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Switzerland: why confirm a former employee's job?

Every employee in Switzerland may at any time ask the employer for a certificate of employment, limited at their express request to the kind and length of the employment. Confirming the same facts takes a minute and helps the person into their next job. certo asks on their behalf, with their explicit consent.

Law as of 26 October 2026 · Code of Obligations (SR 220), Art. 330a and 328b, status as of 1 October 2026; Federal Act on Data Protection (SR 235.1), status as of 7 July 2025

In short

  • The facts are already on paper. An employee may at any time ask the employer for a certificate of employment, and at their express request it must be limited to the kind and length of the employment (Code of Obligations, Art. 330a). Those are the facts we ask about.
  • It helps the person who worked for you. A record confirmed by a former employer is what the next employer trusts. Answering takes about a minute and needs no account.
  • certo asks on their behalf, with their explicit consent. Under the Federal Act on Data Protection (FADP), disclosing a person's data is justified by their consent (Art. 31(1)). The person started this check themselves, for these facts and no others.
  • You do not have to answer. No Swiss law obliges an employer to answer certo. Declining is fine.

The Code of Obligations

Code of Obligations (OR/CO, SR 220), quoted from the official German text on Fedlex. The French and Italian texts are equally authentic; the French and Italian versions of this page quote them.

Art. 330a: the certificate of employment

Der Arbeitnehmer kann jederzeit vom Arbeitgeber ein Zeugnis verlangen, das sich über die Art und Dauer des Arbeitsverhältnisses sowie über seine Leistungen und sein Verhalten ausspricht. … Auf besonderes Verlangen des Arbeitnehmers hat sich das Zeugnis auf Angaben über die Art und Dauer des Arbeitsverhältnisses zu beschränken.

In English: the employee may at any time ask the employer for a certificate on the kind and length of the employment and on their performance and conduct; at the employee's express request, the certificate must be limited to the kind and length of the employment. That limited certificate holds exactly the facts we ask about, the job title and the dates, so your records already hold them. Performance and conduct are never asked.

Art. 328b: what an employer may process

Der Arbeitgeber darf Daten über den Arbeitnehmer nur bearbeiten, soweit sie dessen Eignung für das Arbeitsverhältnis betreffen oder zur Durchführung des Arbeitsvertrages erforderlich sind.

In English: the employer may process data about an employee only so far as it concerns the employee's suitability for the job or is necessary to perform the employment contract. The dates and the kind of work are data of the employment itself, the facts Art. 330a lets the employee ask you to certify. Nothing else is asked, and you should add nothing else.

What is never asked

We found no provision of Swiss federal law that lists the questions an employer may not put to a job applicant. certo never asks you about health, family, beliefs, pay, performance, the reason for leaving or a criminal record.

Personal data

Switzerland is not in the EU: your answer is governed by the Federal Act on Data Protection (FADP, in German DSG), not by the GDPR. Quoted from the official German text on Fedlex.

FADP Art. 31(1): consent justifies

Eine Persönlichkeitsverletzung ist widerrechtlich, wenn sie nicht durch Einwilligung der betroffenen Person, durch ein überwiegendes privates oder öffentliches Interesse oder durch Gesetz gerechtfertigt ist.

In English: a breach of privacy is unlawful unless it is justified by the consent of the person concerned, by an overriding private or public interest, or by law. Disclosing the dates and the kind of work to certo, at the person's own request, rests on their consent.

FADP Art. 6(6): valid consent

Ist die Einwilligung der betroffenen Person erforderlich, so ist diese Einwilligung nur gültig, wenn sie für eine oder mehrere bestimmte Bearbeitungen nach angemessener Information freiwillig erteilt wird.

In English: where the consent of the person concerned is required, it is valid only if given freely, for one or more specific processing operations, after adequate information. The person chose your organisation, the address and each fact themselves, from their own signed-in account.

  • Proof of consent. certo records which account asked, when, and for which facts. Write to support@certo.bio and we send you the record for your request.
  • Art. 6(2) FADP, proportionality. You confirm or leave unticked only the facts listed. Add nothing else: anything beyond them is not covered by the person's consent.

What this means for your answer

  • Tick only what your HR, payroll or personnel records show.
  • Not sure it is the same person? Press "We can't find a matching record". Never confirm a record you are not sure is theirs.
  • Your policy is not to answer? Press "We do not answer these requests". The record shows your organisation declined, and nobody else there is asked.

Sources

This page is not legal advice. It reflects the law as it stood on 26 October 2026.