from the outset, aligned with the sector CLA where one exists.

How we help you

The Payroll division of SIH ONE sets up shifts, permits and wage calculations in compliance with the Labour Act, correctly distinguishing supplements from time compensation. Entrust us with your payroll.