In Spain, it is 22 working days, which is equivalent to around 30 calendar days. In Switzerland, the legal minimum is four weeks per year for adult workers, according to Article 329a of the Swiss Code of Obligations (CO). For workers under the age of 20, the minimum is five weeks. These are not calendar days or working days: they are working weeks, which in practice, with a five-day week, equates to 20 working days for an adult.
The law also stipulates that at least two weeks must be taken consecutively, and that annual leave must be taken within the current year wherever possible. The employer sets the dates taking the employee’s wishes into account, but has the final say if there are objective organisational reasons. What the law clearly prohibits is substituting holiday days for money whilst the contract is in force: holidays are not paid out, they are taken.
Many collective agreements and individual contracts offer better terms than this legal minimum. It is common to find five weeks’ holiday entitlement in medium-sized and large companies, and this may also depend on length of service. It is worth checking your contract and, if applicable, the sector’s collective agreement, as the differences can be significant.
Something many people are unaware of: if you fall ill whilst on holiday and provide a doctor’s certificate to prove it, those days off will not be deducted from your holiday entitlement. You are entitled to have them added back on. This is established case law in Switzerland, although in practice it is advisable to notify your employer without delay and provide the necessary documentation.