Completing a final settlement properly

When an employee leaves, you need a clean final settlement: open hours, remaining vacation balance, overtime. Here is the step-by-step process.

Preparation

Before you record the exit

Last working day known?

Agree the exit date with the employee. Even if they are still due to take vacation — the exit date is the last actual working day.

All hours recorded?

Check under «Time entries» that all days up to the exit date are complete. Correct any forgotten clock-ins now.

Vacation and public holidays balanced?

Under Time tracking you can see the remaining vacation balance. A positive balance is paid out, a negative one is offset.

Step 1

Open the final settlement

Click Final settlement in the sidebar on the left and then «New settlement». In the Key data block on the left, select the employee and enter the Exit date and Last working day.

Final settlement with key data on the left and live preview on the right — On the left, the key data with employee selection, exit date and last working day · on the right, the live preview with all balances, the CHF total and the signing block.

💡

Exit date vs. last working dayOften identical — but they can differ if the employee takes vacation between the last working day and the exit date. Both dates are taken into account in the calculation.

Step 2

Check the preview

To the right of the key data, at the top, you see the Length of employment in days and months and the number of employment periods. Below it is a balance table with the four rows Rest days, Public holidays, Vacation and Hours — each with Entitlement, Taken, Payout, Reduction, Balance I and Balance II.

Negative balances are shown in red, positive payout amounts in blue. That way you can see at a glance what you still owe whom and where amounts are offset.

⚠️

Vacation reduction Art. 329b ORIn the case of prolonged illness, accident, maternity or military service, vacation may be reduced — in Gastrora this is a checkbox («Vacation reduction under Art. 329b OR?»). Grace limits: 30 days illness/accident, 14 weeks maternity, 28 days military. Only enable it if legally sound.

Step 3

Payout and signing

Below the preview you see the Payout block with all items and the total in CHF. Enter the name of the signing person and click «Sign & save» — done.

The settlement is archived as a PDF in GastroSuisse format. You can print it, hand it to the employee or send it by email.

Step 4

Generate the PDF and send it to the employee

From the final settlement you create a PDF in GastroSuisse format. The document contains:

Total working time since the start date (or onboarding cut-off date)
Final flexitime balance (over-/undertime)
Final vacation balance
Final rest day balance
Recommended payout (positive balances)

Via the «Send to employee» card → «Send WhatsApp», the employee receives their personal sign-off link via WhatsApp — just like for the monthly close. As soon as they have signed the final settlement, it is legally deemed accepted.

⚖️

Legally importantThe final settlement must be made within the legal deadline — usually with the last salary payment. If the employee raises no objection, the balance is automatically deemed accepted after 14 days (by analogy with Art. 21 L-GAV).

Special cases

What to do if…

…the employee leaves in the middle of the month

No problem — the settlement is calculated to the exact day up to the exit date. You don't have to wait for the next monthly close.

…the employee has taken more vacation than they earned

The negative vacation balance is offset in the final settlement — the days are deducted from the last salary. Gastrora shows you the exact figure.

…the employee still has more than 100h of overtime

On exit, overtime must be paid out (not converted into time off). The rate (100% or 125%) depends on whether you complied with the monthly communication.

…the employee doesn't respond to the sign-off link

After 14 days, the balance is automatically deemed accepted. Still: following up actively is usually wiser — your fiduciary wants clean documents.