I'm getting married. Am I entitled to paid leave?

I'm getting married. Am I entitled to paid leave?

"I'm getting married in June. I informed my employer of this and asked him how many official days of leave I was entitled to on this occasion. He told me that I was entitled to two days, but that I certainly wouldn't be paid for them. How many days am I legally entitled to and how much will I be paid?

Véronique, Geneva

The only answer given to your question by the Swiss Code of Obligations (CO), in this case article 329, is that the employer must grant the employee the usual hours and days of leave. The Federal Labour Act (LTr) is silent on the subject.

In principle, the usual holidays are contractually defined by collective agreements or standard contracts specific to each professional sector. For example, in the sales sector, the collective agreement provides that after one year's employment with the company, special leave is granted on request; for a wedding, you will be entitled to two days. For another example, the collective agreement provides for the right to two days' paternity leave in the event of the birth of a child, between half a day and three days in the event of the death of a parent, and one day in the event of moving house.

In the absence of an agreement, what is customary in the company, the industry or the desired location must be examined in the light of the particular circumstances of the case. For example, leave to move house is considered to be customary.

As far as remuneration is concerned, in principle the employer is not obliged to pay wages for such leave. Furthermore, the case law of the Swiss Federal Supreme Court has held that not all customary leave must be paid. On the other hand, our High Court has ruled that for absences due to marriage, birth or death, the employer must pay the salary. However, this will not be the case for a visit to a sick relative. However, where the absence is due to the illness of a close relative to whom the employee has a legal obligation, such as his or her children, it must be accepted that the employer is obliged to pay the salary for the time needed to find an alternative solution.