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Employment law

Fixed-term contracts for household staff: they end by themselves, probation only if agreed

A fixed-term contract, say for a summer nanny or someone standing in for your cleaner, ends on the agreed day without notice. It only has a probation period if you write one in, 3 months at most. You can only end it early with a clause that allows it, and if she simply keeps working after the end date, the contract becomes open-ended. AHV and accident insurance apply from day one, the pension fund only beyond 3 months and with a high enough wage.

September 23, 20266 min read
Timeline of a fixed-term employment contractProbationonly if agreedFIXED-TERMEnd dateends by itselfshe keeps working: open-ended
No notice needed. But if she simply keeps working after the end date, the contract is open-ended.
Contract timeline

How does your contract run?

Enter the dates, see your contract as a line.

What are you planning?

Duration

Ends on 31 August 2027 by itself

62 days of contract, no notice needed

Timeline of your contractProbation to 31/07/2027 · notice 3 daysends without noticeStart 01/07/2027End 31/08/2027carries on, no new deal = open-ended
  • Probationto 31 July 2027, notice of 3 days
  • Giving notice after probationOnly if the contract has a termination clause
  • If she keeps working after 31 August 2027The contract becomes open-ended (Art. 334 para. 2 CO)
  • AHV/IV/EOYes, from the first francOnly exception: under 25 and up to CHF 750 a year.
  • Accident insurance (UVG)Work and non-work accidents (from 8 h/week)
  • Pension fund (BVG)No: fixed-term for 3 months at most
  • Holidays0.7 weeks (3.5 working days) = 17 h, CHF 510 holiday payWith irregular hourly pay, a 8.33 % holiday supplement on every wage instead, shown separately.

If you extend beyond 3 months, she is in the BVG from the day the extension is agreed.

Next question: the contract. The template is open-ended: add duration, probation, notice and extension as in the sample further down.

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Probation: how long, how much notice

In an open-ended contract the first month counts as probation, with 7 days' notice (Art. 335b CO). The cantonal standard employment contracts (NAV) for household work often differ, both in length and in notice. The federal NAV for domestic work only sets minimum wages, not probation. And for a fixed-term contract the law provides no probation at all: there is one only if you agree it.

2 weeks
  • GR3 d
  • OW3 d
4 weeks
  • LU7 d
  • NW7 d
  • UR3 d
  • ZG7 d
1 month
  • AG7 d
  • AI5 d
  • AR3 d
  • BE7 d
  • BL7 d
  • BS7 d
  • GE7 d
  • GL3 d
  • JU7 d
  • NE7 d
  • SG3 d
  • SH7 d
  • SO7 d
  • SZ7 d
  • TG7 d
  • TI7 d
  • VS7 d
  • ZH3 d
2 months
  • FR7 d
  • VD7 d
Maximum 3 months
Number in the box: notice in days during probation.Au pair in Geneva: 2 months of probation, 5 days' notice (Geneva au pair NAV). Where the cantonal NAV says nothing, the CO applies: 1 month, 7 days.

Three rules apply everywhere. There is no probation longer than 3 months, even if the contract says more. If she is ill or has an accident, probation is extended by those days, even beyond 3 months. And during probation there is no protection against dismissal for illness (Art. 336c CO): you may give notice, but it has to reach her while probation is still running.

Ending early: only with a clause

A fixed-term contract is built to run to its end date. Stopping sooner takes either a probation period that is still running or a termination clause in the contract. Both have to be written in beforehand.

Is probation still running?
Yes

Give notice of 7 days or your NAV's period, to any day. The notice must arrive while probation is still running.

No
Does the contract have a termination clause?
Yes

Give notice as agreed. Without another agreement, 1 month to the end of a month in the 1st year of service (Art. 335c CO).

No

Not terminable. The contract ends on the agreed date. Before that only: end it together in writing, or with immediate effect for good cause (Art. 337 CO).

If you dismiss her early without good cause, you owe the wage up to the agreed end, minus what she earns elsewhere (Art. 337c CO). If she leaves without good cause, you can claim a quarter of a monthly wage (Art. 337d CO).

The notice period calculator works out exactly how long the notice runs in your case. The guide to dismissing household help shows how to deliver notice correctly.

Extend, carry on, or start a new fixed term

What happens after the end date decides whether you still have a fixed-term contract. Four ways, four outcomes:

  1. Ends on the date

    No notice needed (Art. 334 para. 1 CO). Protection against dismissal during illness (Art. 336c CO) only covers notice, so it does not push this end back.

  2. Extension agreed in writing

    New end date, still fixed-term. If that makes the contract longer than 3 months, she is in the BVG from the day of the agreement, provided her annualised wage is above CHF 22'680 (BVV 2 Art. 1k).

  3. She simply keeps working

    Without a new agreement the contract is open-ended (Art. 334 para. 2 CO). From then on it only ends with notice.

  4. A new fixed-term contract, again and again

    Allowed with an objective reason, say every summer. Strung together without a reason, the chain counts as dodging dismissal protection. For the BVG the engagements add up.

Contract

The 5 clauses a fixed-term contract needs

The contract needs no particular form (Art. 320 CO). Write it anyway: a different probation only counts in writing (Art. 335b para. 2 CO), and if the job lasts more than 1 month you have to give her the key terms in writing regardless (Art. 330b CO).

Fixed-term employment contract

Summer nanny, 25 h per week

Duration1 July to 31 August 2027
Probation2 weeks, notice of 7 days
Early terminationthen 1 month to the end of a month
Extensionin writing only
Holidays4 weeks per year, pro rata

  1. A fixed end date makes the contract fixed-term. It ends on that day without notice (Art. 334 para. 1 CO).

  2. Without this line a fixed-term contract has no probation. 3 months at most. If illness or an accident cuts it short, it is extended accordingly (Art. 335b para. 3 CO).

  3. Without this clause neither side can end it early. With it, you have a contract with a maximum term: terminable, but over by the end date at the latest.

  4. If she keeps working without an agreement, the contract is open-ended (Art. 334 para. 2 CO). So put any extension in writing before the end date.

  5. Short contracts earn holidays too, pro rata (Art. 329a para. 3 CO). With irregular hourly pay, as a 8.33 % supplement shown separately on every payslip.

Even 6 weeks is employment

Clino prepares the AHV registration for your stand-in and walks you through it, creates every payslip with the right holiday supplement and the wage certificate at the end. Nothing is charged before day 30.

Try 30 days free

FAQ

Does a fixed-term employment contract have a probation period?
Only if you agree one. The law provides no probation for fixed-term employment, but the parties can agree one. Put it in the contract, 3 months at most, for a summer job for example 2 weeks. Without that line neither side can get out before the end date, unless the contract has a termination clause.
Can I end a fixed-term contract early?
Only during probation or if the contract contains a termination clause. Otherwise it ends on the agreed date, unless you end it together in writing or there is good cause for immediate termination (Art. 337 CO). Dismissing early without good cause means you owe the wage up to the agreed end (Art. 337c CO).
What happens if she keeps working after the end date?
Then the contract counts as open-ended (Art. 334 para. 2 CO). From then on you can only end it with notice: 1 month to the end of a month in the 1st year of service, unless your cantonal NAV says otherwise. If you only want to extend, agree a new end date in writing before the old one.
Do I have to register a stand-in for 6 weeks with the AHV?
Yes. In a private household AHV contributions are due from the first franc, even for a few weeks. The only exception: young people up to the end of the year they turn 25, earning at most CHF 750 a year with you, unless they ask for contributions to be paid (Art. 34d AHVV). She also has to be insured against accidents, against non-work accidents from 8 hours per week with you.
Does a summer nanny need a pension fund?
Not if the contract is fixed at 3 months or less (BVV 2 Art. 1j). If it runs longer, her wage counts annualised: above CHF 22'680 she is subject to the BVG (Art. 2 BVG). If you extend a short contract beyond 3 months, the obligation starts on the day you agree the extension.
Can I give notice during probation if she is ill?
Yes. Protection against dismissal for illness only starts after probation (Art. 336c CO). But probation is extended by the days she could not work because of illness or an accident (Art. 335b para. 3 CO), and the notice has to reach her within probation.
A nanny for school weeks only: is that a fixed-term contract?
Better not. If she comes back every year, an open-ended contract with the working time "school weeks only" fits: in the school holidays neither work nor wage is owed, in school weeks her hours are guaranteed. The Clino contract has this as a separate option. Adding a new fixed-term contract every school year, on the other hand, can count as a chain contract.

Sources

  • Code of Obligations: Art. 334 (fixed-term employment), Art. 335b (probation), Art. 335c, 336c, 337 to 337d - www.fedlex.admin.ch
  • SECO: FAQ on termination (probation in fixed-term contracts, chain contracts, contracts with a maximum term), in German - www.seco.admin.ch
  • BVV 2: Art. 1j and 1k (fixed-term employment in the BVG) - www.fedlex.admin.ch
  • BVG: Art. 2 (entry threshold, annual wage for shorter employment) - www.fedlex.admin.ch
  • UVV: Art. 13 (non-work accidents from 8 hours per week) - www.fedlex.admin.ch
  • AHVV: Art. 34d (contributions in private households) - www.fedlex.admin.ch
  • Federal NAV for domestic work (SR 221.215.329.4): minimum wages only - www.fedlex.admin.ch

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Salvador Jovells

Salvador Jovells, founder of Clino