The Swiss work certificate: the complete guide
In Switzerland, the work certificate (Arbeitszeugnis, certificat de travail) follows every employee from one job to the next. Recruiters read it, compare it with the CV, and look for what is not written as much as for what is. Yet most people file it away without reading it, and find out too late that a lukewarm phrase cost them an interview.
This guide explains what the law requires (art. 330a CO), what an employer may write or leave out, how to read the standard phrases, how to get a correction if you disagree, and gives you a template of a correct certificate. It is written for employees, and for employers who have to draft one.
Full certificate or confirmation of employment: the two documents
The full work certificate
It covers “the nature and duration of the employment relationship, as well as the quality of the work and the conduct” (art. 330a para. 1 CO). It is the document Swiss recruiters expect, and the one the employer must issue by default.
The confirmation of employment
At your express request, the certificate is limited to the nature and duration of the employment (art. 330a para. 2 CO), without any assessment. Useful when the relationship ended badly and a full certificate would be unfavourable.
You choose
The employer cannot impose a simple confirmation instead of a full certificate. Nor can it refuse to issue the document or make it conditional on signing a final settlement.
The interim certificate
You can request a certificate at any time, including during the employment. Good moments: a change of manager, a restructuring, and above all the start of a job search, before you even give notice.
What a full certificate must contain
Identity and dates
Your first and last name, date of birth, position, start and end dates, and your workload if it was not 100%.
Description of duties
Your functions and responsibilities, how they evolved over time, notable projects or results. This is the part recruiters read most carefully, because it validates your CV.
Assessment of performance
The quality and quantity of your work, your professional skills, your way of working. This is where the wording matters.
Assessment of conduct
Your behaviour towards superiors, colleagues and clients. All three must be mentioned: leaving one out gets noticed.
Reason for leaving, closing words, date and signature
The reason for leaving is only mentioned if you wish or if it is needed to understand the certificate. Then come the thanks and good wishes, the date, and the signature of a person authorised to bind the company.
How to read the wording
Officially, coded language is prohibited: SECO recalls the “proscription of ambiguous wording and of the use of coded language”. In practice, employers never criticise openly, and the gradation of phrases is the first thing every Swiss HR manager reads.
| What is written | What a recruiter reads |
|---|---|
| “always to our complete and full satisfaction” | Very good, the expected signal |
| “to our complete satisfaction” | Good |
| “to our satisfaction”, without “complete” | Average, a reservation is being made |
| “endeavoured to”, “sought to” | The results were not there |
| “on the whole”, “in essence”, “generally” | Reservation about part of the work |
| “good relations with colleagues”, with no mention of superiors | Problem with management |
| Emphasis on punctuality or sociability | Nothing to say about skills |
| No thanks and no good wishes at the end | Departure not much regretted |
A good certificate is also recognised by what it adds: “we regret their departure”, “we highly recommend them”, “we thank them for their commitment”. And by what it describes precisely: the more concrete the duties and results, the more credible the certificate.
If you suspect a code, you do not have to put up with it. An ambiguous phrase intended to harm is unlawful, and it is up to the employer to prove the facts that would justify a half-hearted assessment.
What the employer cannot write, and cannot leave out
Prohibited: coded phrases and innuendo
Any ambiguous wording intended to convey a hidden negative message is unlawful. The certificate must be understood the same way by all its readers.
Prohibited: isolated incidents
A single mistake, a late arrival, a one-off disagreement have no place if they do not affect the overall assessment of your performance and conduct.
Prohibited: what does not concern the work
Private life, beliefs, health in general, union activities: none of this should appear, unless directly and decisively linked to the employment.
Mandatory: an illness that ended the employment
The Federal Supreme Court ruled that an illness must be mentioned when it called into question the ability to perform the job and caused the end of the contract, for instance an incapacity of more than a year with no prospect of return (ATF 136 III 510).
Mandatory: decisive negative facts
Repeated and established failings that weigh on the overall assessment must appear. Leaving them out would mislead the future employer, and the certificate would lose its value.
You disagree: how to get it corrected
An incomplete, inaccurate or lukewarm certificate can be challenged, and the procedure is simpler than you might think:
- Request the correction in writing, proposing your own text. Many employers accept a version drafted by the employee, provided it remains truthful. This is the fastest route.
- The employer must reply within a reasonable time. The law sets no deadline, but a culpable delay engages its liability: if you prove that you lost a job for lack of a certificate, you can claim damages (art. 97 CO).
- If refused, the labour court. You can sue for the issuance or correction of the certificate. You must state the exact text you are asking for. The procedure starts with conciliation, is free up to CHF 30,000 in dispute, and you can appear without a lawyer.
- Who proves what. The employer must prove the negative facts it alleges. You must prove the superior performance you claim, for instance with an interim certificate, annual appraisals or emails of praise.
- You have ten years. The right to the certificate and to its correction lapses ten years after the end of the employment (art. 127 CO). But the longer you wait, the harder the proof.
Before starting anything, read the certificate with someone who has written them: a union, a legal advice service, an HR manager you know. An outside eye spots what is wrong in two minutes.
An example of a correct work certificate
Here is the structure of a full and favourable certificate, to adapt. Replace the brackets.
Work certificate
[First name Last name], born on [date], worked for [Company Ltd] from [start date] to [end date] as [position], at a workload of [100%].
In this position, [First name Last name] was responsible for [main duty 1], [main duty 2] and [main duty 3]. From [year], they also took over [additional responsibility] and led [notable project], which resulted in [concrete result].
[First name Last name] carried out their duties with great competence, independently and reliably. They have solid knowledge of [field], work accurately and efficiently, and always performed to our complete and full satisfaction, both in the quality and the quantity of their work.
Their conduct towards superiors, colleagues and our clients was at all times beyond reproach. Valued for their team spirit and availability, they contributed to a constructive working atmosphere.
[First name Last name] is leaving us of their own accord in order to [reason, optional]. We regret their departure, thank them for their commitment and highly recommend them. We wish them every success in the next stage of their career.
[Place], [date]
[Company Ltd]
[Name, position of signatory]
The Licorn method: your profile speaks before your references
Your skills and requirements first
Recruiters see your profile, your skills and your conditions before any reference. Licorn generates your CV from your profile, and your requirements filter the offers.
A video introduction, in your own words
Thirty seconds of video say more about how you work than a certificate phrase. You are guided step by step to record it.
The right time to ask for your certificate
Your profile is invisible to your current employer. You stay open to the market discreetly, and ask for your interim certificate once offers come in, not before.
Frequently asked questions about the work certificate
They are not allowed to: issuing it is a legal obligation (art. 330a CO). Request it in writing, by registered mail, with a ten-day deadline. If there is no reply, go to the labour court of your canton. The procedure is free up to CHF 30,000 and does not require a lawyer.
Ten years from the end of the employment (art. 127 CO). In practice, ask for it before your last day: managers change, memories fade, and a certificate written years later is rarely good.
Yes, as after any end of contract. The certificate must remain truthful: if the reason for dismissal weighed on the overall assessment, it may show. You may then prefer a simple confirmation of employment (art. 330a para. 2 CO).
Only with your consent. And the former employer cannot give information going beyond the certificate: what they did not write, they cannot say. Give your references at the right time, not on the CV.
You can offer to, and many employers appreciate the help. The employer remains responsible for the content: they sign if they agree and if the text is truthful. Stay factual and avoid superlatives that would make them back off.
A lot. If it is favourable and the final certificate is clearly less so, the employer must justify the change. Ask for one before starting a job search, during your notice period, or as soon as a conflict looms.
In short
Insist on a full certificate, check that it contains the five elements, read the wording as a recruiter will, and get what is wrong corrected, in writing first, before the labour court if necessary. Ask for an interim certificate before any job search, and collect the final certificate before your last day, along with the other useful documents if you are heading into a period of unemployment.
And so that the certificate is no longer the deciding piece, let your profile speak first.
