SSwiss employment law regulates what “applies” at your job: from the employment contract and working hours to vacation, illness, termination, and the employment reference. For most private employment relationships, two legal layers are especially important: the Swiss Code of Obligations (CO), which governs the employment contract, and the Labour Act, which regulates working hours, rest periods, and employee protection. In addition, collective employment agreements or standard employment contracts may set a base standard or improve them above the minimal legal requirements.
Employment Contract: Does It Have to Be in Writing?
In Switzerland, an employment contract can generally also be concluded verbally. In practice, however, a written contract is worth its weight in gold because it clearly records the most important points and helps avoid disputes later on. If an employment relationship is agreed for an indefinite period, or for more than one month, the employer also has a duty to provide information on the essential contractual conditions.
Typically, a contract, or at least the written information, should include things such as the role, salary, working hours, vacation entitlement, start date, probation period, and notice periods.
Working Hours, Breaks, and “Overtime”: What Is What?
When it comes to working hours, Swiss law distinguishes between overtime and statutory overtime (excess hours). Overtime means work beyond the hours contractually agreed. Excess hours mean work beyond the legal maximum permitted under the Labour Act. This distinction matters because excess hours are regulated more strictly in many respects and generally must be compensated either with a premium or with time off in lieu. Compensation for overtime, by contrast, is often contractually excluded or modified.
Breaks are also clearly regulated: if you work more than 5.5 hours, you are entitled to at least a 15-minute break; if you work more than 7 hours, at least 30 minutes; and if you work more than 9 hours, at least 1 hour, which in certain cases may be split up.
Vacation: Minimum Entitlement and Planning
The basic rule for vacation entitlement is simple: at least 4 weeks per year, and at least 5 weeks if you are under 20 years old. Many employers, and especially collective employment agreements, provide more, but they cannot provide less.
One important point in everyday practice is that vacation is generally meant for rest and recovery and is usually taken in kind, meaning as actual time off rather than a cash payout. The employer may decide when vacation is taken, but should, where possible, take the employee’s wishes into account. In practice, and in many guidelines or regulations, the principle is also widespread that at least two consecutive weeks of vacation should be possible.
Illness or Accident: Continued Salary Payment and Protection Against Dismissal
If you are ill or injured in an accident, two issues need to be distinguished, as they are often confused:
- Protection against dismissal (blocking period): After the probation period, the employer may not terminate the employment during a legally defined blocking period, depending on the year of service, for example 30, 90, or 180 days. During the probation period, this protection does not apply.
- Continued salary payment: Regardless of whether protection against dismissal applies, there may be an entitlement to continued salary payment. This entitlement cannot simply be excluded. How long salary must continue to be paid depends, among other things, on years of service, cantonal scales, or contractual arrangements such as daily sickness benefit insurance.
Termination: Notice Periods, Probation Period, and Summary Dismissal
In the case of ordinary termination, you, just like the employer, generally have to comply with the applicable notice period. If the employment contract or a collective employment agreement does not provide otherwise, the statutory notice periods apply: during the probation period, this is typically 7 days, and afterwards, depending on the length of the employment relationship, often 1 to 3 months.
Summary dismissal (without notice) is the exception and requires serious grounds. “Normal” performance issues are usually not enough, and absence without fault is not a valid reason for immediate dismissal either.
If you are unsure whether a termination was properly delivered, whether the deadlines are correct, or whether a dismissal took place at an impermissible time, for example during a blocking period, it is worth getting clarification quickly, especially because deadlines play a major role in employment law.
Employment Reference: Entitlement and Content
In Switzerland, you are entitled at any time to an employment reference, even during an ongoing employment relationship, in the form of an interim reference. A full reference must contain information on the type and duration of the employment relationship, as well as on performance and conduct. Alternatively, you may request a short confirmation of employment, limited to the type and duration of the employment.
