13th Month Salary in Switzerland: Who Gets It, How It's Calculated, When It's Paid

Ask about pay in Switzerland and the "13th salary" comes up within minutes — the extra monthly salary most Swiss employees receive on top of their twelve regular ones, usually in December. If you're new to the Swiss market, two things about it are genuinely surprising: it is not required by law, and yet it is so widespread that job ads quote annual salaries that already assume it. Here's how it actually works — including the calculation when you start or leave mid-year.

Not in the law — but in most contracts

Swiss employment law leaves the 13th salary to the parties: the Code of Obligations contains no provision requiring one. Entitlement arises three ways:

1. Your employment contract says so — the normal case. The clause is usually a single line: "The annual salary is paid in 13 instalments."
2. A collective labour agreement (CLA/GAV) applies to your industry and provides for it — common across construction, hospitality, retail and many other sectors.
3. Established practice: an employer who has paid a 13th salary for years without reservation can create an entitlement through that practice alone.

The practical consequence when reading a job offer: check whether the stated salary is ×12 or ×13. A contract that says "CHF 84,500 annually, paid in 13 instalments" means a monthly salary of CHF 6,500 — not CHF 7,041. Neither structure is better or worse; the same annual amount is simply sliced differently.

The calculation — including mid-year entry and exit

The base formula is simple: the 13th salary equals one month's base salary, i.e. the annual base divided by 12, paid on top of the December salary (some employers split it: half in June or July, half in December).

The cases that actually generate questions are partial years:

Two details worth knowing: the 13th salary is ordinary salary, so the usual social insurance contributions and taxes apply to it like any other pay. And where it is contractually agreed, it may not be made conditional on things like "still employed at payout date" — pro-rata entitlement survives your departure.

13th salary vs. bonus — don't let them blur

The distinction matters most in offer negotiations. A 13th salary is a fixed component of pay: agreed, unconditional, predictable. A bonus (legally a gratification under Art. 322d OR) can be discretionary — the employer may tie it to company results or performance, and in bad years it can shrink or vanish.

So when an offer says "CHF 78,000 plus attractive bonus", the comparison against "CHF 84,500 in 13 instalments" is not obvious — one number is guaranteed, the other is hope. Ask explicitly: is the 13th salary contractual? Is the bonus discretionary or formula-based? What did it pay out the last two years?

What about a 14th salary?

It exists, but it's rare — a handful of CLAs and individual employers pay the annual salary in 14 instalments. Treat it as a pleasant exception, not something to expect or ask for. The universal habit that protects you in every case: compare offers on the annual gross figure, never on the monthly one.

How to handle it in your application and interview

The 13th changes nothing in your CV and cover letter — salary has no place in a Swiss application dossier unless the ad explicitly demands a figure. It becomes relevant the moment the interview reaches salary expectations:

• State an annual gross figure ("I'm looking at around CHF 85,000 annually"), not a monthly one — that keeps ×12 vs. ×13 from silently shrinking your number
• Benchmark before you answer: the federal statistical office's Salarium calculator gives you the median and quartile monthly wages for your role, region and profile — multiply by 13 where a 13th is customary in the industry
• At the offer stage, read the contract line — "paid in 12" vs. "paid in 13 instalments" is the difference between two otherwise identical offers

Where preparAItor Fits

The 13th salary is a contract topic — but it decides interviews through one question: "What are your salary expectations?" preparAItor helps you arrive prepared:

• Interview practice simulates the salary exchange realistically, so your annual figure and its justification are rehearsed, not improvised
• The generated application package keeps salary out of the dossier where it doesn't belong, and the job analysis shows you beforehand how well your profile supports your asking price
• Application Tracker keeps per-application notes — including which offer quoted ×12, ×13, or "plus bonus", so you compare annual figures, not headline months

Sources

• Fedlex – Swiss Code of Obligations (OR), including Art. 322d on gratifications
• Federal Statistical Office – Salarium statistical salary calculator