Holidays and Public Holidays in Switzerland: Entitlement and Practice

Every employee is entitled to at least four weeks of holiday per year – and to five weeks up to the completed 20th year of age (Art. 329a CO).

In practice five weeks is customary with many employers; at management level sometimes more. The higher contractual entitlement applies and cannot be changed by company practice.

Important: the entitlement accrues pro rata throughout the year. Anyone starting in March is entitled to the corresponding fraction in the first year, not to a full four weeks from the first month.

Holidays are thought of in weeks, not days. This has two consequences:

• Part-time: anyone working three days a week also has four holiday weeks – that is 12 holiday days per year, not 20.
• Hourly pay: with irregular assignments the holiday entitlement is paid as a supplement on the hourly wage (8.33 percent for four weeks, 10.64 percent for five weeks is customary).

Holiday pay must be actually paid out at the latest when the leave is taken. A flat allowance in the salary that covers holidays and public holidays is only permissible where there is high fluctuation and very irregular working hours.

The employer determines the timing with consideration for the wishes of the employees; holidays should serve recovery (Art. 329c CO).

• Notice period: holidays are publicly regarded as problematic when they serve the job search or exceed the contractual framework during the notice period.
• Non-taking: holidays may not be "saved up". The employer must organise and can order that leave be taken – at the latest in the current year of service.
• Forfeiture: unused holidays lapse at the end of the year of service only if the employer offered them and the employee did not take them.

In practice that means: anyone who has written "request for holiday in week 30" has documented their entitlement. Anyone who never asks loses in a dispute.

Holidays must be granted in the form of time off. Financial compensation during an ongoing employment relationship is in principle not permissible – otherwise the purpose of recovery would be circumvented.

The position is different on termination: unused holidays must be compensated, at the current salary including supplements. Caution with overtime: it must be recorded separately; offsetting both in one amount is not permissible.

For the final settlement, a separate overview is worthwhile: remaining holidays, remaining public holidays, overtime, days in lieu. Anyone who only hears "everything paid" on leaving should check the figures.

Switzerland has no national catalogue of public holidays. Which days are work-free and whether they are paid is regulated by cantonal law, in part by the collective agreement.

• Legally recognised are usually New Year, Ascension Day, National Day and Christmas – cantonal differences apply to Good Friday, Easter Monday, Whit Monday, Corpus Christi and the Immaculate Conception.
• Payment: a public holiday is generally only paid if work would have been required on that day and it counts as a paid public holiday.
• Part-time: holiday compensation only falls on working days that actually fall on a public holiday – with three working days per week, therefore less often.

In the final stage of the application process the question about holidays is legitimate – and your answer should be clarified early.

• Existing bookings: state holidays already booked openly; usually a solution can be found.
• First year of service: the four weeks apply pro rata. Many employers require holidays in the first year to be taken only after probation – both are negotiable.
• In the contract: clarify whether the contract provides five weeks and whether public holidays are expressly regulated.

An honest answer at application stage prevents later conflict – nobody is helped if the honeymoon collides with onboarding.