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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
Overview of Public Holidays in Switzerland
Public holidays in Switzerland are highly decentralized, with most observances determined at the cantonal level. The only nationwide, federally recognised public holiday is Swiss National Day on 1 August, which commemorates the founding of the Swiss Confederation in 1291. Beyond this, cantons and in some cases municipalities establish their own official holidays, resulting in significant variation in the number and type of public holidays across the country. Many public holidays are shared by multiple cantons, particularly religious festivals, while others are unique to specific regions.
Employee Entitlements on Public Holidays
All employees in Switzerland are legally entitled to paid time off on Swiss National Day when it falls on a working day, as this is the only public holiday guaranteed under federal law. There is no federal entitlement to paid leave for any other holiday. However, each canton may designate up to eight of its recognised public holidays as statutory days off. These cantonal public holidays are legally treated as equivalent to Sundays, meaning employers may not require employees to work on these days without obtaining a permit. Work on non-statutory holidays—those not elevated to the status of an official cantonal day off—may be requested by employers, subject to normal employment contract terms.
Paid vs. Unpaid Public Holidays in Switzerland
Employees who are paid monthly or weekly generally receive their usual salary even when a public holiday occurs during the pay period, provided the holiday is a designated day off and they do not work that day. In contrast, employees paid by the hour, day or per piece are usually only entitled to paid leave on Swiss National Day. For other public holidays, payment is not automatically required unless established by the canton, a collective agreement, or the employment contract. Employers should therefore verify applicable cantonal rules and contractual obligations when determining holiday pay.
Public Holidays Observed Across Switzerland
These include New Year’s Day on 1 January, Easter Monday on 1 April, Ascension Day on 9 May, Swiss National Day on 1 August and Christmas Day on 25 December. While the exact dates of moveable feasts change annually, these holidays are commonly recognised across the country.
Cantonal Public Holidays
Cantonal public holidays vary widely and reflect regional history, religious traditions and cultural practices. Examples from recent years illustrate this diversity, such as Republic Day in Neuchâtel on 1 March, Näfelser Fahrt in Glarus on 4 April, the Sechseläuten half-day observance in Zürich on the afternoon of 15 April and Jura Independence Day on 23 June. Each canton determines the holidays that apply within its jurisdiction and designates which of these are statutory days off. Employers operating in multiple cantons must ensure that their holiday calendars align with the specific rules of each employee’s canton of work.
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.
FAQ's
What types of paid leave are employees entitled to in Switzerland?
Employees in Switzerland can be entitled to paid annual leave, continued salary or insured benefits during qualifying sickness absence, maternity leave, other parent leave, adoption leave and leave to care for family members or a seriously ill child.
The main statutory leave types include annual holidays, absence due to illness or accident, 14 weeks of maternity leave, two weeks of leave for the other parent and two weeks of adoption leave for eligible parents. Parents caring for a child whose health is seriously impaired can also receive up to 14 weeks of care leave.
Employees can also receive up to three paid days per event to care for a family member or partner with a health impairment, generally subject to a maximum of 10 days per year. Different rules apply when caring for children. The annual 10-day limit does not apply in the same way to the care of an employee’s own children. Where a child’s health is seriously impaired, the separate entitlement to up to 14 weeks of care leave may apply if the statutory conditions are satisfied.
A leave policy in Switzerland can provide more generous benefits through the employment contract or collective labour agreement.
What are the minimum leave entitlements under Swiss law?
Swiss employees are entitled to statutory annual holidays and, where the relevant conditions are met, sick leave, maternity leave, other parent leave, adoption leave and family care leave.
Federal law provides at least four weeks of annual holiday, increasing to five weeks for employees under 20. Employees who cannot work because of illness can also have a right to continued salary, although Switzerland does not use one fixed statutory number of paid sick days for everyone. The statutory salary-continuation obligation generally applies where the employment relationship has lasted more than three months or was agreed for more than three months. The duration depends on the employee’s service and, where no equivalent insurance arrangement applies, the regional court scale used in the relevant jurisdiction.
For parents, federal entitlements include 14 weeks of maternity leave, two weeks for the other parent and two weeks of adoption leave. Parents caring for a child whose health is seriously impaired can receive up to 14 weeks of care leave.
Cantonal rules, collective labour agreements and employment contracts can provide additional leave.
How many days of annual leave are employees entitled to in Switzerland?
Employees in Switzerland are entitled to at least four weeks of paid annual leave each year. For someone working a standard five-day week, this equals 20 paid vacation days.
The entitlement is based on weeks rather than a fixed number of days. For example, someone who normally works three days a week would generally receive 12 days, which still gives them four full weeks away from work.
Employees under 20 are entitled to five weeks of annual leave. Employers can also provide more generous vacation days in Switzerland through an employment contract or collective labour agreement.
Employers generally decide when annual leave is taken but must consider the employee’s preferences where these are compatible with the needs of the business. At least two weeks of annual leave should normally be taken consecutively.
During employment, statutory annual leave generally cannot simply be replaced with additional pay.
Is sick leave paid in Switzerland?
Yes. Sick leave in Switzerland is paid when the legal eligibility requirements are met. How much employees receive and for how long depends on whether the employer has daily sickness allowance insurance.
Without this insurance, the employer generally pays 100% of salary during qualifying sick leave. In the first year of service, this is at least three weeks. From the second year onwards, paid sick leave lasts longer, with courts using regional scales such as the Bern, Basel or Zurich scales to determine the period. The statutory entitlement generally arises only if the employment relationship has lasted more than three months or was agreed for more than three months. The employee must be unable to work for a reason relating to their person and without fault on their part.
The Bern, Basel and Zurich scales are not legislation and do not create one nationwide sick-leave period. Courts use them as regional guidance when determining the appropriate duration of salary continuation under Article 324a of the Code of Obligations. Many Swiss employers have daily sickness allowance insurance (Krankentaggeldversicherung) instead.
A common arrangement pays 80% of salary for up to 720 or 730 days within a 900-day period, although the exact coverage comes from the insurance policy. An insurance arrangement can replace the statutory salary-continuation system only if it provides benefits that are at least equivalent overall. Relevant factors include the benefit percentage, coverage period, waiting period and allocation of premiums. Employers commonly pay at least half of the insurance premium where the arrangement substitutes for the statutory regime.
During an insurance waiting period, the employer may remain responsible for salary payments depending on the policy, contract and equivalence of the overall arrangement. Insurance exclusions or a denied claim does not automatically eliminate the employer’s obligations.
How long is maternity leave in Switzerland?
Statutory maternity leave in Switzerland is 14 weeks, or 98 days, starting on the day the child is born.
The leave must normally be taken continuously immediately after birth. A mother who returns to work before the 14 weeks have ended generally loses the remaining maternity allowance.
Swiss employment law also prohibits mothers from working during the first eight weeks after giving birth. During weeks nine to 14, they can return voluntarily but cannot be required to do so. The prohibition on work during the first eight weeks is separate from the 14-week maternity-leave entitlement. Employers must not ask or allow the employee to resume work during that initial protected period.
The statutory entitlement can be longer in certain circumstances, including where a newborn requires an extended hospital stay. Cantonal rules, collective labour agreements or employment contracts may also provide more generous maternity leave.
In summary, the federal minimum for maternity leave in Switzerland is 14 weeks after childbirth.
Is maternity leave paid in Switzerland?
Yes. Eligible employees on maternity leave in Switzerland generally receive 80% of their average income before birth, up to CHF 220 per day, for a maximum of 14 weeks. The CHF 220 daily cap remains applicable as of 3 September 2026. The maximum is reached at an average monthly income of CHF 8,250.
The payment comes through Switzerland’s Income Compensation Allowance system (EO/APG) rather than being an ordinary employer-funded salary payment. To qualify, the mother generally must have been insured under Swiss social security for at least nine months immediately before the birth and have worked for at least five months during that period.
For employees, the employer normally submits the maternity allowance application to the relevant compensation office. An employment contract, collective labour agreement or company policy can provide more generous maternity pay, such as maintaining full salary during the leave.
What is the other parent leave (formerly paternity leave) in Switzerland?
The other parent is generally entitled to two weeks of paid leave following the birth of a child, which can be taken within six months of the birth.
For an employee working five days a week, this normally means 10 working days. The leave can be taken as two consecutive weeks or as individual days. The entitlement corresponds to two weeks based on the employee’s normal working schedule. The allowance is paid for a maximum of 14 daily allowances because weekends are included when the leave is taken by the week.
Eligible employees receive 80% of their average income, up to CHF 220 per day, through Switzerland’s Income Compensation Allowance system. The CHF 220 daily cap remains applicable as of 3 September 2026. Eligibility generally requires nine months of compulsory AHV insurance before birth, at least five months of gainful employment during that period and qualifying employment or self-employment status at the time of birth.
The entitlement applies to the child’s legal father. It can also apply to the mother’s wife where the statutory parentage requirements are met. Swiss legislation now uses leave for the other parent rather than simply paternity leave, reflecting the people who can qualify for the entitlement.
In summary,other-parent leave provides two weeks of paid leave that can be used flexibly during the first six months after birth.
What other types of leave are employees entitled to in Switzerland?
Swiss employees can also qualify for adoption leave, care leave, youth leave and paid time off to care for sick or injured family members.
Eligible working parents who adopt a child under four can receive two weeks of paid adoption leave, which can be divided between the parents and taken within 12 months. The allowance is generally 80% of eligible income, capped at CHF 220 per day. Adoption leave can be taken in consecutive weeks or individual days. If both parents are employed, they may divide the leave between them but cannot take it at the same time. Adopting a spouse’s or partner’s child does not create entitlement to the federal adoption allowance. Unlike maternity and other-parent leave, adoption leave does not create a separate statutory protection from dismissal or extend the notice period.
Parents caring for a child whose health is seriously impaired can receive up to 14 weeks of paid care leave, which can be divided between the parents. The 14 weeks must generally be taken within an 18-month framework period beginning on the first day for which the allowance is claimed. The leave may be taken continuously or as individual days. The allowance is generally 80% of the relevant average income, capped at CHF 220 per day and limited to 98 daily allowances.
Employees can also receive up to three paid days per event to care for a family member or partner with a health impairment, generally up to 10 days per year. Special rules apply when caring for children.
Employees under 30 can also qualify for up to one working week of unpaid youth leave each year for certain voluntary youth activities.
What are the key employer obligations for leave management in Switzerland?
Swiss employers must provide statutory leave, calculate leave pay correctly, maintain absence records and apply the specific rules for sickness, annual holidays and family-related leave.
For annual holidays, employers must provide at least four weeks per year for most employees and five weeks for employees under 20. They also need to track when holidays are taken and apply the statutory restrictions on reducing holiday entitlement during certain absences.
For sick leave in Switzerland, employers need to apply the correct salary-continuation or sickness insurance arrangement and manage medical certificates appropriately.
For maternity, other-parent and other qualifying family leave, employers need to record the absence and complete the required administration for Income Compensation Allowance payments.
Employers should also check the employee’s employment contract and applicable collective labour agreement because these can provide leave above the federal minimum.
How does CXC improve employee experience through accurate leave management in Switzerland?
CXC helps employees receive the correct leave and pay in Switzerland while giving businesses local support to manage absences accurately and compliantly.
Through our Employer of Record service in Switzerland, CXC manages annual holidays, sick leave, maternity leave, other parent leave and other statutory absences alongside payroll and employee records. We make sure leave is recorded correctly and that changes affecting salary or statutory benefits are reflected in payroll.
CXC also manages the wider employment relationship, including employment contracts, statutory benefits, social insurance, pension requirements, onboarding and ongoing HR administration. Employees have a local point of support when they have questions about their leave or entitlements.
With more than 30 years of workforce management experience, CXC supports global and enterprise businesses managing workforces across Switzerland and multiple international markets.
Speak to our team to learn more about managing leave and hiring talent in Switzerland with CXC.
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