Daily sickness benefits

Daily sickness benefits insurance provides cover for the continuation of wage payments in the event of a lengthy illness of your household helper. Every employer can conclude such an insurance. However, most standard employment contracts (SECs) for domestic workers require that employers take out daily sickness benefits insurance for their domestic workers which covers 80% of their wage for a period of 720 days.

The employer and employee generally both pay half of the premium, although a different arrangement in favour of the employee is permitted.

It can prove to be very difficult to find daily sickness benefits insurance for household helpers. It is therefore often unavoidable to exclude the respective clause of the SEC in a written work contract. Otherwise, the SEC of your canton of residence shall automatically apply. Should the SEC require the provision of daily sickness benefits insurance and this has not been taken out, the employer must pay 80% of the employee's wage for a period of up to 720 days in the event of his or her illness. If the validity of the SEC is excluded, the statutory regulation pursuant to Article 324a of the Swiss Code of Obligations shall apply. According to this regulation, the continuation of wage payments in the event of illness shall last three weeks during the first year of service and after this time for an "appropriately longer period" pursuant to the applicable cantonal scales (Zurich, Berne or Basel scales).

Our employment assistant Fairboss lets you generate a written work contract for free. It excludes clauses in the cantonal SEC which stipulate a daily sickness insurance.