Terminating your household employee: correct, fair and without a rude awakening
Work out the notice period, check the protected periods, draft letter and reference, close everything down properly: all five steps on one page, each done in a few minutes.
The whole journey in five steps
Ending employment in a private household is more than a letter. The date has to be right, the protected periods checked, and after the last working day come the final payslip, the deregistration and the reference. This page walks you through in order, with the right tool at each step.
Step 1 · When can the employment end at the earliest?
Calculate notice period and end date
The notice period depends on the year of service, and in many cantons the standard employment contract says something different from the Code of Obligations. The calculator takes both into account and gives you the earliest clean end date before you sign anything.
Who is terminating?
We tailor notes and warnings accordingly.
Date the employment started.
Day the termination reaches the recipient.
If you have a target date, we back-calculate.
For cantonal notes and NAV context.
If the contract sets a longer period, it overrides the statute.
Auto-enabled if the start is less than 1 month ago (statutory default). Probation extended by contract (up to 3 months)? Enable manually.
Current situation (protection period check)
Step 2 · Illness, accident, pregnancy: when your notice would be void
Check the protected periods
After the probation period there are times when you simply cannot give notice. Notice given during a protected period is void and has to be repeated afterwards. Two minutes of checking can save you months of delay.
?Protection-period checker
Check in 30 seconds whether you can terminate today.
During probation the protection periods do not apply (Art. 336c para. 1 CO) - the 7-day notice applies.
Answer the questions to see your result.
CO Art. 336c · fedlex.admin.ch
Step 3 · Legally sound wording, as a PDF, in six languages
Create the termination letter
No formal requirement does not mean every form is wise. A dated letter with confirmation of receipt, or registered mail, creates proof. The generator words it neutrally and fairly, in your employee's language if you wish.
No protection period detected. You may issue the termination - ensure the correct notice period and delivery.
Last working day (auto-calculated)
31. Oktober 2026
Send directly by email
[Adresse]
[Adresse]
Kündigung des Arbeitsverhältnisses
Sehr geehrte [Arbeitnehmer/in],
Hiermit kündigen wir das seit ___________ bestehende Arbeitsverhältnis ordentlich unter Einhaltung der 1-monatigen Kündigungsfrist.
Der letzte Arbeitstag ist der 31. Oktober 2026.
Bitte bestätigen Sie den Erhalt dieses Schreibens mit Ihrer Unterschrift auf der Kopie.
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Nächster Schritt
Clino erstellt die Schlussabrechnung inkl. Restferien, Pro-Rata 13er und meldet bei der AHV ab.
CHF 19.90/Monat · 30 Tage gratis · clino.ch
Step 4 · Mandatory on request, gold for the next job
Write the work reference
Your employee is entitled to a work reference at any time (CO art. 330a). The generator builds it from proven blocks: benevolent and truthful at the same time, without the notorious hidden codes.
Want to know how to spot and avoid coded reference language? Open the reference decoder with the known codes
Employer name
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Arbeitszeugnis
[Arbeitgeber Name]
[Adresse]
[Name der Arbeitnehmerin] war vom ___________ bis ___________ als Haushaltshilfe / Reinigungskraft in unserem Privathaushalt tätig. Der Beschäftigungsgrad betrug 4 Stunden pro Woche.
Zu ihren Aufgaben gehörten: Apartment cleaning, vacuuming, mopping, cleaning bathroom and kitchen, laundry and ironing.
[Name der Arbeitnehmerin] hat die ihr übertragenen Aufgaben stets zu unserer vollen Zufriedenheit erledigt. Ihr Verhalten gegenüber uns und Dritten war stets einwandfrei.
Das Arbeitsverhältnis wurde auf Wunsch von [Name der Arbeitnehmerin] aufgelöst.
Wir danken [Name der Arbeitnehmerin] für die geleistete Arbeit und wünschen ihr für die Zukunft alles Gute. Wir können [Name der Arbeitnehmerin] uneingeschränkt weiterempfehlen.
[Adresse], 27. August 2026
Step 5 · Final payslip, deregistration, insurance, keys
Close everything down properly
After the last working day comes the part almost everyone forgets: paying out remaining holidays, settling with the compensation office, cancelling insurance policies, taking back keys against a receipt. The checklist walks you through it, the dossier wraps it all up as a PDF.
The closing checklist
Eleven points between the notice and the last handshake. Tick off what is done; the list stays in your browser.
The termination dossier as a PDF
The complete checklist to print and tick off, with all the notes. Handy next to the payslip folder.
The dossier is in German, the document standard of the authorities.
Fair to the very end
How an employment ends says more about the employer than how it began.
The most common mistakes
What goes wrong when terminating
Six situations that regularly end up before the conciliation authority, and how to avoid them.
Giving notice during illness
After probation a protected period applies: if you give notice while your employee is on sick leave, the notice is void and has to be repeated once the protection ends. If she falls ill only after your notice has reached her, the notice period is extended instead. That difference can mean weeks to months.
Notice by WhatsApp, does it count?
In principle yes: ordinary notice requires no particular form unless the contract says otherwise. But you carry the burden of proving it arrived, and what counts is receipt, not sending. Safest is handing over the letter in person against a dated confirmation, otherwise registered mail.
Summary dismissal almost never works
Termination without notice requires a serious reason that makes continuing unreasonable, such as theft. Poor work, an argument or lateness are not enough. If you dismiss without notice without justification, you owe the wage up to the ordinary end date and risk paying compensation on top.
Holidays during the notice period
Remaining holidays can be taken during the notice period if enough time is left and real rest is possible. Whatever cannot be taken has to be paid out with the final payslip, with the usual social insurance contributions on it.
The reference is a duty, not a favour
On request you must issue a work reference at any time, even years after the exit. It has to be benevolent and truthful at once. Coded put-downs such as "always endeavoured" are risky and contestable. Write clearly, or leave the point out.
Deregister, or everything keeps running
The last wage is not the end of it: the compensation office needs the final settlement, and accident insurance plus any daily sickness benefits insurance must be cancelled per the exit date, otherwise premiums keep accruing. And the keys should come back against a receipt.
Not a paid placement, not a partnership.
Related tools
Frequent questions about terminating
How long is the notice period for a household employee?
Do I have to give a reason?
Can I give notice while my employee is pregnant?
What applies during probation?
My employee resigned herself. What do I need to do?
What happens to AHV and insurance after the termination?
Do I have to write a letter of recommendation?
The next start: clean from day one
When someone works for you again: Clino prepares the registration, produces the payslip every month and walks you through insurance and year-end. So that a goodbye, if one is ever needed again, is just five relaxed steps.
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Sources
- · Code of Obligations (CO), art. 319 to 362, Fedlex
- · SECO: employment law
- · Leaflet 2.06: Domestic work (ahv-iv.ch)
- · Leaflet 2.01: Salary contributions to AHV, IV and EO (ahv-iv.ch)
- This page does not replace legal advice. Cantonal standard employment contracts may provide for different notice periods. As of 2026.
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