Notice Period Switzerland: Rules & How to Calculate It (2026)

A termination — whether you resign or your employer lets you go — raises one immediate question: when is my last working day? The notice period answers it. It sets how much time sits between the termination and the end of the contract, and therefore when your job search, and any registration with the RAV, should really begin.

This guide explains the notice period in Switzerland for 2026 in plain terms: the statutory terms by years of service, how your employment contract and any collective agreement (GAV/CCT) change the picture, how to calculate your last working day, and which protected periods make a termination invalid. At the end we show honestly how ApplyCH eases the weeks before you leave.

What the notice period actually governs

The notice period is the span between the moment a termination is received and the end of the employment relationship. It applies to both sides and must, as a rule, be the same length for employer and employee. The reference is Article 335c of the Swiss Code of Obligations (CO) — unless the contract or a collective agreement provides otherwise.

Note that a termination needs no reason to be valid, but it must be received in time. What counts is the moment the notice reaches the other party — not the date written on the letter and not the postmark.

The statutory terms by years of service

With no differing arrangement, the CO sets the following terms, each to the end of a month:

• During the probation period: 7 days, to any day.
• In the first year of service: 1 month, to the end of a month.
• From the 2nd to and including the 9th year: 2 months, to the end of a month.
• From the 10th year onward: 3 months, to the end of a month.

By law the probation period is one month and can be extended by contract to at most three months. If no probation is agreed at all, there is none — the ordinary first-year term applies straight away.

The contract and the collective agreement come first

The CO terms are only the baseline. Your employment contract or an applicable collective agreement (GAV/CCT) can set longer terms — three months from the first year, for example. Terms shorter than one month after probation are allowed only in narrow exceptions and only in writing.

So always check your contract and any collective agreement before relying on the statutory term. The principle of equal treatment matters too: the same term must apply to both parties.

Calculating your last working day

Work in three steps. First, fix the date the termination was received. Second, run the term from the day after receipt. Third, if the term ends at month-end, move it to the next permissible end of month.

An example: you are in your fourth year of service (term: 2 months to month-end) and resign on 20 March. Two months would land at the end of May — your last working day is 31 May. Had the notice arrived only on 2 April, the end would shift to 30 June, because the term would then only run out at the end of June.

To prove receipt, a registered letter or a handover against a signed acknowledgement is worth the effort. A termination by email is risky unless your contract expressly allows the electronic form.

Protected periods: when a termination does not count

In certain situations the law shields employees from an employer's termination. During these protected periods (Art. 336c CO) an employer termination is void, and a term already running is suspended:

• Illness or accident through no fault of your own — staggered by years of service (30, 90 or 180 days).
• Pregnancy and the 16 weeks after giving birth.
• Military, civil-protection or civilian service, and certain aid missions abroad.

These protected periods shield you only against the employer's termination — not against your own resignation. If the termination was given before the protected period, the term pauses and resumes afterwards. If you suspect an abusive termination, you have 30 days to object in writing.

Putting the notice period to work on your job search

The weeks before you leave are valuable. Applying while still employed means applying from a stronger position — and if you plan to register with the RAV, do it early, ideally during the notice period, to avoid suspension days and gaps in your daily-allowance entitlement.

In practice: collect openings as you go, tailor your documents to each posting, and — if you register with the RAV — document your job-search efforts cleanly from day one. This is exactly where the right tools save time.

How ApplyCH supports you during the notice period

ApplyCH is a free Chrome extension (Manifest V3) from the Chrome Web Store, built for the Swiss job market. For the stretch between termination and a new job it offers, concretely:

• One-click job capture — on LinkedIn, jobs.ch or any company career page, including the full company address the RAV form later needs.
• Automatic RAV proof fill: the official job-room.ch form for proof of job-search efforts, in one click — unlimited and free.
• Cover letters in four languages (German, French, Italian, English) following Swiss letter conventions; the interface comes in eight languages.
• CV tailoring to a specific posting, with an AI-produced match score; CV import from PDF, the template editor and PDF export are free.

To keep expectations honest: ApplyCH helps you create, tailor and organise applications and auto-fill the RAV form. You send the applications yourself. The free tier includes 2 full plus 2 preview AI generations per month, no credit card; Pro is CHF 9.99 / month (unlimited job saves, 100 AI generations per month, priority support).

When a termination is on the table, every day of the notice period counts. Set up your job search now: ApplyCH installs free in a few minutes, no credit card — and you see one-click job capture and RAV auto-fill in your own routine right away. More at applych.com.

ApplyCH is an independent product and is not affiliated with job-room.ch, with the RAV / ORP / URC, or with SECO. This article is general orientation, not legal advice; responsibility for the accuracy and timely filing of your proof of job-search efforts, and for employment-law decisions, remains with you.