It’s one of those things that people only find out about when they actually need it. In Spain, if you’re off sick for more than three days, Social Security covers a percentage of your salary and your employer stops paying. It doesn’t work like that here.
The Swiss Code of Obligations (Art. 324a) requires employers to continue paying the full salary whilst an employee is off sick, for a period that depends on their length of service with the company. During the first year of employment: a minimum of three weeks. From the second year onwards: one month. With five years’ service or more: two months. With ten years’ service or more: three months. This is known as the ‘Bern scale’, a statutory minimum that collective agreements in many sectors extend considerably.
However, in Switzerland it is most common for the employer to have taken out daily sickness benefit insurance (IJM in French, KTG in German). This insurance covers 80 per cent of your salary for up to 720 working days, which is equivalent to around two years. There is an initial waiting period, usually between 3 and 30 days, which in many cases is covered by the employer. The cost of the insurance is shared between the employee and the company, and you’ll see it as a deduction on your payslip. If you’ve been working here for a while, you’re probably already paying for it without having given it much thought.
The practical consequence is that in Switzerland, you can have a serious health problem without this automatically turning into a financial crisis. If the situation lasts for more than two years and you are still unable to work, the system refers you to disability insurance (AI). The theory is well thought out. And in this case, the practice works quite well too. Many people only realise this when they actually fall ill. And then they’re grateful for it.