A Switzerland-specific guide to weekly limits (45/50), overtime caps (170/140), night & Sunday rules—and how freelancers can track time sustainably and invoice with confidence.
Freelancing in Switzerland gives you flexibility—but it also puts you in charge of your workload, your boundaries, and (sometimes) your compliance questions.
If you’re searching for freelance working hours in Switzerland, you’re likely trying to answer one of these:
This guide gives you a clear, Switzerland-specific overview—grounded in official guidance—while staying honest about the key nuance: many working-time rules are written for employees under the Swiss Employment Act (Arbeitsgesetz / ArG), not necessarily for truly self-employed freelancers. We’ll show you when the rules do matter for freelancers, and how to manage your hours like a pro either way.
Disclaimer: This article is for general information and does not constitute legal advice. Working-time rules can depend on your employment status (employee vs self-employed), sector, and situation. For authoritative details, consult SECO/cantonal labour authorities or a qualified professional.
The headline numbers people mean when they talk about maximum working hours in Switzerland—primarily in the Employment Act (ArG) context.
45 hours/week (many office/technical/knowledge roles) or 50 hours/week (many other roles).
170 hours/year (if 45h maximum) or 140 hours/year (if 50h maximum).
Daily and weekly rest protections exist as part of worker protection (again: primarily employee-focused).
The big takeaway: these are employee protection rules. As a freelancer, your real question is: Are you treated as an employee in a specific arrangement—or are you truly self-employed and self-directing your hours? That distinction matters.
Swiss working-time protections under the Employment Act (ArG) are designed primarily for employees. Many freelancers operate as self-employed (Selbständigerwerbende / indépendant) and set their own hours—meaning the strict 45/50-hour caps typically aren’t enforced the same way as they are in employment relationships.
However, freelancers can still be affected by the working-time framework in several common scenarios:
If you work under conditions that look like employment (high control by the client, integration into their organisation, fixed schedule, dependency), employee rules can become relevant in disputes or audits—especially around worker protection.
If you’re the owner-manager of your own company, you may still be an employee of that company in certain respects. That can pull working time, overtime, and documentation expectations back into the picture—particularly once you also hire staff.
The moment you employ people, ArG working-time rules can apply to them, and you’ll need systems for scheduling, rest periods, and overtime management.
Some industries and client environments (e.g., healthcare, transport-related contexts, regulated operations) treat work scheduling much more strictly.
Practical bottom line for freelancers:
Even if you’re not legally “capped” the way employees are, the Swiss 45/50-hour system is still an excellent benchmark for sustainable capacity—and it becomes crucial the moment your work structure looks like employment or you employ others.
Under SECO’s summary of the Employment Act (ArG), the maximum weekly working time generally falls into two buckets depending on the type of work. Even if you’re self-employed, these numbers are a practical capacity benchmark.
Under SECO’s summary of the Employment Act (ArG), the maximum weekly working time generally falls into two buckets: 45 hours or 50 hours depending on the type of work.
Source: SECO.
https://www.seco.admin.ch/seco/en/home/Arbeit/Arbeitsbedingungen/Arbeitnehmerschutz/Arbeits-und-Ruhezeiten.html
This commonly includes work like:
If you’re a solo freelancer doing knowledge work, this is the number you’ll see most often when you Google Höchstarbeitszeit Schweiz 45 Stunden.
This bucket is often associated with roles like:
If you’re truly self-employed, you usually won’t have a “legal cap” policing your personal week. But these numbers still matter because they influence:
Two terms get mixed up. Understanding the difference helps when clients use employee-style language in contracts.
Hours worked beyond what’s agreed in the contract or normal working time—without necessarily crossing the statutory maximum. Most relevant in employment contracts.
Hours exceeding the maximum weekly working time (45 or 50) under the Employment Act. SECO summarises annual caps as 170 or 140 hours depending on the maximum.
SECO summarises annual caps for Überzeit as:
The Swiss SME portal also provides practical context on overtime in employment settings:
https://www.kmu.admin.ch/kmu/en/home/concrete-know-how/personnel/employment-law/working-hours/overtime.html
For most solo self-employed freelancers:
But you should still understand these terms because:
Swiss law contains stricter rules for night and Sunday work under worker-protection frameworks. For freelancers, the key is status (self-employed vs employee-like) and whether you have staff.
Swiss law contains stricter rules for night work and Sunday work under worker protection frameworks—often involving permits/authorisations and exceptions depending on the industry. SECO explains work and rest periods and the protective intent behind these rules.
Source: SECO.
https://www.seco.admin.ch/seco/en/home/Arbeit/Arbeitsbedingungen/Arbeitnehmerschutz/Arbeits-und-Ruhezeiten.html
In practice, many freelancers do work at night or on Sundays because it’s the quietest time to focus. The important part is to be precise:
If you’re unsure whether night/Sunday restrictions apply to your situation:
What you should not do: rely on “no one will check.” That’s risky, undermines trust, and can cause problems with clients or authorities if your status is challenged.
Even if you’re not directly bound by ArG rest-period rules as a self-employed person, those rules exist because recovery is non-negotiable for sustainable performance.
SECO includes rest and work period principles as part of its worker protection overview.
Source: SECO.
https://www.seco.admin.ch/seco/en/home/Arbeit/Arbeitsbedingungen/Arbeitnehmerschutz/Arbeits-und-Ruhezeiten.html
Use this as a baseline for your own workload planning:
This isn’t just “wellness talk.” It directly improves:
If you sell knowledge work, your real product is focused time. Protect it with a simple structure.
A “40-hour week” is rarely 40 billable hours. Many freelancers land around 50–70% billable and 30–50% non-billable.
Block deep work (2–4h/day), shallow comms (60–90m/day), and admin (1–2 sessions/week) to keep a stable rhythm.
Weekend/late-night delivery should be commercial. Define standard vs rush turnaround, and apply a rush fee or higher rate.
Time tracking is not just about reporting—it’s about protecting margins.
Track these categories separately:
Within 2–4 weeks, you’ll know:
Use this structure:
When your time tracking and invoicing live in separate tools (or spreadsheets), you lose money through:
If you want to scale past “solo chaos,” your best move is to connect hours → invoice → payment tracking in one workflow.
QR-bill invoicing, VAT (MWST/TVA), and Swiss expectations make your workflow more specific than many global tools assume. Magic Heidi is built for Swiss freelancers and solo business owners.
If you’re freelancing in Switzerland, your admin isn’t generic—QR-bill invoicing, VAT handling (MWST/TVA), and Swiss expectations make the workflow more specific than many global tools assume.
Magic Heidi is built for Swiss freelancers and solo business owners who want to spend less time on admin and more time on billable work.
With Magic Heidi, you can:
Useful links:
CTA: Try Magic Heidi and set up your time tracking + invoicing flow in one place.
Try for free (then keep the system that saves you the most hours).
Often, the strict 45/50-hour “maximum weekly working time” is framed as employee protection under the Employment Act (Arbeitsgesetz / ArG). Truly self-employed freelancers typically manage their own hours—but the rules matter if your situation resembles employment, if you operate through a company structure, or if you employ staff. Source: SECO overview: https://www.seco.admin.ch/seco/en/home/Arbeit/Arbeitsbedingungen/Arbeitnehmerschutz/Arbeits-und-Ruhezeiten.html
SECO summarises annual caps for statutory overtime (“Überzeit”) as 170 hours/year (where the 45-hour maximum applies) and 140 hours/year (where the 50-hour maximum applies). This is primarily in the context of Employment Act protections for employees. Source: https://www.seco.admin.ch/seco/en/home/Arbeit/Arbeitsbedingungen/Arbeitnehmerschutz/Arbeits-und-Ruhezeiten.html
In Swiss usage, Überstunden usually means hours beyond what’s agreed contractually/operationally (employment context), while Überzeit typically refers to hours beyond the statutory maximum weekly working time (45/50 under ArG). The distinction matters for compliance and compensation rules in employment settings. Source overview: https://www.seco.admin.ch/seco/en/home/Arbeit/Arbeitsbedingungen/Arbeitnehmerschutz/Arbeits-und-Ruhezeiten.html
Night work is regulated under worker-protection frameworks (employee-focused) and can involve restrictions/authorisations depending on context and industry. If you’re self-employed and working independently, you may schedule your work differently—but if you have employees or work in an employment-like arrangement, treat night work as a compliance topic and check official guidance. Source: https://www.seco.admin.ch/seco/en/home/Arbeit/Arbeitsbedingungen/Arbeitnehmerschutz/Arbeits-und-Ruhezeiten.html
Sunday work is also regulated under worker-protection frameworks with exceptions in certain industries. For self-employed people, it’s often more about client contracts, access rules, and sustainable workload. If you employ staff, Sunday work rules may apply to them and should be handled carefully. Source: https://www.seco.admin.ch/seco/en/home/Arbeit/Arbeitsbedingungen/Arbeitnehmerschutz/Arbeits-und-Ruhezeiten.html
It can, depending on your role, how your employment relationship is structured, and whether you’re treated as an employee of your company. If you’re unsure, clarify early—especially before signing client contracts that assume employee-style compliance.
Track hours by client + project + activity type (delivery, communication, revisions, admin). Use the data to improve pricing and invoicing speed. The best setup is one where tracked hours can easily become invoice line items—so you don’t leak revenue.
If you’re freelancing in Switzerland, the smartest approach is:
When time tracking and invoicing are scattered, you lose hours and money. When they’re connected, you get clarity—and control.
Ready to make your working hours measurable (and billable)?
Try Magic Heidi to track time, simplify invoicing, and keep Swiss admin in one place.
Track time, create Swiss-ready invoices, and keep admin under control in one workflow.