Currency: Swiss Franc (CHF)

Capital: Berne

Official language: French, German & Italian

Payroll Cycle: Monthly

Paid Time Off

In Switzerland, employees are entitled to 20 days of paid holiday a year. However, is best practice to grant 25 days. Paid time off includes public holidays.

For part time employees, the standard is 20 days of paid holidays but will depend on the work pensum, this means the amount of time per week the employee works. **

Public Holidays

Public holidays will vary by canton (member states), but the average is 10 to 12 days. Some of the celebrations are:

• New Year's Day
• Ascension Day
• Swiss National Day
• Federal Day of Thanksgiving, Repentance and Prayer
• Christmas Day

Individual Income Tax

The individual income tax depends on many variables, such as marital status, level of income, amount of children, residency, etc. The average ranges up to 24%.

Employer Cost

Approximately, 12% - 20% of employee salary

Employment Contract Details

There are no specific rules governing the language for employment contracts as long as the employee understands the contract language. Bilingual wording is recommended for employees without the relevant language skills. Contracts must be in writing.

Probation Period

The minimum probation period is 1 month and the maximum probation period is 3 months for an unlimited contract. The law does not provide for a probationary period for fixed-term employment relationships.

Minimum Wage Requirements

There are no provisions regarding minimum salary stipulated in law. In some cases, a minimum wage may be set by a collective agreement.

Maximum working hours and overtime

Standard working hours can be between 38.5 to 42.5 hours per week.

Overtime must be paid at a premium of 25% of the salary. However, it is possible to exclude the supplement in writing. Instead of payment, overtime work may also be compensated by time off of at least the same duration. However, this requires your consent and that of the employer.

Bonus and expense payments

Terms and conditions are determined by the parties and must be included in the employment agreement to be enforced.

Parental Leave

• Maternity leave: is granted for 14 weeks, or 16 weeks in the Canton of Geneva, after birth. Employees must take a mandatory period of leave of 8 weeks following the birth. During maternity leave, employees receive an allowance equal to 80% of the average salaries funded by the state. The allowance is capped at CHF 196 per day and paid by the employer who may supplement the income up to 80% or 100% of the employee’s usual salary.
• Paternity leave: employees are entitled to 2 weeks of paid leave. As with maternity leave, the compensation is 80% of the average earned income before the birth of the child, up to a maximum of 196 francs per day. For a fortnight's leave, 14 daily allowances are paid out, resulting in a maximum amount of 2744 francs.

Sick Leave

Employees will be entitled to sickness benefit insurance, that will cover 80% of the employee's salary for 720 - 730 days in a 900 day period, as maximum. At least half of the premiums must be paid by the employer. In the event of incapacity for work, the continued payment of wages lasts until the employee is well for work again.

Terminations must be justified and employees must receive a written notice letter.Employees can appeal to a court if they consider the dismissal unjustified.

Severance must be paid when the termination is contractually agreed.

If annual leave wasn't taken the employee can take it or either receive it as payment.

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Notice Period

Severance pay is due according to the notice period. Notice periods start from 1 month and increase according to seniority up to 3 months for employees with over 10 years’ seniority:

• 7 calendar days during the probationary period (to the end of any day).
• 1 month in the first year of employment (at the end of a month).
• 2 months from the 2nd to the 9th year of service (to the end of a month)
• 3 months from the 10th year of service (to the end of a month)

Fixed-term employment contracts end at the fixed end date. Termination before the end of the fixed contract period is not possible in the case of a fixed-term employment contract, unless an earlier exit is provided for in the contract or there are important reasons.

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