Sick pay in Switzerland: who pays, for how long, and what should you check?

Start with the contract, not an assumption

If you cannot work because of illness, first establish whether your employment includes daily sickness allowance insurance. This is distinct from medical treatment cover and accident insurance. Do not assume that paying a basic health-insurance premium means your salary is protected. Ask HR or the employer for the employment contract, applicable collective agreement, insurance certificate and general conditions. A self-employed person should review their own income protection separately. The aim is to draw a timeline: who pays at the beginning, when an insurer takes over and what happens when benefits end.

When no daily sickness insurance applies

SECO explains that Article 324a of the Code of Obligations provides limited continued full salary when its conditions are met, including an employment relationship lasting more than three months or concluded for more than three months. In the first year of service, the statutory minimum is three weeks; later entitlement depends on service and the applicable rules. A contract or collective agreement may be more generous. It is not a fresh allowance for every illness: relevant absences in the same service year accumulate. Ask payroll to confirm the applicable scale and remaining entitlement in writing rather than treating three weeks as a universal limit.

When an insurance policy replaces salary continuation

Daily sickness cover is not generally compulsory under federal law, although an employment contract or collective agreement can require it. A qualifying insurance arrangement may replace statutory salary continuation. SECO describes 80% of salary for 720 days as an equivalent arrangement when the other conditions, including the employer paying at least half the premium, are met. This is not a promise about every policy. Check the insured salary, percentage, waiting period, benefit duration and coordination with other benefits. Have the employer confirm the payment due during the insurer’s waiting period; a 30-day insurance wait does not automatically mean 30 unpaid days for the employee.

Use a simple cash-flow example

Suppose, purely for illustration, that the relevant insured monthly salary is CHF 6,000 and the agreed benefit is 80%. That represents CHF 4,800 on a monthly-equivalent basis, leaving CHF 1,200 compared with full salary. This is arithmetic, not an insurer’s daily-benefit or net-pay calculation. The actual amount depends on the salary definition, annual divisor, degree of incapacity, deductions and contract. For an employer, map the waiting-period cash requirement separately from replacement-staff costs. For a household, test whether rent, insurance premiums and essential bills remain affordable. Do not add a thirteenth salary or bonuses unless the policy includes them.

LAMal and LCA are different legal frameworks

The Federal Office of Public Health distinguishes social daily-allowance insurance under LAMal/KVG from private-contract cover under LCA/VVG. Under LCA, acceptance is not obligatory and existing-condition reservations can be indefinite; benefits and duration follow the agreement. Do not assume a medical exclusion expires automatically. Leaving a group plan also deserves attention: LAMal provides a right to transfer into individual cover for the existing benefits, while LCA does not guarantee the same general right. Ask for the actual continuation terms, application deadline and premium before changing jobs, becoming self-employed or cancelling cover. A quotation alone does not establish acceptance.

Prepare a one-page absence plan

Keep the insurer’s claim contact, notification instructions and required documents accessible. SECO states that a medical certificate should indicate full or partial incapacity, not the diagnosis; send medical details only through the appropriate confidential process. Before a review, collect the staff list, employment percentages, annual payroll, contracts, existing policies and the business’s cash reserve. Request written answers for three scenarios: a short absence, several months of partial incapacity and departure from the company during illness. Discuss unresolved gaps before signing. This guide is general information, checked on 21 October 2026; individual entitlement depends on the facts, applicable law and accepted policy.