The attraction is obvious: good salaries, a stable economy and, for citizens of the EU and EFTA, the right to take a job without sponsorship. What is less obvious is how a Swiss employment relationship differs from the one you know. Contracts are flexible, notice periods are shorter than you may expect, the minimum wage is not national and unemployment insurance has conditions you should know before you need it. This article is a practical guide to working in Switzerland as a European, drawing on the Code of Obligations, the Labour Act and the cantonal pages.
What permit do you need to work in Switzerland?
As an EU or EFTA citizen, you are covered by the free movement agreement. The State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) sets out three situations:
- Work up to three months in a calendar year: no residence permit. Your employer must notify your stay online by the day before work starts.
- A contract of three months to under a year: an L permit, valid for the length of the contract.
- A contract of a year or more, or open-ended: a B permit valid five years.
You register at your commune within 14 days of arrival and before you start. Your permit is valid across Switzerland and lets you change job and employer. The details are in Swiss residence permit for EU citizens. British citizens follow a different regime: see moving to Switzerland from the UK.
How do you find work in Switzerland and have your qualifications recognised?
Look on EURES, the European job portal, on the Confederation's job portal and through the regional employment offices (ORP). Check whether your profession is regulated (health, teaching, law and others): if so, you must have your diploma recognised first. The Confederation's portal reconnaissance.swiss indicates the competent authority. For regulated professions and vocational training, recognition goes through the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI); for university diplomas, Swiss ENIC (swissuniversities) can issue a non-binding statement of level. SERI's decisions cost between CHF 90 and 1,000, and timing depends on your file. Start early.
What should a Swiss employment contract say?
Read these points before you sign:
- Salary, and whether it is paid in 12 or 13 instalments.
- Trial period.
- Notice periods.
- Holiday and working hours.
- A collective labour agreement (CCT), if one covers your sector. CCTs often set a minimum wage and conditions better than the law, so ask your employer which applies.
What does your first month at work look like?
A few things happen in parallel, and knowing them avoids surprises on the first payslip.
- Your AHV number. Your employer needs it to declare you to the compensation fund. It is normally assigned when you settle; if not, the employer can ask for one. See AHV number in Switzerland.
- Source tax. With an L or B permit, your employer deducts income tax at the rate of your canton. Your cantonal tax office tells you what applies to you.
- Health insurance. It is yours to take out within three months, not your employer's. Employees who work at least eight hours a week for one employer are insured against accidents through that employer, so you can ask your fund to exclude accident cover. See health insurance in Switzerland.
- A bank account for your salary. See bank account in Switzerland.
- Your family. Spouses and children admitted under family reunification can work in Switzerland.
Keep your contract, your permit and your first payslips together: you will need all three for your bank, your landlord and your tax return.
What are the main legal limits when working in Switzerland?
- Trial period: the first month, with seven days' notice, extendable to at most three months by written agreement or a CCT (article 335b).
- Notice after the trial period: one month in the first year, two months from the second to the ninth year, three months after that, for the end of a month (article 335c).
- Holiday: at least four weeks a year, five until age 20 (article 329a).
- Weekly working time: capped at 45 hours in industry, offices, technical staff and large retail, and 50 hours for other workers (article 9 Labour Act).
Reading a contract in a language that is not your own is where mistakes happen: a clause on overtime, a bonus described as "voluntary", a notice period set by a CCT. Moovy can help you understand the terms and prepare questions for your employer, but it is not a lawyer, and a trade union or a lawyer should handle a dispute.
Is there a minimum wage in Switzerland?
There is no federal minimum wage. Cantons can set their own. Geneva's is CHF 24.59 gross an hour in 2026 (CHF 24.73 from 1 January 2027); the canton's online calculator turns it into a monthly amount, over 12 or 13 payments, for your weekly hours. Agriculture and floriculture have a different minimum (CHF 18.07). In Vaud, voters accepted the principle of a cantonal minimum wage on 14 June 2026, but the implementing law and the counter-proposal were rejected, so there is none in force and the government is preparing a new project. Zurich has no cantonal minimum wage; the minimum wages voted by the cities of Zurich and Winterthur could not be verified for this article, so check them with the city.
What if you lose your job?
Unemployment insurance has strict conditions. You must be resident in Switzerland, have contributed for 12 months in the last two years, and register with the regional employment office (ORP, or the cantonal employment office in Geneva) and pick an unemployment fund. Benefit is 70% of insured earnings, or 80% with a child under 25 to support or in other cases, on insured earnings between CHF 500 and CHF 12,350 a month, for 4 to 24 months depending on contribution period, age and children.
If you worked in another EU or EFTA country, those periods can count, provided your last period of insurance was in Switzerland (article 61 of Regulation 883/2004), and the U1 form, issued by the employment service of that country, proves them. A cross-border worker who loses a Swiss job asks for form PDU1 to register for unemployment in the country of residence.
What is the workplace like?
Habits vary by region and sector, so treat what follows as common usage, not rule. Punctuality is expected, people greet each other when entering a shop or an office, and the formal "you" is used at first in the French- and German-speaking parts. In German-speaking Switzerland, colleagues speak Swiss German with each other but write in standard German, so understanding standard German may not be enough on day one. Read daily life in Switzerland for the wider picture.
One more practical point: holidays differ by canton. Only 1 August is a public holiday everywhere, and in 2026 Geneva, Vaud and Zurich each publish their own list. Ask your employer which calendar applies to your workplace, since it follows the canton where you work.
What mistakes should you avoid when working in Switzerland?
- Resigning without a valid reason. You can claim benefits, but with suspension days.
- Ending a self-employed activity and expecting benefits: they are not due.
- Ignoring the CCT of your sector.
- Assuming the same procedure everywhere. Registration, the competent employment office and any minimum wage depend on the canton.
- Starting before registering. Always register first. If you are considering self-employment, check the rules with the cantonal migration office before you start.