Ordinance on the Working Hours of State Personnel (Working Hours Ordinance) (Arbeitszeitverordnung) - Subject Matter and Scope

1. This regulation contains provisions regarding the working hours for employees of all levels of administration and courts.

2. It applies mutatis mutandis to autonomous public-law institutions, insofar as there are no specific regulations or agreements applicable to them.

3. Special provisions remain reserved.

1. Work shall be performed with fixed or flexible working hours depending on operational requirements. The working time models are open to full-time and part-time employees.

2. In implementation, the safeguarding of operations and public services takes precedence. Individual needs shall be taken into account when designing working hours whenever possible.

3. The departments, involving staff and with the approval of the relevant department or the higher court or the state chancellery, shall establish the working time models that apply to them. The government council or the higher court, as well as the departments or the state chancellery, may order the application of certain working time models.

4. The relevant personnel service must be informed about the applied working time models.

5. The supervising authority as per this regulation is the department management, for this the relevant department or the higher court or the state chancellery, unless otherwise regulated. It may delegate individual execution tasks to direct superiors, particularly the agreement of attendance and absence or the compensation for a positive time balance.

6. Provided that workload or the needs of the department require or permit it, the supervising authority may demand the fulfillment of the required working hours, the deployment of overtime, the reduction of time credits through compensation, the reduction of vacation credits, reduced working time, or adherence to certain presence times.

7. Working time regulations may be restricted for operational reasons or in the event of misuse.

1. The working hours are agreed upon considering both the operational and personal needs and can be arranged flexibly within the framework of this regulation.

2. Work is generally to be performed from Monday to Friday between 6:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. With the consent of the supervisory authority, work may also be conducted on Saturdays or on Sundays and public holidays, outside these times, or exceptionally for more than 12 hours daily.

3. As far as the operational requirements allow, a paid break of up to a maximum of 15 minutes can be taken daily at the workplace. If the daily working time exceeds six hours, a lunch break or a comparable work interruption of at least 30 minutes must be taken. This will not be counted as working time. Further unpaid breaks may be taken, provided the service conditions permit. Reserved are working hours that are tied to a shift or a special assignment. Smoking breaks do not count as working time.

1. In offices, departments, or functions where flexible working hours cannot be applied for official reasons, or only to a limited extent, work is conducted according to fixed working hours.

2. The deployment plans are based on the annual target working time calculated on a 42-hour workweek. They may be structured in such a way that longer working hours are compensated by additional time off. Regular non-working days are to be scheduled.

3. Employees are bound to the established working hours. Absences must be coordinated.

1. To the extent that it is operationally feasible, annual working time is offered to employees. This is tailored to the operational needs and the personal needs of the employees.

2. Based on a 42-hour work week, the daily working time amounts to 8 hours and 24 minutes. This can be averaged over the accounting period. For part-time employment, the required working hours are reduced in accordance with the degree of employment.

3. A positive or negative time balance is calculated from the difference between the actual working hours and the average daily required working hours. The positive or negative time balance must not exceed 100 hours at the end of the accounting period.

4. The annual working time requires the recording of working hours.

1. The attendance and absence of employees, as well as the timing and extent of work time compensation, are subject to agreement and planning with the supervisory authority.

2. A positive time balance can be compensated either by the hour or by taking whole or half days off. A maximum of 30 working days may be compensated per calendar year in total.

3. A negative time balance may be offset with vacation days, overtime, or by performing additional working hours.

1. Time credits exceeding 100 positive hours at the end of the settlement period will expire. The appointing authority may, in agreement with the responsible personnel service, approve the payment of a maximum of 180 additional positive hours per calendar year if compensation within the period was not possible due to official reasons or because of illness, accident, or maternity. For ordered overtime, § 34 of the Personnel Ordinance applies.

2. Time credits that exceed the maximum number of negative hours at the end of the settlement period will be settled with salary, overtime, or vacation credits. For flexible working hours, § 8 para. 4 applies. In exceptional cases, the superior authority may defer the settlement in agreement with the responsible personnel service.

3. A positive or negative working time balance should be equalized as much as possible before transferring to another department or before the termination of the employment relationship. The superior authority establishes an appropriate plan with the employees.

4. A positive balance will be compensated financially without any surcharge if it was not possible to reduce the positive hours due to official reasons, illness, accident, or maternity before leaving.

5. If there is a negative balance upon departure, the final salary will be reduced, or the overpaid salary will be reclaimed, unless compensation with overtime or vacation credits takes place.

6. The key figures of the time balance apply to part-time employees regardless of the employment level.

1. **Annual Working Time**

The aim of the annual working time is to achieve the highest possible flexibility in structuring working hours. It should be adapted to potential fluctuations in work load throughout the year as well as to the varied needs of employees.

2. **Limitation of Time Credits**

Efforts should be made to limit time credits beyond the required working hours to a minimum.

3. **Accounting Period**

The accounting period is generally the calendar year. The superior, in agreement with the relevant personnel service and with the consent of the department or the superior court or the state chancellery, may deviate from this and determine a suitable date for the balance transfer.

4. **Time Balance Limitation**

The positive or negative time balance may not exceed 100 hours at the end of the accounting period.

5. **Compensation**

Compensation is paid in the regular monthly salary, unless otherwise regulated or agreed upon.

1. The annual standard working hours for full-time employees are determined by multiplying the working days by the daily standard working hours, taking into account the non-working days in accordance with § 33 of the Personnel Ordinance. The annual standard working hours for part-time employees are adjusted according to the employment level.

2. The Personnel Office announces the required standard working hours for full-time employees annually.

1. Supervisors, together with their employees, develop an annual plan at the beginning of the year for those areas where certain fluctuations are foreseeable.

2. The management of working hours during the year is carried out using the so-called traffic light control system.

3. Warning limits are established; when exceeded, the supervisory position and employees must jointly discuss the working time situation.

4. Depending on the current time balance of employees, different phases occur in the traffic light control system, requiring different treatment

Phase | Positive Balance | Negative Balance

--- | --- | ---

Green | 0 to +60 hours: Competence of employees | 0 to -60 hours: Competence of employees

Yellow | Over +60 to +100 hours: Extra hours only possible in consultation with the supervisory position | Over -60 to -100 hours: Deficit hours only possible in consultation with the supervisory position

Red | Over +100 hours: Measures to reduce extra hours required in consultation with the supervisory position | Over -100 hours: Measures to reduce deficit hours required in consultation with the supervisory position

5. During the year, fluctuations beyond the red limits are fundamentally possible, but they necessarily require a conversation between the supervisory position and employees regarding the reduction of extra or deficit hours.

1. Personal tasks are generally not considered working hours.

2. Visits to doctors and dentists, as well as therapies, are not considered working hours. For doctor visits and therapies resulting from occupational accidents, the required time is counted as working hours; they should be scheduled, if possible, during peripheral hours.

3. The following absences are considered working hours: vacations, paid leave, short leave according to § 40 of the Personnel Regulations, illness, accident, military service, civil service, and other paid duty obligations according to § 45 of the Personnel Regulations.

4. For these absences, working hours are to be recorded based on the daily required working hours. In the event of illness, the planned working hours are recorded. If the employment level is reduced by a medical certificate, the total of credited absence time and performed working hours per week may not exceed the weekly required working hours.

4a ...

5. Absences due to education, training, and conferences, including travel time, should be recorded with the actual time but no more than 11 hours.

6. The responsible personnel service may issue guidelines for time recording.

1. Recording of working hours is carried out using technical means.

2. Each start and end of work as well as work interruptions, with the exception of paid breaks, must be recorded. Official and other paid absences, as well as working hours performed on Saturdays, Sundays, public holidays, outside the daily framework, or at locations other than the workplace, can be credited to the working time balance with the approval of the supervisory authority.

3. An individual working time account is maintained for all employees. It must be ensured that employees are informed about the status of their working time account.

4. Corrections in time recording must be approved by the supervisory authority.

5. Misuses in time recording will be penalized. Restrictions on the organization of working time and measures pursuant to Art. 41 of the Personnel Act can particularly be imposed.

6. The responsible personnel service can access the working time account.

1. Appropriate agencies may, with the consent of the competent department or the superior court, conduct time and performance recording.

2. The Financial Department may issue guidelines for this purpose.

1. Overtime Work for Employees with Flexible Working Hours is Defined as

a) Working hours ordered beyond the non-transferable time balance

b) * Working hours ordered on Saturdays, Sundays, public holidays according to § 33 of the Personnel Ordinance, Fridays decided by the Governing Council, and on other days between 8:00 PM and 6:00 AM

2. Not Considered Overtime Work in the Sense of Paragraph 1, are Specifically

a) Additional time worked within the framework of flexible working time options

b) Work performed voluntarily in agreement with the supervising office on the relevant days or times

3. Special Regulations Remain Reserved, Especially for Services, Departments or Functions that Regularly Perform Work Outside Regular Hours for Operational Reasons.

1. Overtime is ordered in advance by the supervisory authority. Necessary overtime required to complete unforeseen and urgent work must be reported immediately to the supervisory authority and may be approved retroactively.

1. The authority in charge monitors the performance and compensation of overtime. Overtime work is recorded separately in the timekeeping system.

2. Overtime is generally to be compensated with time off of equal duration. The compensation and, in exceptional cases, remuneration are governed by § 34 of the Personnel Regulation, unless otherwise provided.

1. Existing regulations, directives, or agreements regarding working hours shall continue to apply, provided they do not conflict with § 31 of the Personnel Ordinance and this Ordinance, and are not replaced by new regulations.

2. For employees who already utilize flexible working hours, the relevant provisions of this Ordinance apply. The existing flexible time balance will be transferred.

3. The decision regarding the introduction of the annual working time is guided by § 2 paragraph 3.

1. This regulation shall enter into force on January 1, 2011.

2. It shall be published in the Official Gazette and included in the cantonal collection of laws.