Skip to content
Move with confidence.
Destination  Switzerland

Working in Switzerland – contracts, cantonal minimum wages, holidays and qualifications

Last updated 25 September 2026Rules checked every MondayOfficial sourcesSources & methodology →

Switzerland has no national minimum wage, but Geneva, Basel-Stadt and Ticino set their own, and collective agreements cover whole sectors. Here is what working in Switzerland means in 2026: who may work, what your contract must say, your hours and holidays, and when your qualifications need recognition.

Smiling woman with a tablet at a desk in a modern office
Photo: Miljan Živković/Adobe Stock

Working in Switzerland in 2026 comes with new numbers. The minimum wage is CHF 24.59 an hour in the Canton of Geneva and CHF 22.20 in Basel-Stadt, and since 1 January 2026 a range of CHF 20.00 to CHF 20.50 has applied in Ticino. On 14 June 2026 voters rejected the 'No 10-million Switzerland' initiative with 45.2 per cent yes, so free movement with the EU continues. The EU–Switzerland package, Bilaterals III, is a bill before Parliament, not law.

Who may start working in Switzerland?

Part 2 covers permits in detail. Non-EU citizens are admitted only if highly qualified, within the Federal Council's quotas – 8,500 permits for 2026 – and after the employer shows that no suitable candidate could be found in Switzerland or the EU/EFTA.

WhoMay you work?What to do
EU/EFTA citizenYes; you may look for work for up to six months, the first three without a permitRegister with your commune within 14 days, before starting; for jobs of up to three months the employer files an online notification at least a day ahead
Non-EU citizenOnly if highly qualified, within quotasThe employer applies to the canton; pay must match local and sector norms
UK citizen arriving nowTreated as non-EU; you cannot come to look for workThe employer applies for a permit first
Family of a B or C holderYes, without a further permitFamily of an L holder needs a permit
Refugee (B), F or S statusYes, anywhere in SwitzerlandReport the job, for example via EasyGov
Asylum seeker (N)Only with cantonal authorisationNot while in a federal asylum centre

Source: SEM and the Swiss authorities' official portal, read 23 September 2026.

Remember health insurance within three months (part 8) and, without a C permit, usually tax at source (part 7).

Is there a minimum wage in Switzerland?

Not nationally. Voters rejected a minimum wage of CHF 4,000 a month (CHF 22 an hour) in 2014. Instead, some cantons, collective agreements and companies set minimums.

CantonMinimum wage 2026Good to know
GenevaCHF 24.59 an hourUp from CHF 24.48 in 2025; indexed each year to the Geneva consumer price index
Basel-StadtCHF 22.20 an hourUp from CHF 22.00; hourly-paid staff also get a holiday supplement of at least 8.33 per cent
TicinoCHF 20.00 to CHF 20.50 an hour, by sectorIn force since 1 January 2026, set by decree of 11 December 2025

Source: the cantons of Geneva, Basel-Stadt and Ticino, read 23 September 2026.

Collective labour agreements, Gesamtarbeitsvertrag (GAV) / convention collective de travail (CCT), often matter more. On 1 July 2026, 84 were generally binding – 46 federal and 38 cantonal – so they apply to every employer and employee in the sector, union members or not, according to SECO (the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs). Those for temporary staffing, hospitality and the main construction trade alone cover about 747,148 employees. Where there is none, a standard employment contract can set compulsory minimum wages, as it does nationally for domestic staff.

On 19 June 2026 Parliament passed an amendment, opposed by the Federal Council, letting minimum wages in generally binding agreements override cantonal ones; higher cantonal minimums would continue until the agreement's wage exceeds them. It is not in force.

For comparison, the Federal Statistical Office put the median gross monthly wage for a full-time job at CHF 7,024 in 2024 – CHF 6,666 for women and CHF 7,276 for men. The lowest-paid tenth earned under CHF 4,635, the top tenth over CHF 12,526.

What must a Swiss employment contract include?

Contracts are usually written, but an oral contract is equally valid. For jobs of more than a month, your employer must tell you in writing, within one month of your start, the parties, the start date, your function, your salary and your weekly hours. Your contract may set other notice periods in writing. To resign, a registered letter is safest; you need not give reasons, but the other side may ask for them in writing.

RuleUnder the Code of Obligations
Probation periodThe first month; up to three months by written agreement or collective agreement
Notice during probationSeven days
Notice after probationOne month in year one, two months in years two to nine, three months after that – always to the end of a month
Protection from dismissal when ill or injured, after probation30 days in year one, 90 days in years two to five, 180 days from year six
Protection in pregnancy, after probationDuring pregnancy and for 16 weeks after the birth

Source: the Swiss Code of Obligations, read 23 September 2026.

How many hours and holidays do you get?

The Labour Act caps the working week at 45 hours in industry, offices, technical jobs and large retail, and at 50 hours for everyone else. Overtime earns a supplement of at least 25 per cent unless compensated with equal time off or agreed otherwise in writing, and statutory overtime is limited to two hours a day and 170 hours a year, or 140 in a 50-hour job. You get at least 11 consecutive hours of rest a day, and Sunday work is banned from Saturday 23:00 to Sunday 23:00 unless authorised.

The legal minimum is four weeks' holiday a year, five if you are under 20, with at least two weeks taken in one go. In practice, full-time employees aged 20 to 49 had 5.0 weeks on average in 2025 and those aged 50 to 64 had 5.6 weeks, FSO figures show. The only national public holiday is 1 August – the only one that must by law be paid to hourly-paid staff too – and each canton can add up to eight more. Maternity leave is at least 14 weeks, and the other parent gets two weeks within six months of the birth (part 9).

Do you need your qualifications recognised?

Only for regulated professions, such as doctors and taxi drivers, and then from the competent recognition authority. In non-regulated professions anyone may work, though an evaluation can help your job search. Where SERI, the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation, is responsible, you apply through its online portal with your passport or ID card, the qualification in its original language and an official translation if it is not in German, French, Italian or English.

SERI procedureFeeProcessing time
Level certificate, non-regulated professionCHF 350Up to 10 months
Recognition, regulated professionCHF 550, plus any compensatory measures4 months on average

Source: SERI, read 23 September 2026.

SERI warns of significant delays because of an exceptionally high number of applications, so apply well before you need the decision. Its general information line is +41 58 462 21 29.

How do you find a job in Switzerland?

Public channels are the Job-Room portal and the regional employment centres, RAV / ORP; in construction, sales and hospitality, many jobs are filled by word of mouth. Since 1 July 2018, vacancies in occupations with national unemployment of 5 per cent or more must first be registered with the RAV, giving registered jobseekers a head start. In August 2026 the RAV had 43,733 vacancies, 66.1 per cent of them under this rule.

Registered unemployment was 3.0 per cent in August 2026, SECO reports. By canton, it was 2.2 per cent in Bern, 2.9 per cent in Zurich and Ticino, 4.5 per cent in Basel-Stadt, 4.9 per cent in Vaud and 5.2 per cent in Geneva.

What to do now

StepWhatWhen
1Check your route to a permit (part 2)Before you sign
2Ask whether a cantonal minimum wage or collective agreement covers the jobBefore you accept an offer
3Get written details: parties, start, function, salary, hoursWithin one month of starting
4Apply to SERI if your profession is regulatedMonths before you need the decision
5Register with the RAV and search the Job-Room portalWhen you start looking
6Check your notice period and resign by registered letterWhen you move on

Source: SEM, SECO, SERI and the Swiss Code of Obligations, read 23 September 2026.

Official sources

The official pages this guide is based on, read 23 September 2026. Links open the authority’s own website.

Relocate in Europe provides general information, not legal or financial advice for your individual situation. Check with the authority named above before you act – rules change, and your case may differ.