Vacation entitlement in Switzerland: your right to free time

Vacation time is a time to relax – but it is often associated with uncertainties: How many days do I have? What happens to my vacation if I fall ill? And under what circumstances can vacation expire? 

How entitlement to vacation in Switzerland is governed

In Switzerland, there are clear legal regulations governing vacation entitlement. These are set out in Article 329a-d of the Swiss Code of Obligations. For employees, the statutory minimum entitlement is four weeks of vacation per year. Based on a five-day week, this equates to 20 working days. However, for young people under 20 years of age, there’s a special rule: They are entitled to at least five weeks’ vacation per year, i.e. 25 working days. This is to ensure that young people have enough time for relaxing, leisure and education.

More vacation? This is also possible

Even if the statutory minimum entitlement is four weeks, employers can voluntarily grant their employees more vacation. Some companies, for example, offer five or even six weeks of vacation per year, depending on the company’s policy or years of service. Collective employment agreements (CEA) may also contain differing provisions regarding vacation that give employees a better deal: e.g. six or even seven weeks from a certain age. In Switzerland, there are more than 500 collective agreements (companies and associations’ collective agreements). It is therefore important to check whether you are subject to a collective agreement. 

Calculate your part-time vacation entitlement

If you work part-time, your vacation entitlement is prorated. Let’s say you work 50 percent of a full-time workload, i.e. about 2.5 days a week. Then you are entitled to half of the minimum entitlement: ten days’ vacation per year. If you work part-time at 80 percent, your vacation entitlement equals 80 percent of the minimum entitlement valid in Switzerland, i.e. 16 days. The exact calculation may vary depending on the work model and individual agreements. If you change the number of hours you work, your vacation entitlement will also decrease or increase accordingly. 

This is how Swiss law defines vacation

In Switzerland, vacation is clearly defined as paid days off to allow employees to relax. Vacation days should allow employees to take a break from work so that they can regenerate physically and mentally. This differentiates vacation from other types of absences such as public holidays, sick days or unpaid leave. Employees should therefore be free to decide how to use this time and not be required to perform work tasks. They will continue to receive their usual salary payments during vacation.

The following must be clearly distinguished from vacation:

• Public holidays: Although public holidays are also days off, they do not fall into the “vacation” category. Public holidays are defined by law or region and are granted to all employees, regardless of the individual vacation days granted.
  
• Sick days: Days on which an employee is unable to show up for work due to illness also do not count as vacation. They are covered by daily sickness benefits if this has been contractually agreed. However, there is one exception: A doctor can confirm that an employee can take vacation despite being on sick leave, i.e. is fit for vacation. If, for example, a beach vacation is planned, an employee on sick leave with a broken arm can still enjoy the vacation in a deck chair. If someone has planned a week of golf, pursuing this type of recreation with a broken arm is not possible so they cannot enjoy their vacation. The doctor confirms that you are fit to vacation on the medical certificate they issue.
• Unpaid leave: If employees wish to take time off for personal reasons and these days are not covered by vacation or other paid absences, employers can grant unpaid leave. Unlike vacation, these days are not paid.
• Maternity leave: Maternity leave is also a special form of absence that does not fall under the concept of vacation. It is specifically intended for the period after the birth of a child and is also regulated by law.

Having vacation entitlement paid out is only possible in special cases

The main purpose of statutory vacation entitlement is to help employees relax and regenerate. For this reason, employers cannot simply replace this entitlement with financial compensation. Exceptions are special situations in which companies pay out vacation entitlement. For example, if vacation days are still unused after termination or after the last day of the employment relationship (and the employee can no longer use them). As a general rule, however, all unpaid vacation days should be taken by the end of the employment relationship.

If possible, vacation should also be taken during the notice period and not compensated in cash. Employees can therefore request to take their remaining vacation days even after the termination. The employer may only refuse to do so in the event of an operational emergency.

Do employees who have been terminated have to take vacation?

The opposite situation is more often disputed. The employer sends the employee who has been terminated on vacation even though he or she would prefer to have the vacation paid out. A distinction should be made here: If the employee has given notice themselves, it is reasonable to take the remaining vacation. However, if the employer is the one who has given notice of termination, first and foremost the employee must look for a new job. According to court practice, what matters is the ratio between the length of the notice period and the number of vacation days that are outstanding. In the case of a short notice period and large vacation entitlement, employees are entitled to have their vacation paid out. In the case of a long notice period and a relatively small vacation entitlement, it is reasonable to take vacation in kind. However, vacation cannot be ordered from one day to the next, even during the notice period. A fixed ratio cannot be inferred from court practice; it always depends on the circumstances of the individual case. For example, it is more reasonable to take vacation if the employee already has a new job lined up.  

Can vacation entitlement expire in Switzerland?

In Switzerland, under certain circumstances, vacation can expire after a five-year limitation period. However, there are clear legal provisions for this as well, which are set out in the Swiss Code of Obligations. As a general rule, employees should take vacation within the respective calendar year. It is possible to roll over vacation to the next year, provided there are good reasons for doing so and it is done within a reasonable period of time (usually within the first three months of the following year). Operational reasons are deemed to be valid – for example, if the employee cannot be absent due to a large workload or special projects. On the other hand, personal reasons, such as health problems or other important private circumstances, which prevented the employee from taking vacation within the stipulated period, also count.

Vacation entitlement in Switzerland: The employer determines the vacation

Pursuant to Art. 329c para. 2 of the Swiss Code of Obligations, the employer determines when vacation is to be taken, taking employees’ wishes into account to the extent that this is compatible with the interests of the company. If businesses are closed due to company vacations, employees must take their vacation during this period. Respect for the employee’s personal situation may justify exceptions. For example, an employee who competes in winter sports as an intensive hobby should be allowed to take his vacation in the winter if possible. In this respect, interests are also weighed up here, whereby the employer’s operational and organizational interests are given priority under the law. If employees have to take company vacation against their will, they should also be allowed to take unpaid leave during the time they want. If company vacations are announced only 14 days before they start, employees do not have to accept them as part of their vacation. The employer must announce company vacations at least three months in advance.

Employee wishes must be taken into account

If, when calculating vacation, the employer ignores the wishes of the employees without this being justified by operational interests, the employer is exceeding its right to determine vacation. If the employee objects immediately and offers his/her services during vacation (which was ordered by the employer), the employer may be in default of acceptance and the employee may take the vacation at a later date.

If the employer wrongfully refuses to allow the employee to take vacation at the requested time, or if the employer fails to schedule vacation on time by the end of the year in question at the latest, the employee can take the vacation without authorization if his or her reminder to the employer was unsuccessful. However, this procedure is tricky because unauthorized vacation can sometimes justify termination without notice.

Vacation that has already been agreed cannot be changed again. Only serious reasons justify a postponement. For urgent and unforeseen reasons, the date of vacation may be changed by the employer on short notice; in exceptional cases, the employee may even be called back from vacation. In this case, however, the employee must be reimbursed by the employer.

Reduction of vacation in the event of incapacity to work

If an employee is fully or partially unable to work due to illness or accident, they must expect their vacation to be reduced – but only if they are absent for a longer period (see Art. 329b of the Swiss Code of Obligations). For example, if they are wholly unfit for work, a grace period of one month is applicable. During this time, their vacation entitlement cannot be reduced. After this period, the employer can reduce vacation time by one-twelfth for each subsequent full month of absence. Part months are not taken into account.

Vacation entitlement may also be reduced if an employee is partially prevented from working. If an employee is only partially unable to work, the actual duration of the incapacity to work must be taken into account. As a result, for example, in the case of an incapacity to work of 50 percent, it takes twice as long for the grace period to be exhausted and for a full month of absences to accumulate. However, as soon as the period of incapacity to work required for a reduction in vacation has been reached, the reduction can be made regardless of the degree of incapacity to work. The reduction of one-twelfth per full month of absence is therefore not reduced in proportion to the degree of incapacity to work.

It should also be noted that at the beginning of a new year of service, the employee is entitled to new grace periods.

Part-time work in irregular shifts: Vacation compensation is paid

In the case of part-time work with irregular shifts, court practice allows vacation compensation to be paid in addition to the salary. However, this compensation must be specified specifically in the employment contract and on every salary statement. This can take the form of a percentage or an amount in Swiss francs. It is therefore not sufficient to state “Vacation included in hourly pay” in the contract. If the employer fails to provide this information, they risk the vacation being paid twice.