Nanny · Holidays
Family away on holiday: what you owe your nanny and who sets her holidays
You travel: what do you owe your nanny?
CHF 4'154in wages for the weeks you're away and she isn't on holiday: 4 weeks. Owed in full, with no hours to make up (CO 324).
Based on 4 weeks of holiday (CO 329a), placed in your trips at least 3 months ahead.
30 days free, then CHF 19.90/month · cancel anytime
Canton, age, weeks she picks? In the planner ↓
You travel, your nanny stays at home. You still owe her wage, and she doesn't have to make up the hours. But you may place her holidays in your trips, if you plan early and listen to her wishes. That way the sums work out fairly for both of you.
Plan your year: trips, holidays, pay
Mark the weeks you travel. The planner shows which of them can be your nanny's holidays, which you pay without work, and when she is on holiday while you're at home.
Year planner 2027
8 wks
Tap the weeks you travel. The planner puts your nanny's holidays into your longest trips first.
The Swiss Nanny Association advises nannies to ask for 2 weeks of holiday of their own choice.
Jan–Mar
Apr–Jun
Jul–Sep
Oct–Dec
- Trip, her holidays
- Trip, paid without work
- You're at home
Entitlement: 4 weeks of holiday · All cantons (CO)
4 wks
Your nanny's holidays inside your tripsWk 16 · Wk 29–31
CHF 4'154
Paid without work while you're away: 4 weeks. Owed, with no hours to make up (CO 324).
0 wks
Holidays while you're at home: plan other childcare.
Fix the dates at least 3 months ahead (SECO) and hear her wishes (CO 329c).
Register your nanny with this plan →30 days free, then CHF 19.90/month · cancel anytime
The weeks without work cost nothing extra: it's her normal wage carrying on. Budget for it rather than negotiate it.
Who sets your nanny's holidays?
You do, as the employer. You fix the dates and take her wishes into account as far as your household allows (CO 329c para. 2).
How many weeks she gets depends on her age, your canton and her years of service: at least 4 weeks, 5 weeks until her 20th birthday (CO 329a). The full entitlement is explained in our post on your nanny's 13th-month pay and holidays.
Holiday confirmation 2027
For Ana Silva, nanny
As agreed, these are your holidays:
| Mon 19.04.2027 – Fri 23.04.2027Wk 16 | 1 week |
| Mon 19.07.2027 – Fri 06.08.2027Wk 29–31 | 3 weeks |
| Total | 4 weeks |
Your wage is paid in full during the holidays.
We are also away in Wk 7, Wk 17, Wk 41 and Wk 52. Those weeks are free and fully paid, with nothing to make up.
The Muster family
Ana Silva
Told more than 3 months ahead
SECO, holiday FAQ
At least 2 weeks in a row
CO 329c para. 1
Full wage during holidays
CO 329d para. 1
Travel weeks without holiday: paid, nothing to make up
CO 324 para. 1
Once dates are fixed, you can only move them at short notice in a real emergency. If your nanny has school-age children herself, take the school holidays into account (SECO).
Put the rule straight into the contract: how many weeks you fix, how many she picks, and how far ahead. What else often goes missing is in our post on the forgotten clauses in a nanny contract.
You travel, she's off: her wage carries on
If your nanny is ready to work and you don't need her, you owe her full wage. She doesn't have to make up the lost hours (CO 324 para. 1).
The Swiss Nanny Association says the same: the wage is still owed, and banking hours that she has to work off later is not allowed.
Time account 2027
| Week | Planned | Balance |
|---|---|---|
| Wk 715.02.–19.02. · away | 40 h | |
| Wk 1726.04.–30.04. · away | 40 h | |
| Wk 4111.10.–15.10. · away | 40 h | |
| Wk 5227.12.–31.12. · away | 40 h |
Balance at year end
−160 h0 hwage paid in full
What you can't agree
- A clause saying «unpaid when the family travels» is void. These rules protect your nanny and can't be waived (CO 362).
- Unpaid leave only exists if she wants it herself.
- Swapping holidays for money is not allowed while she works for you (CO 329d para. 2). An exception in Zurich: the 5th week earned through years of service may be paid out as an extra quarter of the monthly wage (Zurich standard employment contract, Art. 8 para. 2).
All you may deduct is what she saves in costs in those weeks and what she earns elsewhere in the freed-up time, or deliberately fails to earn (CO 324 para. 2).
On an hourly wage with fixed times the same applies: the agreed hours are owed. Without fixed times things get unclear fast. So set guaranteed hours per week in the employment contract for your nanny. Clino's contract template rules out minus hours explicitly.
If you need less childcare for good, say once your child starts kindergarten, that isn't a holiday question: here's how to reduce your nanny's hours fairly. Evenings she works on top are a separate question too: overtime and evenings.
If you're the nanny: what you're entitled to
When the family plans holidays or travels without you, you can ask for this. Kindly, and with the law behind you.
Know early when
As a rule you know your holidays at least 3 months ahead (SECO).
2 weeks in a row
At least 2 weeks of your holidays are taken together (CO 329c para. 1).
Full wage during holidays
Plus compensation if board and lodging fall away (CO 329d para. 1).
Pay when the family travels without you
With no hours to make up and no minus hours (CO 324 para. 1).
Sick during your holidays
If you couldn't rest, the days are given back (SECO). Report it right away, with a doctor's certificate.
Your children's school holidays
If you have school-age children, the family takes that into account (SECO).
2 weeks of your choice
That's what the Swiss Nanny Association advises. Not a law, but a fair point for the contract.
If the child is sick, or you are, other rules apply: who pays when the child or the nanny is sick.
Independent support: Swiss Nanny Association
The Swiss Nanny Association is a nonprofit association supporting nannies and Au Pairs with information, resources, training and guidance on fair working conditions in Switzerland.
For information and resources, visit swissnanny.orgFrequently asked questions
Can I put all of my nanny's holiday weeks into our trips?
Yes, you set the holidays (CO 329c para. 2). But you listen to her wishes as far as your household allows, give at least 2 weeks in a row and plan early, as a rule 3 months ahead. It's fair to leave her 2 weeks of her own choice, as the Swiss Nanny Association advises.
We're away 8 weeks, she has 4 weeks of holiday. What about the rest?
You pay the other 4 weeks as normal, even though she doesn't work. She has nothing to make up and no minus hours to work off (CO 324 para. 1). On CHF 4'500 a month that comes to about CHF 4'154.
And if the nanny comes on holiday with us?
Then she's working, even at the beach. Those days aren't holidays and don't count towards her entitlement. What applies to hours, rest and expenses is in our post on travelling with your nanny.
Does a public holiday during her holidays count as a holiday day?
No. If a public holiday falls during her holidays, it doesn't count as a holiday day. Which days apply in your canton is in the public holiday calendar for households.
She lives with us. What about board and lodging?
If she lives in your household, board and lodging are part of her wage (CO 322 para. 2). During her holidays you owe fair compensation for them as far as they fall away (CO 329d para. 1). If you travel without her, the whole wage is owed, this part too (CO 324).
Does a nanny under 20 or over 50 get more holiday?
Until her 20th birthday she gets at least 5 weeks (CO 329a). From 50, or after many years of service, some cantonal standard employment contracts give more: in the canton of Zurich, for example, 5 weeks from 50 and 6 weeks from 60. The holiday planner above works it out for your canton.
Register your nanny, holidays included
Clino prepares the contract and the AHV registration and makes the payslip every month, holiday and travel weeks included. Choose your canton: you'll find the compensation office and the cantonal rules there.
Sources
Updated: 22 October 2026. Cantonal standard employment contracts can give more holiday; the planner includes them.