Vacation duration
According to Art. 329a para. 1 of the Swiss Code of Obligations (CO), employers must grant employees at least four weeks of holiday per year, and at least five weeks for employees under the age of 20. Holidays are primarily intended for rest and relaxation, i.e. to promote health and well-being. However, anyone who falls ill or has an accident during their holiday may not be able to recover properly and is, in legal terms, “unfit for holiday”. In this case, Swiss labour law protects employees.
Purpose of recovery
If the recreational purpose of the holiday is thwarted due to illness or accident on the part of the employee, the employee is deemed unfit for holiday. The holiday days in question are then not considered to have been taken. If it is clear in advance that the employee will be unfit for holiday during the planned holiday period, the employee is entitled to postpone the holiday that has already been scheduled. It is important to distinguish between incapacity for work and incapacity for holiday, as one does not automatically imply the other. The decisive factor is whether the recreational value of the holiday is significantly impaired by the health impairment.
Incapacity for work – incapacity for holiday
Incapacity for work means that there is a medical condition that prevents the employee from performing their usual work. Incapacity for holiday, on the other hand, occurs when an illness or accident significantly impairs recovery during the holiday. This requires a certain intensity of health impairment: illnesses that require bed rest, regular visits to the doctor. These, for example, rule out holidays. Minor injuries or short periods of illness that do not force the employee to stay at home or significantly impair other holiday activities are generally not sufficient to justify incapacity for holiday. The employer may request a medical certificate explicitly confirming the incapacity for holiday.
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