A Kündigungsschreiben (resignation letter) is not a place for emotion but for deadlines and clarity. In Switzerland, timing above all decides whether your resignation lands cleanly: miss the statutory notice period and you unintentionally extend your employment by another month. In this guide I show you, as the founder of Careerkit and a career coach in Zurich, how to structure a correct resignation letter, which notice periods apply under Swiss law, and what a template looks like that you can adapt in five minutes.
What is a Kündigungsschreiben?
A Kündigungsschreiben is the formal declaration with which you end your employment relationship. It does not need to state a reason, because an ordinary resignation in Switzerland is in principle form-free and possible without giving grounds. Even so, you should always resign in writing: only then do you have proof of the date, and that date determines when your last working day is.
Ordinary and immediate termination
An ordinary resignation observes the statutory or contractual notice period and is the normal case. An immediate termination (fristlose Kündigung) is only permitted for good cause, such as serious breaches of contract, and because of its legal consequences should never be issued without advice. This guide covers the ordinary resignation by the employee.
Notice periods in Switzerland
Statutory notice periods are governed by Article 335c of the Swiss Code of Obligations and depend on how long your employment has lasted. They apply unless your employment contract or a collective agreement provides otherwise. Always check your contract first, because it can set longer periods.
The periods by year of service
According to the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO, graduated periods apply after the probation period. During probation you can resign with seven days notice. In the first year of service the period is one month, from the second up to and including the ninth year it is two months, and from the tenth year it is three months. All of these periods run to the end of a month.
