Confirmation of Employment in Switzerland: Template, Content and Legal Basis

A confirmation of employment (German Arbeitsbestätigung, French attestation de travail) states what role someone held at your company and for how long. It says nothing about performance or conduct. You have to issue one when the employee explicitly asks for it (Art. 330a para. 2 of the Swiss Code of Obligations, CO). Further down you'll find two templates, one for employment that has ended and one for ongoing employment.

What the law requires

Art. 330a CO (unofficial English translation):

1 The employee may at any time request from the employer a reference concerning the nature and the duration of the employment relationship, the quality of his work and his conduct.

2 At the employee's express request the reference must be limited to the nature and duration of the employment relationship.

Paragraph 1 describes the full reference with an assessment, paragraph 2 the confirmation of employment. The employee decides which one they get. If they asked for a full reference, you can't hand them a confirmation instead, even if the assessment is awkward to write.

The right exists at any time, during employment and years after leaving. Under the prevailing legal view it becomes time-barred ten years after the employment ends (Art. 127 CO). The law sets no deadline for issuing it. The usual practice is a few days, a few weeks at most.

Apprentices are the reverse case. The apprenticeship certificate under Art. 346a CO states the trade learned and the duration of the apprenticeship by default, and an assessment is only added on request.

When a confirmation of employment makes sense

For job applications, the full reference is almost always better. A Swiss recruiter who finds only a confirmation in an application will usually ask why. There are still good reasons to ask for one:

• very short employment, such as leaving during the probation period, after which there's little to assess
• a conflict, after which the employee would rather not have an assessment
• proof for a landlord, bank or authority that only wants to know whether and since when someone is employed

According to a widely held view, the employee can also ask for both, the full reference for applications and the confirmation for flat hunting. Unemployment insurance needs something else again, the employer's certificate (Arbeitgeberbescheinigung), which is a separate official form.

What goes in

1. the title "Confirmation of employment" (or Arbeitsbestätigung / Attestation de travail in the local language)
2. first name, last name and date of birth. The date of birth is standard in Swiss references so there's no doubt about who is meant. Some employers add the Swiss place of origin (Heimatort).
3. the company name as shown on the letterhead
4. the role, with the department if useful
5. start and end date, or "since" for ongoing employment
6. place and date
7. the signature of an authorised signatory who is senior to the employee

A qualified electronic signature counts the same as a handwritten one (Art. 14 para. 2bis CO). Once employment has ended, the second sentence of the first template is worth including. It states that the confirmation was issued at the employee's request. Without it, readers quickly assume something negative behind the missing assessment. With the employee's consent you can also add the workload, such as 80%.

Assessments don't belong in a confirmation, not even passing ones like "to our satisfaction". The same goes for illness, absences, garden leave and the reason for leaving, unless the employee wants the reason included. Salary doesn't belong in it either. If a landlord needs proof of income, issue a separate salary confirmation.

Template for employment that has ended

Confirmation of employment

We confirm that [First name Last name], born on [date of birth], was employed by [Company] as [role] from [start date] to [end date].

This confirmation is issued at the request of [First name Last name] and contains no assessment of performance or conduct.

[Place], [date]

[Company]
[Name, role of the signatory]

Template for ongoing employment

Confirmation of employment

We confirm that [First name Last name], born on [date of birth], has been employed by [Company] as [role] since [start date]. The employment has not been terminated.

[Place], [date]

[Company]
[Name, role of the signatory]

Only use "The employment has not been terminated" if it's true and the employee agrees. Landlords often ask exactly that.

Common mistakes

• a confirmation although a full reference was requested
• evaluative words that turn the confirmation into half a reference
• a missing or wrong end date
• a signature from someone without signing authority
• no letterhead, no date

Create it in ZeugnyAI

In ZeugnyAI you enter the name, date of birth, company, role, start and end date in one form and get the finished confirmation in English, German, French or Italian, with place and date for printing.

Create a confirmation of employment in ZeugnyAI →

For a full reference with an assessment, read our guide to Swiss work certificates or start a work reference directly.

General information, not legal advice for individual cases.