When to use this template
This template covers the standard case: a company in Switzerland hiring an employee for an unlimited period, full-time or part-time, under the ordinary rules of Art. 319 ff. CO. It is written for roles without a collective agreement and without executive-level particularities.
It is not the right starting point for fixed-term contracts, hiring through a staffing agency, apprenticeships, or roles covered by a collective employment agreement. Those follow different rules, and stretching a standard template over them is how the avoidable disputes start.
What the template deliberately leaves out
There is no non-competition clause. A post-employment non-compete only binds if it meets the conditions of Art. 340 CO and stays within the limits of Art. 340a CO, and a clause bolted onto every contract by default tends to fail exactly when it matters. If the role genuinely justifies one, have it drafted for that role.
The template also leaves out bonus schemes and equity participation. Both carry more legal weight than a paragraph in an employment contract can hold, and both deserve their own document.
The clauses, one by one
Function and place of work
Describe the role by function, not by an exhaustive task list. The clause allows the employer to assign related duties, which keeps an evolving role inside the contract instead of outside it.
Start date and probation period
The template provides for a probation period with shortened notice. Keep the probation period realistic for the role; it exists so both sides can leave quickly if the match is wrong, not as a general escape hatch.
Working hours
The clause states weekly hours and how overtime is handled. Statutory working-time rules sit on top of whatever the contract says, so this clause is about clarity of expectation, not about opting out of the law.
Salary
The clause states the wage the employer owes (Art. 322 CO) as a gross annual amount paid in twelve or thirteen instalments. If you pay a thirteenth salary, say so here plainly; ambiguity about the thirteenth month is a classic source of friction in the first December.
Expenses
Necessary business expenses are reimbursed. Companies that reimburse on a lump-sum basis should note that lump sums generally need to reflect real costs, and larger schemes are typically agreed with the tax authorities.
Vacation
The template grants the vacation entitlement in weeks per year and leaves the statutory minimum untouched. State the real entitlement you offer; promising the minimum and granting more informally puts the difference in no man's land.
Incapacity to work
The clause records continued salary payment during illness and whether a daily sickness benefits insurance is in place. If you have such insurance, name it here, because it changes what the employee actually receives and for how long.
Confidentiality, loyalty and inventions
During employment the employee already owes loyalty and confidentiality under Art. 321a CO. The template restates it and extends confidentiality beyond the end of the contract. Inventions and designs created in the course of employment belong to the employer by law (Art. 332 CO); copyright in other works does not pass automatically, which is why the clause assigns it expressly rather than assuming it.
Termination
After probation, the contract can be terminated with the notice periods of Art. 335 ff. CO unless the contract says otherwise. The template states the notice period expressly. If you lengthen it, remember it binds both sides.
Final provisions
Swiss law governs, and changes to the contract need written form. The template deliberately contains no forum clause: the statutory forum in employment matters is protected, and clauses that try to move an employee away from it do not hold, so the document reserves the mandatory rules instead of fighting them.