Sick leave in Switzerland: how long you are paid, and how long you are protected
Swiss law has no unpaid waiting days for illness: once your job has lasted three months, your employer owes your salary from the first day you are ill, for a limited time that grows with seniority. Most large employers replace this with sickness insurance that pays 80% of your salary for up to two years.
- Who is covered: employees whose job has lasted more than 3 months, or whose contract was concluded for more than 3 months (CO art. 324a).
- How long, by law: at least 3 weeks of full salary in the first year of service, then a longer period set by the Bern, Basel or Zurich scale.
- With daily sickness insurance: usually 80% of salary for up to 720 days within 900 days, after a waiting period the employer covers.
- Dismissal protection: no valid notice during illness for 30 days in year 1, 90 days in years 2 to 5, 180 days from year 6 (CO art. 336c).
- Medical certificate: the employer can ask for one; contracts usually require it from the third day.
How long your employer must keep paying
An engineer in her second year at a Zurich company falls ill for ten weeks. Without any insurance, the law gives her full salary for a limited period only, and the length depends on the scale her canton's courts use. That is why the same illness is paid for different lengths in Bern, Basel and Zurich.
- First year of service: at least 3 weeks everywhere.
- Bern scale (used in most cantons, including French-speaking Switzerland): 1 month in the second year, 2 months in the third and fourth, 3 months from the fifth to the ninth, then more.
- Zurich scale (Zurich and parts of eastern Switzerland): 8 weeks in the second year, then one more week for each further year of service.
- Basel scale (Basel-Stadt and Basel-Landschaft): its own steps, more generous in the first years of service.
These are totals per year of service, not per illness: several absences in the same year add up. The same rules apply to mental health conditions such as burnout or depression, with the same need for a medical certificate.
Daily sickness insurance: the usual replacement
Most medium and large employers take out collective daily sickness insurance (Krankentaggeldversicherung). The law allows it to replace the scales above if it is at least equivalent, which in practice means 80% of salary for up to 720 days within a period of 900 days. The policy sets a waiting period, often 30 to 60 days, during which the employer pays; the employee may be asked to pay up to half of the premium.
Check three things in your contract or staff regulations: whether such insurance exists, the waiting period, and the share of the premium deducted from your payslip. Without insurance, you are left with the legal scale, which can run out quickly for a long illness. The employment contract guide shows where these clauses usually sit.
An accident at work or outside work (for employees working at least 8 hours a week) is covered by accident insurance (UVG/LAA): 80% of salary from the third day, the employer paying the first two days. Report it to your employer straight away.
Protection against dismissal while you are ill
After the probation period, a notice of termination given while you are unable to work through illness is void during the protection period: 30 days in the first year of service, 90 days from the second to the fifth year, 180 days from the sixth year (CO art. 336c). If notice was given before you fell ill, the notice period stops running during that protection period and resumes afterwards.
The protection period limits when your employer can dismiss you, not how long you are paid: the two run on separate clocks, and an insurance can keep paying long after the protection has ended.
When an illness lasts: the role of disability insurance
If you are unable to work for 30 days in a row, or keep falling ill, you, your employer or your insurer can report the case to disability insurance (IV/AI) for early detection. The IV's first aim is to keep you in work, with adjustments, retraining or a gradual return. A disability pension is only considered after a year of incapacity averaging at least 40%, and the amount depends on the degree of disability.
Medical certificates and holidays
The employer can require a medical certificate, and many contracts ask for it from the third day of absence; some require it from the first. If you fall ill during your holidays and the illness prevents you from resting, the holiday days affected can be taken later, provided you send a certificate. Your employer can ask a doctor of its choice to examine you if it doubts a certificate.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are the first days of sick leave unpaid in Switzerland?
No, not by law. Once the employment has lasted more than three months, the employer owes the salary from the first day of illness. Unpaid waiting days only exist if a daily sickness insurance policy sets them and the employer does not cover them, which is unusual.
How many sick days am I paid per year?
There is no fixed number of days. In the first year of service, at least three weeks of full salary; afterwards, a longer period set by the cantonal scale (Bern, Basel or Zurich). With daily sickness insurance, usually 80% of salary for up to 720 days.
Can I be fired while on sick leave?
Not during the protection period: 30 days in the first year of service, 90 days in years two to five, 180 days from year six. Notice given during that time is void. Once the period is over, dismissal becomes possible again, even if you are still ill.
Do I need a doctor's note from day one?
Only if your contract or staff regulations say so. Most require a certificate from the third day of absence, but an employer can ask for it earlier.
Swiss Code of Obligations (CO/OR) art. 324a, 324b, 329a, 336c · Bern, Basel and Zurich scales used by the cantonal courts · Federal Act on Accident Insurance (UVG/LAA) · Federal Act on Disability Insurance (IVG/LAI) · SECO. General information, not legal advice.