Working hours are defined as the time during which the employee is required to be at the disposal of the employer. The journey from and to work does not constitute working hours. If the work needs to be rendered outside the customary workplace, and is the way to work therefore longer than usual, the difference is deemed to constitute working hours.

Working day

The law stipulates that the working day in a company may not begin before 6 a.m. and may not continue after 11 p.m. The start and end of the company working day may be set differently between 5 a.m. and midnight if the employee representative in the enterprise, of if no such representative exists, the majority of the affected employees agree to this. In such cases, the company working day may also not exceed 17 hours. The working day of the individual employee may not exceed 13 hours, taking account of breaks and additional working.

Maximum working hours per week

The maximum working hours per week in Liechtenstein is:

• 45 hours for employees in industrial enterprises, for office personnel, for technical and other employees including sales personnel in major retail businesses (retail sector)
• 40 hours for young persons aged between 15 and 18
• 48 hours for all other employees

The weekly working hours may temporarily be extended by up to four hours for specific groups and enterprises.

Overtime and additional working hours

Liechtenstein differs between overtime and additional working hours. If overtime is necessary, the employee shall be obliged to perform this only to the extent that he is willing and able to perform this and that this may reasonably be expected of him. Overtime must be compensated with leisure time or paid with an overtime bonus of at least 25 percent, unless otherwise agreed in writing.

Additional working hours are defined as working hours that exceed the maximum working hours per week. The maximum working hours may be exceeded only in special cases. These include:

• Urgency of the work
• Extraordinary workload
• Inventory taking
• Rendering of accounts and liquidation work
• Work to avoid or rectify operational interruptions, insofar as the employer cannot reasonably be expected to take any other measures.

The employer must pay employees a bonus of at least 25 percent for additional working hours. In the case of office personnel as well as technical and other employees, excluding sales personnel in major retail enterprises, however, this is the case only if the additional working hours exceed 60 hours during the calendar year. Per the day, the additional working hours for the individual employee may not exceed two hours, except on work-free working days or in emergencies.

The average working week including additional working hours may not exceed 48 hours within four months. If additional working hours are offset by leisure hours of the same duration with the agreement of the individual employee within a reasonable timeframe, then no bonus needs to be paid.

Breaks

Depending upon the duration of the work, the following breaks must be granted:

• 15 minutes in the case of a consecutive working period of more than 5 1/2 hours
• 30 minutes in the case of a consecutive working period of more than 7 hours
• One hour in the case of a consecutive working period of more than 9 hours

Breaks are deemed to constitute working hours if employees are not permitted to leave their workplace. Breaks lasting more than 30 minutes may be subdivided in accordance with the employee. In the case of flexitime, the average daily working hours is the relevant criterion.

Rest periods

After completing the daily working hours, a rest period of at least eleven hours must as a rule be granted. In the event of a change of shift, this may be reduced to eight hours once per week, insofar as the average of eleven hours is adhered to over two weeks. The weekly day of rest is essentially Sunday. The weekly day of rest and the daily rest period must collectively amount to at least 35 consecutive hours.

Weekly free half day

If the weekly working hours are distributed over more than five days, a weekly free half day must be granted to the employee. Subject to the consent of the employee, the weekly free half day may be granted contiguously for up to a maximum of four weeks. The maximum weekly working hours must be adhered to on average.

Sunday work

Sunday work is essentially prohibited. If Sunday work is however necessary for an enterprise, this may be approved by the Office of Economic Affairs if the statutory preconditions are met. In the event of temporary Sunday work, a salary bonus of 100 percent is payable and a substitute rest day must also be granted during the preceding or following week. In the case of retail stores and service stations, a bonus of 50 percent must be paid in the event of permanent or regularly recurring Sunday work. During the calendar year, retail store or service station employees must be granted at least 26 free Sundays. These may be distributed unevenly throughout the year. The number of free Sundays may be reduced to a minimum of four, insofar as the weekly working hours of the employee do not exceed 18 hours on average over a four week period.

Pursuant to the Employment Act, the following statutory public holidays are deemed to be equivalent to Sundays:

• New Year
• Epiphany
• Easter Monday
• 1st of May
• Ascension Day
• Whit Monday
• Corpus Christi
• Assumption Day
• Nativity of the Virgin Mary
• All Saints’ Day
• Feast of the Immaculate Conception
• Christmas Day
• Boxing Day

The following are not deemed to be equivalent to Sundays pursuant to the Employment Act: 2 February (Candlemass), 19 March (St. Joseph’s Day) and Good Friday. Pursuant to the Employment Act, no permit is required to employ workers on these days.

Night time work

Night time work is essentially prohibited. If temporary, permanent or recurring night time work is necessary for an enterprise, this may be approved by the Office of Economic Affairs if the statutory preconditions are met. In the case of night time work, the daily working hours may not exceed eight hours, unless the employee is employed for no more than three out of seven consecutive nights. In this event, the daily working hours may amount to ten hours. In addition, the daily working time must be within a period of twelve hours, including the breaks.

Timekeeping

The number of working hours must be recorded and documented. This may be done, for example, using working hours rules or similar. It is recommended that the effectively worked hours are documented using, for example, a timekeeping system or reports.

Statutory basis (German only)