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Leave in Switzerland
Maternity, paternity, and parental leave in Switzerland
Adoption leave in Switzerland
Other leave in Switzerland
Public holidays in Switzerland
Protect your employees and your business
Paid time off in Switzerland
Employees in Switzerland have the right to paid time off in various circumstances. And as an employer, it’s your job to understand those rights so you can ensure your employees get the leave they’re entitled to. Employers in Switzerland also need to understand which types of leave are paid for through the social security system, and which you need to pay for as an employer. Some types of leave are also unpaid.
Putting together a generous leave policy can help you attract and retain Swiss talent by allowing them to better manage their work-life balance. But in order to ensure your offer is competitive, you need to know what the statutory requirements look like. In this section, we’ll cover various types of time off in Switzerland, including annual leave, sick leave, maternity, paternity, and parental leave, public holidays and more.
Leave in Switzerland
In Switzerland, the rules about annual leave are set by the Labour Act. Collective agreements may also have additional provisions, which employers need to abide by. Employers can also choose to provide additional leave in their individual employment contracts.
Annual leave in Switzerland
All employees are entitled to at least four weeks of annual leave in Switzerland. For full-time employees, this amounts to 20 days of leave. For part-time employees, leave is provided in proportion to hours worked but should still total four weeks. Employees under the age of 20 are entitled to five weeks of leave. Employers in Switzerland can choose whether to include public holidays in their employees’ annual leave entitlement.
Accruing and using annual leave in Switzerland
The annual leave cycle in Switzerland is the calendar year. Employees must get approval from their employer before taking time off, and employers can ask employees to change their leave dates if they have a good reason related to the needs of the company. If an employee falls ill during a holiday, they are entitled to postpone their annual leave as long as they have a medical certificate.
If an employee doesn’t use all of their annual leave during the year, it’s possible to carry it over to the following calendar year at the employer’s discretion. How many days can be carried forward and how this works depends on the company’s policy. If an employee has unused annual leave when they give notice, they can either use it to work a shorter notice period or have it paid out by the employer.
Sick leave in Switzerland
Employees in Switzerland are also entitled to sick leave when they are too ill to work. How this works depends on whether the employer has sickness daily benefits insurance. If they do, the employee can take paid sick leave for up to 730 days in a 900-day period, paid as follows:
- First 30 days: Paid at 100% of salary by the employer.
- Days 31–730: Paid at 100% of salary, 80% by insurance and 20% by the employer.
If the employer does not have such a policy in place, employees are entitled to paid sick leave at 100% of their salary paid by the employer. However, employees’ sick leave entitlements vary based on the number of years they have been employed:
- First year of employment: 3 weeks.
- Second year of employment: 1 month.
- Third and fourth year of employment: 2 months.
- Fifth to ninth year of employment: 3 months.
- Ten or more years of employment: 4 months.
Maternity, paternity, and parental leave in Switzerland
Employees in Switzerland are entitled to paid time off work when they or their partner has a baby, known as maternity leave and paternity leave.
Maternity leave in Switzerland
Employees are entitled to maternity leave if they have worked for their employer for at least 270 consecutive days. The statutory maternity entitlement is 14 weeks of paid leave (or 16 weeks in the canton of Geneva). Maternity leave generally begins on the day of the birth. Mothers don’t have to take all of their leave but must take at least eight weeks of leave directly after the birth. If an employee chooses to go back to work before their leave is over, they lose the remaining leave.
Maternity leave in Switzerland is paid at 80% of the employee’s normal salary up to a cap of CHF 220 per day. This is paid for by the social security system. Employees can also choose to extend their maternity leave by an additional 14 days, although this is usually unpaid.
Paternity leave in Switzerland
Effective January 1, 2024, the designation ‘paternity leave’ has been replaced with the term ‘leave for the other partner.’ This change aims to standardize entitlements, ensuring that not only fathers but also same-sex couples, including lesbian couples, are eligible for two weeks of paid leave. It is important to note that male same-sex couples must still utilise the statutory adoption leave provisions. Both categories of leave are financed through mandatory loss of earnings insurance, rather than being borne by the employer.
Parental leave in Switzerland
There’s no specific entitlement for paid or unpaid parental leave in Switzerland, though employees may be able to extend their maternity and paternity leave in some circumstances. Employees can also get paid leave to take care of their children if they become ill.
Additional protections for pregnant employees in Switzerland
In addition to maternity leave, pregnant women in Switzerland have special rights in the workplace, including the following:
- Pregnant women must not work longer than eight hours per day, even if their employment contract allows this.
- Pregnant employees cannot carry out work that could put them or their baby at risk. Employers must carry out a risk assessment of any strenuous or dangerous work.
- If a risk is found, the employer must offer equivalent employment that is safe and not overly demanding.
- Pregnant employees can request to work during the day in an equivalent job if they normally work between 8pm and 6am and must not work between 8pm and 6am in the eight weeks before giving birth.
- Pregnant employees must be given the possibility to lie down and rest in a separate room during the day.
Adoption leave in Switzerland
As of 2023, employees who adopt a child under the age of four in Switzerland have the right to two weeks of paid adoption leave at 80% of their usual pay. This is the total entitlement for an adopting couple. It can be either taken by one parent or shared between them. However, the two parents can’t take adoption leave at the same time. Adoption leave in Switzerland isn’t paid automatically — employees must request payment from the federal compensation office.
Other leave in Switzerland
If you hire employees in Switzerland, you may come across various other types of leave. Some are mandatory for employers to offer, while others are optional. However, they could help you improve your employer value proposition and attract and retain employees.
Care leave in Switzerland
Employees in Switzerland are entitled to 14 weeks of paid time off to care for a seriously ill or injured child. They must provide their employer with a medical certificate in order to access this leave.
Bereavement leave in Switzerland
There’s no specific requirement to give employees leave in the case of a bereavement in Switzerland, though it’s common in practice. For example, employees may be granted 3–5 days of leave for the death of a close relative and 1–3 days for other deaths.
Marriage leave in Switzerland
Employees are usually entitled to leave when they get married. Although this isn’t explicitly stated by law, the standard entitlement is 1–3 days of unpaid leave.
Youth service leave in Switzerland
Employees under the age of 30 in Switzerland are entitled to unpaid leave to complete youth service activities.
Military (Civil Protection) leave in Switzerland
Employees are entitled to paid leave to fulfil military or civil protection service. This is paid for through the social security system at 80% of the employee’s normal wages up to a cap.
Public holidays in Switzerland
Public holidays in Switzerland vary by canton (state). The only federal holiday is National Day, which is on 1 August and commemorates the founding of the Swiss Confederation in 1291. However, there are other holidays that are shared between several cantons.
Are public holidays days off in Switzerland?
All employees in Switzerland are entitled to paid time off for Swiss National Day if it falls on a working day. There are no statutory provisions for other days. However, each canton is entitled to set up to eight of their public holidays as days off. Legally, they are equivalent to Sundays, and it is prohibited to ask employees to work on these days without a permit. Employees can be asked to work on other public holidays.
Are public holidays paid in Switzerland?
Monthly or weekly earners in Switzerland usually receive their normal pay even if there is a public holiday (that they didn’t work) during the pay period. Hourly, daily, and piece-rate workers are generally only entitled to paid time off on National Day.
Public holidays in Switzerland in 2024
Here are the public holidays observed across all of Switzerland in 2024:
1 January
New Year’s Day
1 April
Easter Monday
9 May
Ascension Day
1 August
Swiss National Day
25 December
Christmas Day
Cantonal public holidays in Switzerland in 2024
In addition to these, each canton sets its own public holidays. Some of the cantonal public holidays observed in 2024 include:
1 March
Republic Day (Neuchâtel)
4 April
Näfelser Fahrt (Glarus)
15 April (afternoon only)
Sechseläuten (Zürich)
23 June
Jura Independence Day (Jura)
Protect your employees and your business
As an employer in Switzerland, you need to understand your employees’ rights and entitlements. But keeping up with them can be a lot of work.
When you hire workers with CXC, we’ll ensure your engagements are in line with all local, national and international employment regulations. That way, your workers will get their benefits they’re entitled to, and your business will be protected from risk.
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