Simplified Time Recording under Art. 73b ArGV 1: Requirements and Agreement

With simplified working time recording under Art. 73b ArGV 1, you only record the daily working time for certain employees, in other words a single figure per day. Start, end and breaks are no longer recorded, except for night and Sunday work. The prerequisite is that the employees concerned set a significant part of their working time themselves, and SECO gives at least a quarter as a guideline. An agreement is also required, either collectively with the employee representatives or the majority of employees or, in businesses with fewer than 50 employees, individually and in writing with each person.

This article shows who simplified recording is suitable for, how to conclude the agreement, what it must contain and what the labour inspectorate looks for during an inspection. At the end you will find a model outline for the agreement. Our article on time tracking in Switzerland gives an overview of all three recording options.

What simplified recording drops

Since 1 January 2016, Ordinance 1 to the Labour Act has provided two simplifications alongside full recording, the waiver under Art. 73a and simplified recording under Art. 73b. For most SMEs, simplified recording is the only realistic simplification, because the waiver strictly requires a collective labour agreement.

	Full recording, Art. 73 ArGV 1	Simplified recording, Art. 73b ArGV 1
Daily working time	yes	yes, as a total per day
Start and end of work	yes	no, except for night and Sunday work
Timing and duration of breaks of 30 minutes or more	yes	no
Weekly working time, compensatory time and overtime	yes	not separately, the weekly total can be derived from the daily figures
Basis	Art. 46 ArG and Art. 73 ArGV 1, applies without an agreement	Art. 73b ArGV 1, only with an agreement
Working and rest time rules	apply	apply unchanged

According to the SECO guidance on Art. 73b, the timing of working and rest periods no longer has to be documented. For night and Sunday work, start and end must still be recorded, because compensation rules and shorter maximum working times apply there (Art. 73b para. 1 ArGV 1).

It is important to know what does not change. Maximum working time, overtime limits, breaks under Art. 15 ArG and the daily rest period continue to apply. Only part of the documentation is dropped, not the protection. How much break is required after how many hours is explained in our article on break rules in Switzerland.

Who qualifies

Simplified recording only applies to employees who «can set a significant part of their working time themselves» (Art. 73b para. 1 ArGV 1). The SECO guidance specifies this.

• Guideline of a quarter. The criterion is met if at least a quarter of working time can be freely determined.
• Typical roles. As a rule these are people in middle and senior management or in roles that are not directly tied to production or service delivery.
• Flexitime is not enough. The fact that a business offers flexible working hours is not sufficient on its own.
• Core hours. Core hours of no more than 75 percent of working time do not rule out simplified recording. They can only meet the criterion, however, if there are no further time requirements beyond them, such as mandatory meetings outside core hours or business travel.

As a rule, simplified recording is therefore not suitable for people whose working time is determined by a shift plan, opening hours or the cycle of a production line. People in a senior executive position under Art. 3 let. d ArG and Art. 9 ArGV 1 do not have to record at all, because the working and rest time rules do not apply to them. A management title alone is not enough for this, however.

Collective or individual, the two routes to an agreement

	Collective agreement, para. 1 and 2	Individual agreement, para. 3
For whom	businesses of any size	only businesses with fewer than 50 employees
Contracting party	employee representatives of the industry or business, otherwise the majority of employees	each employee concerned individually
Form	agreement with the employee representatives, or where there are none, approved by a majority of employees	in writing, according to the explanatory report also electronically
Mandatory content	employee categories, special provisions to ensure compliance with working and rest times, joint review procedure	reference to the applicable working and rest time rules
Ongoing duty	periodic exchange on implementation	annual year-end meeting on workload, documented

According to SECO, the requirements for a collective agreement go considerably further than those for an individual agreement. For businesses with fewer than 50 employees the individual agreement is therefore usually the simpler route.

How employees are counted. According to the SECO guidance, the threshold of 50 counts people, not full-time equivalents. Hired-in temporary workers are not counted. A business is the independent organisational unit, branches are not independent businesses, and within a holding structure each individual company counts.

How a collective agreement is concluded

If the business has an elected employee representation, such as a staff committee, it usually concludes the agreement with the employer. If there is no such representation, the SECO guidance describes the following possible process.

1. The employees appoint a project group. How it is appointed is not prescribed, a formal election is not required.
2. The employer presents a preliminary draft of the agreement, and the project group reviews it and negotiates any changes.
3. The agreement is put to a vote. The ordinance requires approval by a majority of the employees of the business, the SECO guidance refers to a majority of the employees concerned. If in doubt, obtain a majority of the entire workforce.

Record the result of the vote in writing. During an inspection, the labour inspectorate asks for a valid agreement.

What the agreement must contain

For a collective agreement, Art. 73b para. 2 ArGV 1 prescribes three elements.

• Employee categories. The agreement specifies exactly which roles or positions have the necessary degree of autonomy over working time.
• Special provisions to ensure compliance with working and rest times. The guidance gives examples such as blocking the delivery of emails at night or on Sundays, starting work later after trips abroad or cultivating a culture of taking breaks.
• Joint review procedure. The parties are free to decide how they check compliance. At a minimum, there must be a periodic exchange between the employees concerned or their representatives and the employer.

For an individual agreement, Art. 73b para. 3 ArGV 1 requires a reference to the applicable working and rest time rules. SECO provides two model texts for this, which can be used as an annex to the agreement, one for a maximum working week of 45 hours (employees in industrial businesses, office staff, technical and other salaried employees, sales staff in large retail businesses, Art. 9 para. 1 let. a ArG) and one for 50 hours (all other employees), both in German.

SECO does not provide a model contract for the agreement itself. According to SECO, this allows businesses to find a solution that fits into their existing processes.

Model outline for an individual agreement

The following outline is a suggestion for businesses with fewer than 50 employees. It covers the requirements of Art. 73b ArGV 1 and the questions in the SECO inspection checklist. Adapt it to your business and, if in doubt, have it reviewed by a specialist.

1. Parties. Employer and employee, with their role.
2. Basis. Agreement on simplified working time recording under Art. 73b para. 3 ArGV 1. The business employs fewer than 50 people.
3. Autonomy over working time. A short description of why the employee sets at least about a quarter of their working time themselves, for example no fixed attendance outside core hours.
4. What is recorded. The daily working time as a total, plus start and end of the assignment for night and Sunday work, with the recording tool used.
5. Voluntary full recording. The employee may continue to record start, end and breaks, and the employer provides a suitable tool for this (Art. 73b para. 4 ArGV 1).
6. Working and rest times. Reference to the SECO notice in the annex, 45 or 50 hours, confirming that these rules continue to apply unchanged.
7. Year-end meeting. Annual meeting on workload, with timing and form of documentation.
8. Start and termination. From when the agreement applies and how it ends, for example on a change to a role without autonomy over working time.
9. Signatures and annex. Date, signatures of both parties, SECO notice on working and rest times as an annex.

The year-end meeting

If simplified recording is agreed individually, a year-end meeting on workload must be held and documented every year (Art. 73b para. 3 ArGV 1). It makes sense to combine it with the annual performance review that is planned anyway and to document workload there as a separate item.

Useful questions include how many hours were worked per week on average, whether there were periods with very long days or rest periods that were too short, whether the autonomy over working time actually exists in practice and whether simplified recording is still appropriate. Record the date, participants, the points discussed and any measures.

What the labour inspectorate checks

SECO provides the labour inspectorates with a checklist for inspecting time recording (in German). For simplified recording it asks, among other things,

• whether a valid agreement exists and, for collective agreements, the employee belongs to the agreed category,
• whether it is plausible that the employee sets a significant part of their working time themselves,
• whether the special provisions have been implemented and communicated and the joint exchange takes place regularly,
• for individual agreements, whether the business has fewer than 50 employees and the year-end meeting is documented,
• whether a tool for voluntary full recording is available,
• whether daily working time is recorded and the maximum limits are respected,
• whether start and end are recorded for night and Sunday work.

The records must be kept for at least five years after they cease to be valid (Art. 73 para. 2 ArGV 1). If the inspectorate finds shortcomings, it requires compliance, and if this is not followed, the cantonal authority issues an order with the threat of penalty (Art. 51 ArG).

Simplified yet reliable recording with CrewDeck

Simplified recording saves effort, but the risk shifts. If only the daily total is recorded, it is hard to see without support when a week exceeds the maximum working time or when overtime adds up dangerously over the year.

In CrewDeck by Digital Airways you set the recording mode per employment contract, full recording or simplified under Art. 73b. In simplified mode, employees record their daily total. Time tracking works in the browser or at a terminal, and CrewDeck checks the times against the Labour Act, citing the relevant article with every warning. You export the time records as CSV or PDF. Responsibility for compliance remains with the employer.

Frequently asked questions about simplified time recording

What has to be recorded under simplified time recording?

Only the daily working time, as one figure per day. For night and Sunday work, the start and end of the assignment are added (Art. 73b para. 1 ArGV 1). Breaks no longer have to be recorded with timing and duration, but the break rules still apply.

Who may use simplified recording?

Employees who set a significant part of their working time themselves. SECO gives at least a quarter of working time as a guideline. Flexible working hours in the business alone are not enough.

Is an agreement needed with every employee?

Only for the individual agreement, which is available to businesses with fewer than 50 employees. Otherwise the employer concludes a collective agreement with the employee representatives or with the majority of employees.

Is there a SECO template for the agreement?

No. SECO only provides model texts for the reference to working and rest times, which can be used as an annex. A possible outline for the agreement can be found above in this article.

What is the difference between Art. 73a and Art. 73b?

Art. 73a allows recording to be waived entirely, but requires a collective labour agreement, a high degree of autonomy at work, working hours set mostly by the employee, gross annual income of more than CHF 120,000 including bonuses, pro rata for part-time, and an individual written agreement. Art. 73b reduces recording to the daily total, has no income threshold and does not require a collective labour agreement.

May I still record everything despite an agreement?

Yes. Employees may continue to record start, end and breaks, and the employer must provide a suitable tool for this (Art. 73b para. 4 ArGV 1).

Your next step

If you would like to introduce simplified recording without losing sight of maximum working time, overtime and rest periods, we will show you how in a 30-minute demo of CrewDeck using your own working time models. For a quick check of a single week, our free overtime calculator is available.

This article gives an overview of the legal situation and does not replace legal advice. It is based on the Labour Act and ArGV 1 in the version published on fedlex.admin.ch, the SECO guidance on Art. 73b ArGV 1, the explanatory report of October 2015 and the SECO model texts and inspection checklist, as of October 2026. For your individual case, please contact an employment law specialist or the labour inspectorate of your canton.