When you leave a job in Switzerland, the law requires your employer to provide you with a certificate of employment – known as a ‘certificat de travail’ in French-speaking Switzerland or an ‘Arbeitszeugnis’ in German-speaking Switzerland. It is not optional, nor is it a courtesy; it is a legal obligation set out in Article 330a of the Swiss Code of Obligations. You can request it at any time, even in the middle of your contract, and your employer must provide it to you.
What makes this document special is that it follows very specific rules. It must be comprehensive, it must be truthful, and at the same time it must be drafted in accordance with what legal experts call the ‘principle of benevolence’: it must not unjustifiably harm your professional future. This has given rise to an unwritten code of writing that every HR manager in Switzerland is familiar with. Phrases that sound neutral but which recruiters interpret as negative signals. A closing phrase that differs from the usual one, suggesting that the company would not recommend you. An adjective missing where it ought to be.
In Spain, this does not work in quite the same way. A letter of recommendation is informal, voluntary and has no set format. Here, a certificate of employment is the first thing you’ll be asked for during a recruitment process; it must be well-drafted, and if you believe yours does not reflect the truth, you can challenge it – first before a conciliation body and, if necessary, before a court. There is a wealth of case law on this subject.
If you’ve been in Switzerland for a while and have never applied for yours, or if you’ve never read the one you have properly, it’s worth having a look at it. That document speaks for you when you’re not in the room.