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WORKING IN SWITZERLAND

Public holidays: What days will you get off work in Switzerland in 2024?

Switzerland has many official public holidays at the national, cantonal, and regional level. Here's what to know to plan your long weekends and getaways in 2024.

Published: 17 November 2023 16:03 CET
Updated: 4 February 2024 07:29 CET
Public holidays: What days will you get off work in Switzerland in 2024?
Switzerland has public holidays on a national, cantonal and regional level. Image by Clickphoto Switzerland from Pixabay.

In Switzerland, public holidays and the days that are treated as public holidays (with the exception of August 1st), are set by the cantons.

Only a few public holidays will give everyone a day off work throughout Switzerland.

Here are the public holidays for 2024, including where and why some Swiss celebrations are observed.

National Holidays

January 1st, Monday – New Year’s Day

August 1st, Thursday – Swiss National Day, Switzerland’s only national public holiday, commemorates the founding of the Swiss Confederation.

May 9th, Thursday – Ascension day

Ascension day is synonymous with the German and Austrian holiday Christi Himmelfahrt and commemorates Jesus’s ascension to heaven. Find out more about how (and where) it is celebrated in Switzerland in The Local’s article on the topic.

December 25th, Wednesday – Christmas Day

Cantonal Holidays

January

January 2nd, Tuesday – Berchtold’s Day (celebrated in Aargau, Bern, Fribourg, Glarus, Jura, Lucerne, Neuchâtel, Obwalden, Schaffhausen, Thurgau, Vaud, Zug, and Zurich)

January 6th, Saturday – Three King’s Day (Ephiphany)

 According to Western belief, Epiphany refers to the three wise men from the who were led to Jesus by the Star of Bethlehem and historians assume that the Epiphany festival, or Dreikönigstag, has existed in Switzerland since 1311.

READ MORE: Dreikönigstag: How does Switzerland celebrate ‘Three Kings Day’

March

March 1st, Friday – Republic Day

Republic Day – a Swiss regional public holiday – is marked each year on March 1st in Neuchâtel when the canton celebrates becoming a republic within the Swiss Confederation.

March 19th, Tuesday – St Joseph’s Day (marked in Graubünden, Lucerne, Nidwalden, Schwyz, Solothurn, Ticino, Uri, and Valais)

March 29th, Friday – Good Friday (National, except Ticino and Valais)

April

April 1st, Monday – Easter Monday (National, except Neuchatel, Solothurn, Valais, Zug)

April 4th, Thursday – Näfels Ride (celebrated in Glarus)

April 15th, Saturday – Sechseläuten (celebrated in Zurich)

May

May 1st, Wednesday – Labour Day (International Workers’ Day)

Though people in Zurich, Basel–Stadt, Basel–Land, Jura, Neuchâtel, Schaffhausen, Thurgau and Ticino are granted a full day off work, in Aargau and Solothurn, workers are usually only given a half day off (from 12noon).

In some cantons, such as Freiburg and St. Gallen, a half day is usually given to cantonal workers on Labour Day.

May 20th, Monday – Whit Monday (every canton, except Valais)

May 30th, Thursday – Corpus Christi (celebrated in Aargau, Lucerne, Uri, Schwyz, Obwalden, Nidwalden, Zug, Fribourg, Solothurn, Appenzell Innerrhoden, Ticino, Valais, and Jura)

June

June 23rd, Sunday – Jura Independence Day

June 29th, Saturday – Feast of Saints Peter and Paul (celebrated in Ticino)

August

August 15th, Thursday – Assumption Day (holiday in Lucerne, Obwalden, Nidwalden, Schwyz, Ticino, Uri, Valais and Zug. And it is a holiday in some municipalities in Aargau, Basel-Country, Freiburg, Graubündern, and Soluthurn)

September

September 5th, Thursday – Jeûne genevois (Geneva Thanksgiving)

September 9th, Monday – Knabenschiessen (Traditional shooting competition held only in Zurich)

September 15th, Sunday – Swiss Federal Feast (National, except Geneva and Zug)

September 16th, Monday – Lundi du Jeûne federal (Federal Day of Thanksgiving, Repentance and Prayer in Vaud)

September 25th, Wednesday – Saint Nicholas of Flüe Day (celebration of the patron saint of Switzerland in Obwalden)

November

November 1st, Friday – All Saints’ Day

Those who work in the cantons of Appenzell Innerrhoden, Fribourg, Glarus, Jura, Lucerne, Obwalden, Nidwalden, St. Gallen, Schwyz, Ticino, Uri, Valais, and Zug will get to enjoy an entire day off work.

Those working in other regions may still be entitled to a half-day off. Read on here to find out where in Switzerland that is the case.

December

December 8th, Sunday – Immaculate Conception Day (celebrated in Aargau, Appenzell Innerrhoden, Fribourg, Graubünden, Lucerne, Nidwalden, Obwalden, Solothurn, Schwyz, Ticino, Uri, Vaud, and Zug)  

December 26th, Thursday – St Stephen’s Day (National, except Geneva, Jura, Valais, and Vaud).

December 31st, Tuesday – Restoration Day (celebrated in Geneva)

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For members

WORKING IN SWITZERLAND

Why Swiss employers are eager to hire US professionals

Personnel shortages are pushing big Swiss companies to recruit executives from abroad, specifically from the United States.

Published: 23 May 2024 10:43 CEST
Why Swiss employers are eager to hire US professionals

Some Swiss employers, including pharmaceutical giants Roche and Novartis, pull out all the stops to attract foreigners — especially from the United States — for top management positions. 

Companies even go so far as to cover the rent, private school tuition fees, and sometimes even taxes and health insurance, of the senior US executives.

Why are these employers offering perks to the professionals from the US?

“Depending on the size of the company, the number of [locally-based] candidates is very limited for certain positions. Hiring foreign executives is therefore inevitable,” according to recruiter Erik Wirz. “And in the United States, there are very qualified employees in the pharmaceutical or technological fields.” 

The demand also extends to top researchers or those who are recognised specialists in their field, Wirz added.

The high cost involved in relocating sought-after US personnel, as well as all the perks they receive once in Switzerland — typically a package ranging from five to six-figures — are worth every franc, according to a Roche spokesperson.

 “What matters to us is the aptitude and performance of our employees. We want to attract the best talent, regardless of their origin.”

But wait…aren’t Americans third-country nationals and therefore have restricted access to Switzerland’s labour market?

Yes, and as such, they are subject to stricter employment rules than their counterparts from the European Union and EFTA states (Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein).

However, according to rules set out by the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM), “admission of third-country nationals to the Swiss labour market is only granted if it is in the interests of Switzerland and the Swiss economy as a whole.”

Furthermore, “you must be a highly qualified specialist or skilled professional in your field. This means that you should have a degree from a university or an institution of higher education, as well as a number of years of professional work experience.

And in Switzerland’s employment hierarchy, you can be hired only if the employer can prove to the authorities that no suitable Swiss or EU / EFTA candidate could be found to fill the vacant position.

Clearly, the top US executives recruited by Swiss companies meet all these requirements, which is why they are allowed to come and work in Switzerland.

What’s in it for the American employees?

The financial benefits are obviously generous, as these execs earn more, and get additional benefits, while working in Switzerland they would back home.

“It is impossible to attract top managers if they get the same salary,” Wirz said.

There is, however, one negative aspect of working in Switzerland — or anywhere else outside of the United States.

And that is the burden of dealing with both the Swiss and US tax system, as Uncle Sam operates citizenship based taxation, even on people who live overseas.

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