How do you terminate an employee in Switzerland in 2026?
Switzerland's abusive-dismissal protection fires from day one post-probation with no qualifying service requirement, yet employees must raise a written objection before notice expires or lose their right to claim up to 6 months salary in compensation. Miss that window and the claim is gone.
· Switzerland guide
Illustration · Zurich, Switzerland
In Switzerland you can end employment without giving a reason. You must give the right notice and pay it out correctly. Notice runs in three bands: 1 month in year 1, 2 months in years 2 to 9, and 3 months from year 10 onward. Every notice period ends at the end of a calendar month, not a rolling date. (Code of Obligations)
Severance under the law is narrow. It only applies when the employee is 50 or older AND has at least 20 years of service. Both conditions must be met at the same time. If both are met, a court sets the amount between 2 months and 8 months of salary. Any pension already built up may be deducted from that figure.
Protection against abusive dismissal applies from day one after probation. There is no qualifying period. The employee must raise a written objection before notice expires. They must then file a conciliation request within 180 days of the last day of employment. The maximum award is 6 months of salary. Miss the objection deadline and the right to claim is gone.
How much notice must you give an employee in Switzerland?
Notice runs in three bands under Art. 335c CO. 1 month in year 1. 2 months in years 2 to 9. 3 months from year 10 onward. Every notice period ends at the end of a calendar month, not a rolling date from when you gave notice.
The same three bands apply when an employee resigns. Swiss law requires equal notice on both sides. Contracts can set a longer period. They cannot go below the legal minimum by individual agreement, though a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) may change it.
| Years of continuous service | Statutory notice period |
|---|---|
| During probation | 7 days (runs to end of calendar week) |
| Year 1 | 1 month (to end of calendar month) |
| Years 2 to 9 | 2 months (to end of calendar month) |
| Year 10 and beyond | 3 months (to end of calendar month) |
The calendar-month rule matters in practice. If you give notice on 15 June for a year-1 employee, the employment relationship does not end on 15 July. It ends on 31 July. Build that tail into your planning timeline.
Senior roles and CBAs regularly carry longer contractual notice, sometimes six months or longer. The statutory ladder is the floor, not the norm for mid to senior Swiss hires.
Blocking periods (Art. 336c CO)
Switzerland imposes blocking periods during which notice given by the employer is void. Termination cannot take effect during: illness or accident preventing work (for a duration that scales with tenure), compulsory military or civil service, pregnancy and the sixteen weeks post-birth, and jury service. Notice given during a blocking period must be restarted in full once the blocking period ends. This is one of the most misunderstood traps in Swiss employment: the calendar clock stops, then starts again from zero.
Pay in lieu of notice
Swiss law permits employers to release an employee from work duties during the notice period (garden leave). There is no statutory cap on how long garden leave can run; it must be agreed contractually or by mutual consent. Full salary continues throughout. All salary, accrued holiday, overtime, and any 13th-month entitlement are due in full by the last day of employment under Art. 339 CO.
What makes a Swiss dismissal abusive and what do you owe the employee?
You do not have to give a reason to end an ordinary employment in Switzerland. You can dismiss for any reason that is not abusive. But protection against abusive dismissal applies from day one after probation. There is no qualifying period at all (Art. 336 CO).
The employee can claim up to 6 months of salary. But only if they raise a written objection before the notice period expires. That step is required. Miss it and the right to claim is gone.
A dismissal is abusive in Switzerland if it is based on a personal characteristic the employee cannot be expected to change (sex, age, ethnic origin, religion, political views), if it is retaliation for asserting legitimate employment rights, if it is designed to prevent rights from crystallising (for example, dismissing just before a pension entitlement matures), or if it amounts to a serious violation of the employee's personality rights.
The five abusive-dismissal grounds
- Personal characteristics: sex, age, ethnic origin, nationality, religion, marital status, disability, sexual orientation, or political views
- Exercise of constitutional rights: any dismissal that prevents or penalises the exercise of a constitutional right
- Retaliation: dismissal in response to asserting employment claims in good faith
- Crystallisation prevention: timing a dismissal to deprive the employee of a right about to accrue
- Personality violation: dismissal that constitutes a serious affront to the employee's dignity or professional honour
The employer does not have to give a reason for an ordinary dismissal, but the employee can request one in writing. Once a reason is given, it can become evidence in an abusive-dismissal claim. Be deliberate about what you put in writing.
The written-objection deadline
To preserve any claim, the employee must raise a written objection to the dismissal before the notice period expires. An employee who lets the notice period run without objecting loses the right to claim the indemnity, regardless of how strong the underlying case might have been. After that written objection, they have 180 days from the employment end date to file a conciliation request with the cantonal labour court.
Termination for cause (summary dismissal)
Where there is just cause, an employer may terminate immediately without notice under Art. 337 CO. Just cause requires serious misconduct that makes continued employment objectively unreasonable. The bar is high: theft, fraud, serious violence, or deliberate breach of a material contractual obligation. Failing the just-cause standard, an immediate termination becomes "improper" and the employer owes the employee salary for the full notice period plus damages.
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Confirm the ground is not abusive
Check the dismissal reason against the Art. 336 CO abusive-dismissal categories before issuing notice. A dismissal connected to a personal characteristic, the exercise of a constitutional right, or the prevention of a crystallising entitlement is abusive regardless of the notice given.
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Check for blocking periods
Verify whether Art. 336c CO blocking periods apply: illness, accident, pregnancy, post-birth leave, or compulsory service. Notice given during a blocking period is void and must restart in full once the period ends.
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Issue written notice with the correct end date
Deliver notice in writing, with the end date calculated to the last calendar day of the correct month. An oral notice is valid but creates proof problems; written notice avoids disputes about when the period started.
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Provide a reason if requested
The employee may request a written reason for the dismissal under Art. 335 CO. You are not required to volunteer one, but once given in writing the reason can be used in an abusive-dismissal claim. Be precise and factual.
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Settle all entitlements on the last day
Calculate and pay salary, accrued holiday, overtime, and any 13th-month pro-rata on the final day of employment. Notify the BVG pension fund, ALV insurer, and AHV authority of the departure date on the same day.
How is statutory severance calculated in Switzerland?
Severance under the law is narrow. It only applies when the employee is 50 or older at dismissal AND has at least 20 years of continuous service. Both conditions must be met at the same time. Neither alone is enough.
When both conditions are met, a court sets the amount. The range is 2 months to 8 months of salary. Any pension already built up under the occupational pension (second pillar, BVG) may be deducted from the award.
In practice, statutory severance under Art. 339b CO rarely materialises as a significant cash payment. The Swiss three-pillar pension system is the reason. Second-pillar (BVG) occupational pension benefits are substantial at age 50 after a long career, and the court deducts the value already accrued before setting the severance award. For most employees in this category, the deduction reduces the severance to zero or near-zero.
The more common commercial reality is negotiated severance, agreed as part of a mutual termination arrangement. Swiss courts give broad latitude to negotiated outcomes provided the agreement is in writing and the employee was not under duress.
What Switzerland does not have
Unlike Portugal, France, or Spain, Switzerland has no general formula-based severance tied to years of service for all employees. There is no "one month per year" rule. The statutory obligation is confined to the Art. 339b CO corridor. Most contractual severance in Switzerland is set by individual agreement, CBA, or in-house policy, not statute.
Final-pay settlement
All outstanding claims, including salary, unused annual leave, overtime, and any 13th-month salary entitlement, fall due on the last day of the employment relationship by operation of Art. 339 CO. The statutory settlement date is the termination date itself, not a number of days after.
When do collective dismissal rules apply in Switzerland?
Collective dismissal rules apply when enough dismissals happen within a 30 days window. The trigger depends on company size. In firms with 20 to 99 employees: 10 or more dismissals. In firms with 100 to 299 employees: 10% of the workforce. In firms with 300 or more employees: 30 or more dismissals (Art. 335d CO).
Once triggered, no employment can end until 30 days after the cantonal labour authority has been told. That wait is required by law. Individual notice periods can only push the end date later, never sooner.
Propose dismissals that meet the Art. 335d CO thresholds within 30 days and the collective rules apply immediately: prior consultation with employee representatives, written notification to the cantonal labour authority, and a mandatory 30 days waiting period before any employment ends. Dismissals that breach the waiting period are void.
Source: SECO / arbeit.swiss, Collective Redundancy (Massenentlassung)
Three-step collective dismissal process
- Consult employee representatives in good time under Art. 335f CO before any decisions are finalised. No minimum consultation period is set in statute; case law requires at least one to two weeks of genuine dialogue. Presenting a fait accompli fails the standard.
- Notify the cantonal labour authority (the cantonal KIGA or equivalent) in writing with the reasons, number and categories of affected employees, and the planned timeline. The notification must be made before any individual notice letters go out.
- Wait 30 days from notification before any employment relationship ends. If individual notice periods are longer, the longer period governs.
Dismissals that circumvent this process are void under Swiss law. The SECO can intervene. Affected employees retain their right to the full notice period in any event, and the abusive-dismissal indemnity of up to 6 months salary remains available to anyone who raises a written objection in time.
Unlike the UK (where the post-April 2026 protective award is 6 months salary per person and you're also looking at collective consultation penalties), Switzerland does not impose a separate punitive collective award on top of the individual indemnity. The cost risk is the sum of individual abusive-dismissal claims across the affected population.
Mutual termination agreements in Switzerland
Mutual termination (Aufhebungsvertrag) is the most common way to end a senior or disputed Swiss employment cleanly. Both parties agree in writing. They can freely set the end date, any payment, reference wording, and post-employment terms.
Swiss courts will uphold a mutual termination agreement. The employee must have signed without pressure and had enough time to consider it. There is no requirement for independent legal advice, though it is wise for a substantial package.
A Swiss mutual termination agreement typically covers:
- End date, either with immediate effect or following a notice-equivalent period
- Severance or goodwill payment, freely negotiated and not constrained by the Art. 339b CO formula unless the statutory trigger conditions are met
- Holiday settlement, all accrued but untaken leave is paid out in cash at the agreed end date
- Reference letter (Arbeitszeugnis), the agreed wording of the Swiss reference, which is a formal document the employee is entitled to under Art. 330a CO
- Non-compete and confidentiality, Swiss non-competes under Art. 340 CO require a legitimate interest, geographical and temporal limits, and fair consideration; courts reduce or void disproportionate clauses
- Social insurance sign-off, departure date confirmed to the pension fund and health insurer; no continuation of work during garden leave that could extend BVG contributions
One nuance that catches employers: the Swiss reference letter (Arbeitszeugnis) is a legally mandated document. The employee can demand it at any time. The employer must write it in truthful but benevolent terms. A reference that harms the employee's prospects without factual basis is actionable. If you're negotiating a mutual termination, agree the reference wording in the agreement, not separately.
For disputes that don't resolve through negotiation, Swiss civil procedure requires a mandatory conciliation attempt before a labour court claim proceeds. The filing deadline for abusive-dismissal conciliation is 180 days from the end of employment, provided the employee raised a written objection in time.
How Teamed runs Switzerland terminations
Teamed acts as your legal employer of record in Switzerland for from $599 per employee per month, with zero FX mark-up in any currency. The Swiss employment contract runs through Teamed's partner entity. Blocking-period checks, notice calculations, and cantonal authority notifications all run through Teamed's Switzerland operations.
We handle the paperwork trail, notice calculated to the right calendar-month end date, collective notification to the cantonal authority when thresholds are met, and final-pay settlement. All on one platform. The decision on whether to dismiss, and why, stays with you.
Real HR and legal experts handle your Swiss hires from the first employment contract through every social-insurance remittance and year-end settlement. An actual person, not a ticket queue. There is no setup fee and no exit fee, and every employer cost passes through at cost, itemised on every invoice.
The split of responsibilities under EOR for Switzerland terminations:
| What Teamed handles | What the client decides |
|---|---|
| Notice calculation with calendar-month end dates and blocking-period checks | Whether to dismiss, for what reason, and on what timeline |
| Confirmation of abusive-dismissal risk and objection-window tracking | Whether to pursue dismissal or move to mutual termination |
| Collective-dismissal threshold check and cantonal SECO notification | Which roles are affected and the restructuring rationale |
| Mutual termination agreement drafting with qualified Swiss employment-law partners we engage | The commercial terms: severance amount, end date, reference wording |
| Final pay: salary, holiday accrual, 13th month pro-rata, social insurance sign-off | Whether to enhance severance beyond the negotiated floor |
| BVG second-pillar pension settlement notification and co-ordination | Communication with the wider team |
| Arbeitszeugnis reference letter support | The reference wording you want agreed |
Switzerland's social-insurance system adds real weight to a clean exit: AHV, BVG, ALV, and accident insurance all require accurate closing reports. A missed second-pillar settlement or an incorrect end date on the ALV form creates problems for the employee's unemployment claim. Teamed's Swiss ops run these close-outs as a checklist, not an afterthought.
EOR, contractor onboarding, and entity setup all sit on one platform. A Swiss contractor who converts to PAYE keeps their record, and that same employee can graduate to your own Swiss entity without switching systems. Run the Crossover Calculator to see the month the model flips. EOR is the right model for a first Swiss hire, until it isn't. Start from the Switzerland hiring overview.
Frequently asked questions
What is the statutory notice period for terminating a Swiss employee in 2026?
Notice under Art. 335c CO runs in three bands: 1 month in year 1, 2 months from years 2 to 9, and 3 months from year 10 onward. Notice always runs to the end of a calendar month, not a rolling period from the notice date. Contractual notice can be longer but cannot be reduced below the statutory floor by individual agreement.
Does Switzerland have unfair dismissal protection and is there a qualifying period?
Switzerland uses the term abusive dismissal under Art. 336 CO rather than unfair dismissal. There is no qualifying service period: protection applies from the first day post-probation. However, the employee must raise a written objection before the notice period expires, then file a conciliation request within 180 days of the employment end date. Fail to object in time and the claim is lost regardless of the merits. The maximum court-awarded indemnity is 6 months of salary.
Who qualifies for statutory severance pay in Switzerland?
Statutory severance under Art. 339b CO applies only where the employee is aged 50 or over AND has at least 20 years of continuous service. Both conditions must be met simultaneously. Where triggered, the court sets the amount between 2 months and 8 months of salary, and any occupational pension benefit already accrued may be deducted. Switzerland has no general formula-based severance for all employees.
When do collective dismissal rules apply in Switzerland?
Collective dismissal rules under Art. 335d CO apply when, within 30 days, an employer proposes: 10 or more dismissals in a firm with 20 to 99 employees; 10% of the workforce in a firm with 100 to 299 employees; or 30 or more dismissals in a firm with 300 or more employees. Employment cannot end until 30 days after written notification to the cantonal labour authority. Dismissals in breach of the waiting period are void.
When is final pay due after terminating a Swiss employee?
All outstanding salary, accrued holiday, overtime, and any 13th-month entitlement fall due on the last day of the employment relationship by operation of Art. 339 CO. The settlement date is the termination date itself. The employer must also notify the BVG occupational pension fund, the ALV unemployment insurer, and the AHV authority on the same day.
What is the notice period during the Swiss probation period?
During probation, either party may terminate with 7 days notice, running to the end of a calendar week. The statutory probation maximum is 3 months by written agreement (the default is one month). Agreements extending probation beyond 3 months are automatically void and reduced to the statutory maximum. If illness or accident interrupts probation, the period extends by the duration of the interruption.
The written-objection deadline is the single most misunderstood aspect of Swiss termination for employers. The employee has a valid abusive-dismissal claim but no lawyer has explained they must object in writing before the notice period expires. That window closes silently. When it does, the claim is gone regardless of the merits.
Switzerland's abusive-dismissal protection starts day one post-probation. No qualifying period. But miss the written objection before notice expires and the claim dies.
Statutory severance only bites at age 50 with 20 years of service. Most Swiss exits never reach it.
The real cost is the calendar-month notice tail and the social-insurance close-out. Get the dates wrong and the clock restarts.
