Short answer
The time tracking template is an Excel file with one sheet per month, a year overview and hours per project. You enter start, end and break, the template calculates hours worked, target and balance and highlights breaks shorter than the Labour Act requires (art. 15). Employers must record working time and keep the records for at least five years (Ordinance 1 to the Labour Act, art. 73).
How to use the time sheet
- Set up the settings. Enter name, year, target hours per working day and working days per week. 8.4 hours per day equal a 42-hour week, for part-time work adjust the target hours.
- Record daily. On the month sheet, enter start and end as a time (08:00) and the break in minutes. Date, weekday and hours worked are calculated.
- Choose absences. Select holiday, sick or public holiday in the «Absence» column. The day then counts with the target hours.
- Enter the project. If you bill hours, enter the client or project. The «Projects» sheet adds up the hours across the year and calculates the amount with your rate.
- Close the month. Check the totals, save as PDF or print and have it signed. The year overview shows the cumulative balance.
What the Labour Act requires
Employers must record their employees’ daily and weekly working hours including overtime, as well as rest days and breaks of half an hour or more. Records must be kept for at least five years (Ordinance 1 to the Labour Act, art. 73). For employees who largely set their own hours, simplified recording of daily working time only can be agreed (art. 73b).
Minimum breaks are set out in article 15 of the Labour Act:
| Daily working time | Minimum break |
|---|---|
| more than 5.5 hours | 15 minutes |
| more than 7 hours | 30 minutes |
| more than 9 hours | 60 minutes |
If a recorded break is shorter, the template turns the cell orange. Maximum weekly working time is 45 hours for office, industrial and technical staff and 50 hours for all other employees (Labour Act, art. 9).
Time tracking and invoicing in one
In Excel you transfer the hours into the invoice by hand at month end. In Saldio, time entries go straight onto a project, and an assistant builds the invoice from the approved entries. Each entry is then marked as invoiced, so nothing gets billed twice. The article How time tracking works in Saldio shows how.
Frequently asked questions
- Is time tracking mandatory in Switzerland?
- For employers, yes, where the Labour Act applies. They must document daily and weekly working time, overtime and breaks of 30 minutes or more (Ordinance 1 to the Labour Act, art. 73). Waiving it is only possible under strict conditions, such as an annual salary above CHF 120,000 and a collective labour agreement (art. 73a).
- How long must I keep time records?
- At least five years after they cease to be valid (Ordinance 1 to the Labour Act, art. 73 para. 2).
- Does the template handle night shifts past midnight?
- Yes. If the end is earlier than the start, for example 22:00 to 06:00, the template correctly calculates 8 hours across midnight minus the break.
- Can I use the template for several employees?
- Yes, with one file per person. For a team with projects and billing, software is clearer because hours, projects and invoices are in one place.
