Swiss employment law
27 questions · 15 pages
- The Swiss ArbeitszeugnisWhat is a Swiss Arbeitszeugnis and why does it matter? · What can I do about a poor Arbeitszeugnis? · How do I request my Arbeitszeugnis from an employer? · When can I ask for an interim reference in Switzerland? · Interim or final reference — what is the difference?
- Ending an employment relationship in SwitzerlandHow do I write a resignation letter in Switzerland? · Do I have to give a reason when I resign in Switzerland? · What happens if I am let go during the probation period? · What notice period applies to me in Switzerland? · Dismissed during sick leave or pregnancy in Switzerland: is the notice valid?
- Workplace bullying in Switzerland: what the law actually saysWhat legally counts as workplace bullying in Switzerland? · Who do I turn to about workplace bullying in Switzerland?
- After a job rejection in Switzerland: what the law covers and what it does notWhat should I do after a job rejection in Switzerland? · Can I ask for feedback after a rejection? · How do I handle a rejection after an interview?
- The 13th month salary in SwitzerlandHow is the 13th salary calculated for part-time work? · Am I entitled to a 13th month salary in Switzerland?
- The hidden phrases in a Swiss reference letterNot with a decoder list. Swiss law fixes the meaning of an Arbeitszeugnis at what an uninvolved third party may understand in good faith — with the Federal Supreme Court rulings on the satisfaction sentence, completeness and the language of the document.
- The probation period in SwitzerlandArt. 335b of the Swiss Code of Obligations makes the first month of any job a probation period and caps it at three. But most of the universally binding sector agreements set a longer one, and the public sector is not bound by the cap at all.
- Holiday entitlement in SwitzerlandArt. 329a CO requires at least four weeks of holiday per year of service, five up to the age of 20 — weeks, not days. How that converts for your working week, which paragraphs Art. 361 and 362 CO make unalterable, when holiday may be reduced, and what Swiss adverts state.
- How do I negotiate a raise in Switzerland?Art. 322 CO names four sources for your salary figure. Below one of them you are asserting a claim; above it you are negotiating with no statutory backing. Five federal acts read on Fedlex on 31 August 2026 — and only two of them exist in English.
- What happens to my pension fund when I change jobs?Inside Switzerland the transfer is compulsory, not optional. Leaving the country is the case with a real restriction: the mandatory part stays blocked if you remain compulsorily insured in an EU or EFTA state. Read in the Vested Benefits Act and the LOB Guarantee Fund report on 31 August 2026.
- Do I have a right to work from home in Switzerland?The Swiss Code of Obligations never names a place of work, and Art. 321d gives directives to the employer. A claim only exists where it was agreed. What the Labour Act protects once you do work from home — read in the statutes on 31 August 2026.
- Do Swiss employers have to pay out overtime?Switzerland has two kinds of extra hours and English has one word for both. Überstunden under Art. 321c CO are hours beyond your contract and the supplement can be excluded in writing; Überzeit under Art. 12 and 13 of the Labour Act are hours beyond the statutory weekly maximum and that compensation cannot be contracted away — but for office staff it only starts after 60 hours a year.
- How does temporary work function in Switzerland?Swiss law treats temporary work as one of three forms of Personalverleih. What the Employment Services Ordinance means by it, who your employer actually is, which notice periods apply to that one form only — and why the advert will not tell you.
- My contract gives a different job title than the one I was offered — what applies in Switzerland?Article 330b paragraph 1 letter c of the Swiss Code of Obligations requires the employer to inform you in writing of your function within one month. Why that duty sits in neither of the two protective lists, which document must describe the work, and what a job title actually means in the Swiss market.
- Should I pay a recruitment agency or a paid application service in Switzerland?What a licensed Swiss placement agency may charge a job seeker: at most CHF 45 registration and 5 per cent of the first gross annual salary, due only once a contract is signed. And why a paid CV or application service falls under none of it.