Work

Steps

1. Obtain your residence permit from the canton (see the residence sheet): EU and EFTA citizens are entitled to one with an employment contract.
2. Look for a job on EURES, on the Confederation's job portal (Job-Room) and through the ORP; check whether your profession is regulated (health, teaching, law…) and have your qualification recognised.
3. Read your contract: salary (often paid over 12 or 13 months), probationary period, notice periods, any collective labour agreement (CCT).
4. If you lose your job, register with the ORP or the cantonal employment office and choose an unemployment fund; if you have worked in an EU or EFTA country, those periods count towards your Swiss unemployment entitlement, provided your last period of insurance was completed in Switzerland (art. 61 of European regulation 883/2004, applied by Switzerland through the free movement agreement); form U1, issued by the employment service of the country where you worked, is used to prove them.
5. Cross-border worker who loses their job in Switzerland: request form PDU1 from an unemployment fund of the canton where you worked (it hands it over once it has received its supporting documents), to assert your contribution periods with the unemployment authorities of your country of residence.

Documents

• ID, residence permit (B, L or C permit) or cross-border permit (G).
• Employment contract, salary certificates, employer certificates.
• Qualifications and, for a regulated profession, the recognition decision.
• U1 (periods in the EU) or PDU1 (cross-border workers).

Costs and timelines

• Minimum wage: none at federal level. Geneva: CHF 24.59 gross per hour since 1 January 2026 (CHF 24.73 on 1 January 2027), that is CHF 4,795.05 per month over 12 months according to the cantonal calculator, set by default to 45 hours of work per week (the amount falls with shorter hours); a different minimum for agriculture and floriculture (CHF 18.07). Vaud: the principle of a cantonal minimum wage was accepted in the vote of 14 June 2026 (constitutional initiative, 49.1%), but the implementing law and the counter-proposal were rejected: no Vaud minimum wage is therefore in force, and the Council of State is preparing a new draft with the social partners. Zurich: no cantonal minimum wage. The City of Zurich voted a minimum wage of CHF 23.90 gross per hour (vote of 18 June 2023); the Federal Supreme Court declared it valid on 12 May 2026 (ruling 2C_28/2025), but it is not yet in force: the city will announce the date at least six months in advance. Winterthur: situation to be confirmed with the city.
• Probationary period: the first month, with 7 days' notice; up to 3 months by written agreement or CCT.
• Notice periods afterwards: 1 month during the first year, 2 months from the 2nd to the 9th year, 3 months thereafter, for the end of a month.
• Holidays: at least 4 weeks a year (5 weeks up to age 20).
• Maximum length of the working week: 45 hours (industry, offices, technical staff, sales in large shops), 50 hours for the others.
• Unemployment: 70% of insured earnings (80% with a child under 25 to support, insured earnings of CHF 3,797 at most or in other cases), insured earnings between CHF 500 and 12,350 per month; as a general rule 4 to 24 months of benefits depending on the contribution period, age and children (more than 24 months within 4 years of retirement).

Common pitfalls

• Resigning without a valid reason: you receive unemployment benefit, but with suspension days.
• Former self-employed person: ending a self-employed activity does not give entitlement to benefits.
• Ignoring the CCT of your sector: it often sets a minimum wage and conditions better than the law.
• Cross-border workers: full unemployment benefit is paid by your country of residence, on the basis of the PDU1. The tax and telework rules for cross-border workers are covered in sheet CH-IMPOTS-TOUS-002.
• Cantons: the unemployment registration procedure, the competent ORP and any minimum wages depend on the canton of domicile.

What changes by country of origin

• EU and EFTA: free movement (free movement of persons agreement): residence permit issued on presentation of an employment contract.
• British citizens (Scots included): since 2021, those without acquired rights come under the third-State regime, with priority for workers already in Switzerland and for EU and EFTA citizens (the employer must show that it has found nobody matching the profile: art. 21 LEI) and quotas: in 2026, a separate quota for British citizens is maintained, 3,500 permits (2,100 B permits, 1,400 L permits). It is the employer who submits the application to the cantonal office.