Switzerland Fact-File Part 6:
Individual Business Employment Issues

6.4 Switzerland Employee Dismissal Rules

The Termination and Dismissal of Employees

Notice periods should be detailed in the General Labour Agreement; when this is not the case, the notice periods (as set out in the Code of Obligations) are seven days during the employee's probationary period, one month during the first year of employment, two months in the second to ninth year of employment, and three months thereafter.

If an employee is dismissed, the employer must give written grounds for the decision.

In certain circumstances, either party may terminate an employment contract without notice, usually where the relationship between employer and employee has broken down. However, such occurrences are unusual and care must be taken, as a claim for unfair dismissal may be made by the employee to a Swiss court, which could result in a financial penalty for the employer.

Grounds for unfair dismissal claims can include dismissal due to:

Personality traits (except where such traits significantly impair the working relationship between employer and employee;
The exercising of a constitutional right by the employee, or the fulfilling of a constitutionally-required duty, such as military service and other legal duties;
An attempt by the employer to prevent the employee from benefiting from claims made as part of the employment relationship;
Union participation (or not) on the part of the employee.

Where an employer seeks to give notice to an employee during their performance of the aforementioned constitutionally-required legal duties, during a pregnancy (and for 16 weeks after the birth), or during a period (of increasing duration, according to years of service), that the employee is prevented from working due to accident or illness, this is deemed under Swiss law to be 'improper' , and the notice of termination will have no legal effect.