If you fall ill while employed in Switzerland, you will be entitled to sick leave. Companies in Switzerland are required to continue paying employees who are off sick. If you find yourself ill and unable to work, you must inform your employer.
Sick leave in Switzerland is given to workers who are unable to work due to an illness or other condition. The scheme is designed to protect your income if you are not well enough to work. The leave applies to illnesses only - if you have suffered an accident, you will have to apply for accident insurance.
All workers are entitled to sick leave, provided that they have been employed in Switzerland for at least three months. If you are on probation or have been working for less than three months, you are not entitled to any paid sick leave.
Freelancers and other self-employed people do not automatically qualify for sick leave. For this reason, many freelancers build a “buffer” into their rates to cover periods where they are unable to work, or take out sick leave insurance.
The amount of sick leave that you are entitled to varies depending on your company policy and whether your employer has taken out sick leave insurance or not.
If your employer has not taken out a form of Swiss sick leave insurance, you will be given the statutory minimum amount of sick leave.
This varies according to how long you have worked for the company, and where the company is based. As of 2025, there are three separate systems used for statutory sick leave. These are the Basel model (used in Basel-Stadt and Basel-Land), the Zurich model (used in Zurich, Thurgau and Schaffhausen) and the Bern model (used in all other cantons).
Each model allows the following amount of leave:
| Years in employment | Basel model | Zurich model | Bern model |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-3 months | No sick leave entitlement | No sick leave entitlement | No sick leave entitlement |
| 4-12 months | 3 weeks per year | 3 weeks per year | 3 weeks per year |
| 2 | 2 months per year | 8 weeks per year | 1 month per year |
| 3 | 2 months per year | 9 weeks per year | 2 months per year |
| 4 | 3 months per year | 10 weeks per year | 2 months per year |
| 5-9 | 3 months per year | 11 weeks in year 5, plus 1 week for each additional year after that | 3 months per year |
| 10 | 3 months per year | 16 weeks per year | 4 months per year |
| 11-13 | 4 months per year | 17 weeks in year 11, plus 1 week for each additional year after that | 4 months per year |
| 14 | 4 months per year | 20 weeks per year | 4 months per year |
| 15 | 4 months per year | 21 weeks per year | 5 months per year |
| 16-19 | 5 months per year | 22 weeks in year 16, plus 1 week for each additional year after that | 5 months per year |
| 20 | 5 months per year | 26 weeks per year | 6 months per year |
| 21-24 | 6 months per year | 27 weeks in year 21, plus 1 week for each additional year after that | 6 months per year |
| 25+ | 6 months per year | 31 weeks in year 25, plus 1 week for each additional year after that | 6 months per year, plus 1 additional month for every 5 years of employment after that |
Generally speaking, if you are able to work part-time during your illness, the number of statutory sick days you are given increases. If you feel like part-time would work best for you, it is best to discuss this with your employer.
During the sick leave period, your salary will be paid out in full by your employer and you will continue to contribute to Swiss social security and pension plans.
If your employer has taken out sick leave insurance, the maximum amount of sick leave stated in the employer’s insurance plan applies, rather than the statutory minimum. Generally, these plans allow for longer periods of leave than the statutory minimums.
Sick leave insurance must pay 80 percent of your income or more for up to 720 days. As it is not a salary, these payments are not subject to social security deductions, meaning you will no longer be contributing to social security or pensions for the duration of your illness - however, you will continue to receive the family allowance if you have applied for it.
The terms for claiming sick leave should be clearly stated within your work contract. However, generally speaking, you are able to take up to three sick days before you must confirm your illness with a note from your GP.
An employer is within their rights to fire you during sick leave, but must provide you with sufficient notice. This varies by how long you have been working at the company:
If your recovery time will last longer than your sick leave allowance, you can apply for disability insurance.