Bern Canton shop hours: holidays and rules

Context

TL;DR

• Opening hours depend on the canton, municipality, or competent institution.
• Sundays and public holidays require a separate verification.
• Exceptions are subject to special authorizations.
• In retail, the maximum limit is 45 hours per week.

Key facts

• Territory → Canton of Bern
• Subject matter → public holidays and trading hours
• Competence → competent canton, municipality or institution
• Exceptions → special permits
• Maximum retail hours → 45 hours per week
• Minimum vacation → 4 weeks; 5 under 20
• Minimum wage → no federal minimum wage; some cantons have their own

In the Canton of Bern, shop opening hours should be understood as a local matter. The source in fact links public holidays and trading hours to the canton, municipality or competent institution. For the public, a retailer and someone who works in a shop, the question is therefore not only when to open, but which official source governs that particular day and that particular activity.

The distinction matters especially between ordinary opening, Sunday, public holiday and exception. The reference framework mentions special permits and an office responsible for exceptions. Requirements, deadlines and amounts must be checked against the official source of the canton: without that step, it is not correct to turn a local rule into a general rule for all shops.

Authority comes before opening hours

Anyone looking for a practical answer must start with the authority indicated for the Bern case and check the page dedicated to trading hours or permits. If the issue concerns the municipality, the local check is added to the cantonal one. The source does not provide a list of numerical hours to transfer automatically to every locality.

Federal offices should not be confused either. AFC/ESTV concerns direct federal tax and VAT; UFAS/BSV concerns social security; UST/BFS concerns statistics. These responsibilities do not replace checking with the cantonal or municipal office when opening a shop.

Trading hours and employment

For those employed in retail, shift planning goes alongside the opening rule. The maximum hours indicated by the source are 45 hours per week for retail; the minimum vacation is four weeks, or five for those under 20. The right to open on a given day and compliance with the employment contract are two different checks.

There is no federal minimum wage, while some cantons have their own. A retailer hiring staff must therefore keep trading hours, any required authorization and the applicable pay conditions separate. Anyone considering a job can consult the annunci di lavoro and use these checks as a basis for questions to the employer.

Operational details

Separate authorization and shifts

A store may have a business-hours issue and, separately, a staff-organization issue. The first check concerns whether it is possible to open on the day in question; the second concerns shifts, weekly working time, and the terms of the employment relationship. Confusing the two aspects produces an incomplete answer, even when the matter concerns the same store.

This approach helps avoid the most common error: using the store's calendar as if it were also the employee's contract. Authorization to keep the store open does not by itself resolve shift scheduling. By contrast, the 45-hour weekly limit in retail does not answer the question of whether Sunday or public-holiday opening is permitted.

The check is even more delicate when an exception is involved. The words special authorization and competent office indicate that the procedure must be reconstructed based on the official source of the canton or municipality, following the published requirements and deadlines. The source does not permit inferring that every Sunday is allowed or that every public holiday is prohibited.

Salary, insurance and actual cost

For payroll, the source indicates AVS/AHV contributions, namely AVS/AI/IPG, amounting to 5,3% for the employee and 10,6% in total including the employer. AD/AC is 1,1% up to the annual maximum. LPP/BVG on the coordinated salary provides for 7% between 25 and 34 years of age, 10% between 35 and 44, 15% between 45 and 54, and 18% from age 55 until the reference age.

LAMal/KVG, on the other hand, is mandatory for residents and must be taken out within three months of arrival, with per-capita premiums varying by canton or region. It is private insurance, not a tax or a salary contribution. To assess the overall effect of shifts and income, the hours check can be paired with a comparison of costo della vita in Svizzera.

Useful planning tools

To estimate your pension strategy, use the pension planner and the pillar 3 simulator.

Useful planning tools

To estimate your pension strategy, use the pension planner and the pillar 3 simulator.

Key points

Practical procedure for those who need to open or work

1. Define the case. Indicate whether it concerns a regular, Sunday, public-holiday or exceptional opening. This distinction determines which rule to look for.

2. Identify the official source. Start with the Canton of Bern and check whether responsibility is cantonal, municipal or assigned to another competent institution. Do not replace this search with a generic national rule.

3. Check the exception. If the opening falls outside the ordinary regime, look for the special authorization, competent office, requirements and deadline indicated by the official source. Amounts must be verified in the same way.

4. Separate authorization and shifts. For sales staff, the maximum limit of 45 hours per week remains in place. The minimum vacation entitlement is four weeks, or five for those under 20; maternity leave lasts 14 weeks at 80% IPG, and paternity leave two weeks.

5. Verify remuneration. Check the payslip for the AVS/AI/IPG, AD/AC and LPP entries. Maximum amounts and other indexed amounts, including those linked to LAMal, should always be checked for the correct year against the official source. For this reason, a guide to busta paga svizzera is also useful.

Unambiguous communication

Before communicating a schedule to the public, keep three elements separate: the local commercial rule, any authorization and the shift plan. For an employer, this sequence prevents announcing an opening before completing the verification. For an employee, on the other hand, it clarifies which questions to ask about the schedule and remuneration.

To estimate the impact of net salary and taxes, use the calcolatore stipendio/imposte.