Resigning from your employment contract: the essentials
If you want to resign from your employment contract in Switzerland, clear rules from the Code of Obligations apply. Two things matter: the correct notice period and the correct form. Get both right and you leave your job cleanly and without legal trouble.
This article covers termination of an employment contract by the employee. You can find a ready template with wording in our article on the resignation letter.
Notice periods under the Code of Obligations
After the probation period, the statutory notice period depends on your years of service, always to the end of a month.
In the first year of service the period is one month, from the second to the ninth year two months, and from the tenth year three months (Art. 335c CO). Your employment contract or a collective agreement may set different periods, but they usually may not fall below one month. Always check your contract first.
During the probation period a short seven-day period applies. What matters is that the notice reaches your employer in time, because the period only starts when the letter is received.
