The work certificate is a document that is decisive for the professional development of every employee in Switzerland.
Issued by the employer as a matter of obligation on request, this document allows future recruiters to assess the candidate’s profile, experience and skills.
Under Swiss law, the employee may choose between two types of document: the full certificate (or qualified certificate) and the work attestation (or simple certificate).
The content of the full certificate and of the attestation
The employer is required by default to issue a full certificate, unless the employee expressly requests a simple work attestation.
Depending on the scope requested, the document contains specific particulars:
- The full work certificate: It must state the identity of the parties, the exact start and end dates of the employment relationship, the job description with a detailed account of the tasks actually performed and the positions held, and an assessment of the quality of the work done (performance) and of the attitude adopted within the company (conduct).
- The simple work attestation: It covers only strictly factual and neutral elements, namely solely the nature and duration of the employment relationship, without any assessment of the employee’s performance or conduct.
The guiding principles governing the drafting
The drafting of the work certificate is not left to the employer’s free discretion and must meet strict rules laid down by statute and judicial practice:
- Truth and completeness: The certificate must correspond to objective reality and faithfully report all the essential aspects of the contractual relationship; the principle of truth always prevails over benevolence, which allows unfavourable elements or long absences due to illness to be mentioned if they are relevant and well founded.
- Benevolence and clarity: The document must be drafted fairly so as to favour the employee’s economic future, in terms that are unambiguous, clear and free of any secret code or ambivalent wording.
It is issued at the end of the employment relationship, whether that end results from an ordinary notice or from termination with immediate effect.
Legal sources
Federal legislation:
- Art. 330a CO (cited in particular by BGE 129 III 177 ; BGE 136 III 510 ; Federal Administrative Court judgment A-6526/2023 ; Federal Administrative Court judgment A-7165/2016 ) (right to a qualified certificate and to a work attestation)
Federal case law:
- BGE 129 III 177 (requirement of a full certificate covering performance and conduct, unless an express request is made for a simple attestation)
- BGE 136 III 510 (primacy of the principle of truth and the conditions for mentioning a long incapacity or unfavourable facts)