No Statutory Right to Unpaid Leave#
Swiss employment law grants no automatic legal entitlement to a sabbatical. Taking leave requires mutual written agreement stipulating return terms, timing, and responsibilities.
Mandatory Interim Accident Insurance (Abredeversicherung)#
Employer-sponsored non-occupational accident insurance expires 31 days after your last paid working day. Purchasing interim accident insurance extends full private medical coverage up to six months.
Preserving Pension Fund (Pillar 2) Risk Cover#
Arrange with your pension fund to continue voluntary risk contributions for death and disability to prevent severe coverage gaps while retirement contributions pause.
Preventing State Pension (AHV) Contribution Gaps#
Missing annual AHV contributions permanently reduces statutory retirement pensions. Contact your cantonal compensation office to pay non-employed minimum contributions if required.
Pro-Rata Vacation Deductions#
Employers retain the statutory right under Art. 329b para. 1 CO to deduct one-twelfth of annual holiday entitlement for each full month of unpaid absence.
Three routes to a career break: long-term account, salary conversion, unpaid leave#
A sabbatical is not a single model. Three variants have become established in Swiss practice, and they differ considerably in financing and risk:
| Model | Mechanics | What you must watch |
|---|---|---|
| Long-term account | Overtime and holiday days are saved up and taken as a block | The salary continues; social insurance remains uninterrupted. Check the employer's policy, often with expiry or payout rules |
| Salary conversion | Over two to three years a reduced salary is paid out, the difference finances the break | AHV and BVG contributions fall with the lower salary; check the pension fund regulations on buy-ins and risk cover |
| Unpaid leave | Agreement without salary entitlement for the duration of the break | Non-occupational accident cover lapses after 31 days, BVG risk cover after 30 days; AHV contribution gap possible |
The long-term account carries the least risk, unpaid leave offers the most flexibility. Salary conversion lies in between: it is the most demanding variant in tax and social insurance terms because it changes the salary over several years.
Model agreement: seven points that must be recorded in writing#
A sabbatical agreed orally is worthless in a dispute. The agreement need not be notarised, but these seven points belong in it:
- Duration and dates. Start and end with day, month and year, not «from summer».
- Return function. Same function and same workload, or explicitly a different arrangement.
- Holiday entitlement. Expressly record whether it is credited or reduced under Art. 329b para. 1 OR.
- Salary and social benefits. Continued salary payment, agreed insurance, BVG risk cover, contributions to the pension fund.
- Notice period. Does the ordinary notice period also apply during the break, or is it suspended?
- Illness and accident. What happens if you become unable to work during the break?
- Secondary employment. Is paid work permitted during the break, and up to what extent?
Point six is regularly forgotten. If you fall ill during unpaid leave, there is no salary entitlement – unless the agreement provides for it or the break is interrupted and the leave taken later.