More and more Swiss employers are requiring a medical certificate from the employee’s first day of absence. However, doctors are not happy about this trend.
Generally in Switzerland, you need to obtain a medical certificate after three days off work.
This means that if you are absent for more than three days, from the fourth day you must present to your employer a doctor’s certificate mentioning the date of the examination and how many days (or weeks or months) you will be absent from work.
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Most companies still adhere to this general rule, but some are asking for a doctor’s certificate already from the first day of absence.
A valid concern
This is permitted under the law and is often the case if the employer has a reason to doubt the validity of a ‘sickness’– for instance, due to the increase in absences.
And there is a reason for this caution.
In June 2024, data from the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) and Group Mutuel insurance confirmed this trend.
It revealed that the number of people taking sick leave and other non-holiday-related absences had risen to record high levels.
The stats showed that on average, workers in Switzerland take around two weeks off sick each year, which reflects a rise since before the Covid pandemic.
That is why, according to media reports, “employers have less trust in their employees and are increasingly demanding a certificate from the first day of absence.”
Unnecessary extra work
The doctors are not happy about this trend because, they say, it gives them lots of extra work.
Typically, if an employee recovers and returns to work within three days, no medical visits are needed.
But when a company demands a certificate from day one, they must visit the doctor immediately, sometimes without an appointment, overwhelming the medical office.
And there is more: if patients don’t see the physician at once and no longer have the symptoms when they do, doctors may have to sign the certificates retroactively – which is it not exactly a legitimate practice from a medical point of view.
“Not only employers, but also schools, sports clubs, and tour operators are increasingly requiring certificates in situations where a medical consultation would not actually be necessary,” said Monika Reber, co-president of the Swiss Association of Family and Child Physicians.
