Job-Relevance Rule (Art. 328b CO)#
Swiss employers are legally restricted to gathering personal data that directly informs candidate suitability for the specific role. Inquiries into private life are unlawful.
Reference Checks: Mandatory Explicit Consent#
Recruiters may only contact references explicitly designated by the applicant. Secret inquiries directed at a candidate's current employer constitute severe breaches of fiduciary and privacy law.
Debt Enforcement Register Extracts (Betreibungsauszug)#
Extracts from the Swiss debt collection office are legally justifiable only for positions involving direct fiduciary, cash, or treasury responsibilities.
Criminal Record Register Extracts#
Standard criminal records may only be required for high-security roles. Positions involving regular contact with minors or vulnerable individuals legally necessitate a special private extract.
Social Media Vetting Boundaries#
Screening professional platforms like LinkedIn is common practice. Investigating private personal feeds (Instagram, TikTok) without job relevance breaches Swiss data protection tenets.
Reference list: template, order and the right timing#
A reference list is not an annex for the first application but a document you can supply within minutes on request. Three types of reference cover the usual questions:
- Direct line manager (mandatory): proves work performance, reliability and conduct. State function, company, period of collaboration and the business phone number.
- Peers or project partners (one person): proves collaboration across departments – relevant for roles with a high share of interfaces.
- Customers or suppliers (optional): proves external impact, useful in sales, consulting and key account roles.
The order follows relevance for the role, not rank. Note for each person whether you have informed them in advance; recruiters appreciate it when contact is announced. Carry the list as a separate sheet – not integrated into the CV, so that the contact details do not circulate without being asked for. A note in the CV is enough: «References on request».
Inadmissible reference obtained: four steps#
If you learn that a potential employer asked your current manager without your consent, that is no trivial matter: it breaches Art. 328b OR and the Data Protection Act. Four steps, in this order:
- Document. Who spoke to whom and when, what was said, who can testify to it? Without a note the facts lapse.
- Confront in writing. Ask the company for a statement and for an assurance that no further information will be obtained. A factual tone is more effective here than an escalation.
- Assert your right to information and deletion. Under the Data Protection Act you can request information about the personal data processed and the deletion of information obtained unlawfully.
- Consider a complaint. In serious cases, reporting to the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner remains an option and – where damage has occurred – so does a civil claim.
Practically relevant: proof usually succeeds only if the referee confirms the call. Ask them for a short written note with the date and the name of the caller.