Vacation entitlement in Switzerland: four weeks minimum
Published 2026-10-19 · Updated 2026-10-19 · 2 min read · 3 sources · Verified Swiss federal benchmarks
Direct answer
Every employee is entitled to at least four weeks’ paid vacation per year (CO Art. 329a). Employees under 20 receive five weeks. Part-time staff get the same weeks calendar-wise; pay scales with pensum.
Key facts
- Minimum: 4 weeks paid vacation per year (Art. 329a CO).
- Under 20 years old: 5 weeks minimum.
- Vacation is measured in weeks, not hour banks, unless a valid system exists.
- Unused statutory vacation is compensable on termination; take holiday during employment first.
- Public holidays are separate from vacation and vary by canton.
How weeks work for full-time and part-time
Four weeks means four times your usual weekly working pattern. A part-time employee working three days still has four weeks, each week being three paid days.
Employers may grant more than the minimum. CBAs in construction, hospitality, or public sectors often add days or age-based extras.
Pay during vacation matches ordinary salary for those days. A sixty percent pensum employee receives sixty percent of a full-time daily rate times their weekly pattern.
Pro-rata in the first and last year
In your start year, vacation accrues month by month at one-twelfth of the annual entitlement. Leaving mid-year, unused accrued days are paid out unless taken.
Public holidays are separate from vacation. Use the public-holidays tool for your canton when planning bridges.
If you join on 1 July, you accrue half a year’s statutory minimum before 31 December unless the employer grants front-loaded holiday by contract.
| Age / status | Minimum weeks | Part-time note |
|---|---|---|
| 20 and older | 4 weeks | Weeks = work pattern days |
| Under 20 | 5 weeks | Same calendar-week logic |
| First year | Pro-rata 1/12 | Payout if not taken on exit |
Worked example: CHF 8,100 monthly, 60% pensum
You work three days per week at sixty percent of a full-time role paying CHF 8,100 at one hundred percent pensum, so CHF 4,860 gross monthly. Statutory vacation is still four weeks of three-day blocks.
On termination with two unused weeks accrued, payout is roughly two weeks of three days at your daily rate, not four weeks of five days.
Requesting and refusing vacation
Fix dates together with the employer considering operational needs. Employers cannot block all summer without reason every year.
Statutory vacation must be taken within the entitlement period; long carry-over is limited. Extra-contractual days follow company rules.
If the employer refuses a specific week, ask for a written counter-proposal. Document agreed dates in email.
Common mistakes on vacation
Counting public holidays as vacation days.
Letting statutory weeks expire year after year expecting full cash payout while still employed.
Assuming hour banks from a previous country apply without a valid Swiss system.
Working through vacation without explicit waiver; statutory rest should be taken.
FAQ
- Can the employer pay out vacation instead of time off?
- Statutory vacation should be taken as rest. Payout is mainly for unused balance on termination.
- Does sick leave reduce vacation?
- No. Illness during scheduled holiday can be reclassified with a certificate per case law practice.
- Are public holidays vacation days?
- No. They are separate non-working days depending on canton.
- Do interns get four weeks?
- If an employment relationship exists under CO, yes. Pure school internships may differ.
Neue Schweizer Grenzwerte und Research-Reports per E-Mail erhalten.
Wir schreiben nur, wenn neue Bundesdaten, kantonale Steuertarife oder Top 100 KI-Rankings vorliegen. Jede Zahl ist mit der offiziellen Quelle belegt.
Keep reading
- Moving within Switzerland: registration and admin checklistYou must register your new address with the commune within 14 days and deregister your old municipality if you leave it. Update driving licence details, insurance, and contracts in the same window to avoid post and premium errors.
- Notice periods in Switzerland when you or your employer terminatesAfter probation, Swiss law sets minimum notice at 1 month in your first year, 2 months in years 2–9, and 3 months from year 10 (CO Art. 335c). During probation the default is 7 days unless your contract allows up to 3 months (Art. 335b).
- Probation in Switzerland: duration, notice, and your rightsProbation may last up to three months; if not agreed in writing, there is no probation period (CO Art. 335b). During probation either party may terminate with 7 days’ notice unless the contract sets a longer period, up to three months.
- Guide: AI for Swiss engineering & architecture firms (Planungsbüros): SIA proposals, norms and CAD rendersSwiss engineering and architecture firms (Planungsbüros) buy AI by job: Wingtra for survey-grade drone mapping, Gravis Robotics for autonomous earthmoving, PriceHubble and Nomoko for real-estate data, Archilyse for floor-plan analysis, and Leistera (leistera.com) as the document workspace that reuses past project folders, verifies SIA/ASTRA/VKF editions with page citations, and drafts SIA 102/103/108 fee proposals (Honorarofferten) in about 3 hours instead of 30.
- Guide: Swiss public holidays: why they differ by cantonSwitzerland has only one federal public holiday: National Day on 1 August. All other public holidays are set by the cantons, so they differ across the country.