Short-time work in Switzerland: how much salary you really keep, with calculator and template
Your boss says «we have to go to short-time work», and your head instantly does the math: how much will be missing at the end of the month? Take a breath, the Swiss unemployment insurance pays 80% of your salary loss (Art. 34 AVIG), not nothing. The catch nobody tells you: one waiting day per month is borne by the company itself, and the advance notice must go out 10 days early, otherwise there is nothing at all.
📋 Short-time work in brief: keep the job instead of a layoff
Short-time work is the emergency brake that saves your position when the company temporarily runs out of work. Instead of laying you off, the employer reduces your hours, and the unemployment insurance (UI) steps in for the salary loss. You stay employed, the contract continues, and once the slump is over you are back to full capacity. That is exactly what the short-time work compensation in the AVIG (SR 837.0) was created for.
The mechanics are simple: for the hours you still work, the employer pays your full salary. For the lost hours you receive 80% of the insured salary loss through the short-time work compensation. The calculator below shows the concrete figure. If you want to know whether your gross salary is in line with the market, compare it in the Swiss salary comparison.
🚦 Eligibility check: are you even entitled to short-time work?
Before the company fills in the form, the 20-second check pays off: are the conditions under the UI Act (AVIG) even met? The ConvivaPlus eligibility check tests the three hard hurdles — an unterminated employment relationship, a creditable work loss of at least 10%, and a loss that is only temporary and economically justified. If one shows red, the unemployment insurance refuses, no matter how good the calculator looks.
🚦 ConvivaPlus short-time work eligibility check
Three questions → green or red. Tests the entitlement conditions for short-time work compensation under the AVIG before you write the notification.
Has the employment relationship been terminated (by either side)?
Does the work loss reach at least 10% of the normal monthly hours?
Is the loss temporary and economically justified (not permanent)?
How the ConvivaPlus eligibility check judges: it tests, according to ConvivaPlus, the three conditions most applications fail on — an unterminated employment relationship, a creditable work loss from 10% of the monthly target hours, and a temporary, economically justified loss (AVIG, SR 837.0). A red answer means rejection, all three green means the calculator and notification are worth it.
🧮 How much salary do you keep on short-time work?
Now to the figure that really matters. Many calculate wrong and panic for no reason: with a 40% reduction on CHF 6,000 you don't lose CHF 2,400, but only about CHF 480, because the insurance covers 80% of the loss. Enter your gross monthly salary and the reduction in percent below, and you'll instantly see your compensation, your real gap and this month's new salary. To place your gross afterwards, see the salary guide or arm yourself with the salary increase template for after the slump.
🧮 ConvivaPlus short-time work calculator: how much do you keep?
Enter your gross monthly salary and the reduction in percent, we calculate the 80% compensation and your real gap
Example value: change salary and reduction above for your figures.
Simplified ConvivaPlus estimate under Art. 34 AVIG. Waiting day = 1 day/period employer deductible (currently reduced); the usual AHV deductions apply to the compensation. Earnings above CHF 12,350/month are not insured. Without guarantee.
The ConvivaPlus short-time work calculator computes the compensation using the official 80% (Art. 34 AVIG) and the UI ceiling of CHF 12,350 per month, so you see your real gap, according to ConvivaPlus's analysis of the AVIG rules.
⚠️ The hidden trap: waiting day and uncovered salary
80% sounds comfortable, but two details quietly eat into your cushion. First, the waiting day: per accounting period the company currently bears one day of salary loss, the employer's deductible (the standard under Art. 32 AVIG goes up to 3 days, the federal government reduced it to 1 day and kept it there). Second, the cap: earnings above CHF 12,350 per month are not insured, that portion drops 100%. And don't forget: the compensation is subject to AHV, the usual social deductions come off the compensation amount, just as on any payslip.
| Element | Value | Basis (AVIG) |
|---|---|---|
| Waiting day | 1 day/period | employer's deductible (currently reduced) |
| Rate | 80% | of the insured salary loss (Art. 34) |
| Maximum earnings | CHF 12,350/month | above it 0% covered (CHF 148,200/year) |
| Social deductions | subject to AHV | deductions come off the compensation |
⏰ The 10-day rule: no notice, no money
This is where most companies fail, and it costs hard francs. The employer must register short-time work with the cantonal authority at least 10 days before it starts using form 10040 (Art. 36 AVIG). If they register too late, the waiting period only starts from the notice date, and for the days before there is no compensation. As an employee you cannot register anything directly, but you may ask whether the notice went out properly and on time, because your wage replacement depends directly on it.
📅 How long short-time work runs: 24 months or 12 periods?
There are two figures, and both are correct depending on the situation. The normal cap under Art. 35 AVIG is 12 accounting periods within the two-year framework period, that is about a year of benefits spread over two years. Currently an extended maximum duration of up to 24 months also applies (AVIG emergency revision 2025, in force since 1 November 2025, time-limited, an extension beyond July 2026 is planned). Which deadline applies to your company is set by the cantonal authority in its decision.
📝 Applying for short-time work in 5 steps
Five steps, and short-time work is registered cleanly, on time and with the correct compensation.
- 1Establish the lossThe company determines which departments are affected and how badly, and estimates the expected work loss in percent. That is the basis for the compensation.
- 2Obtain staff consentShort-time work requires your consent. If you refuse, your salary continues at 100%, but the employer may then give ordinary notice. In practice short-time work is almost always the lesser evil.
- 3Register 10 days in advanceThe employer submits form 10040 at least 10 calendar days before the start to the cantonal authority (Art. 36 AVIG). Too late means no money for the days before.
- 4Wait for approvalThe authority reviews and issues an approval decision with duration and conditions. Only then is the entitlement secured.
- 5Account monthlyFor each accounting period the company reports the actual lost hours and pays you the compensation, minus the waiting day and with the normal social deductions.
Note: journalistic orientation based on the current AVIG rules, not legal or social-security advice. The cantonal authority's decision and the applicable version of the AVIG (SR 837.0) and AVIV (SR 837.02) prevail. Rates and deadlines may change.
✉️ Advance notice generator (form 10040)
Fill in, get a complete short-time work advance-notice letter. Copy or as PDF. Free.
Advance notice of short-time work (form 10040)
| Company / employer | … |
| Cantonal authority (RAV) | … |
| Affected department | … |
| Start of short-time work (e.g. 1 August 2026) | … |
| Reason for the work loss | … |
Important: this advance notice must reach the cantonal authority at least 10 days before short-time work starts (Art. 36 AVIG). Otherwise the entitlement only begins from receipt.
Sample text based on the current AVIG rules, without guarantee. The formal notice is filed via the official form 10040 of the cantonal authority. Its decision prevails.
The most important figure in short-time work is not the reduction in percent, but what is really missing after the 80%. Those who know it sleep more soundly.
What worries you most about short-time work?
One click – anonymous, no sign-up required.
What you really need to know about short-time work
Based on the AVIG and the official arbeit.swiss directives
People also ask
Related questions from our magazine
Short-time work is less dramatic than the word sounds
We have reviewed the AVIG, the AVIV and the arbeit.swiss directives. The ConvivaPlus verdict: short-time work is far less dramatic than the word sounds. Those who do the math see that a 40% reduction really only leaves about 8% of salary missing. The two real risks are organisational, not financial: the missed 10-day deadline and the forgotten waiting day. Keep an eye on both, and short-time work is exactly what it was designed for, a bridge over the slump instead of a layoff.
Anyone on short-time work also wants to know this
Salary, templates and insurance, neatly sorted
ConvivaPlus Editor · Law & Housing
Writes about tenancy, contract and everyday law – legal texts turned into vetted templates.
- Tenancy law
- Contract law
- Templates
- Housing
All information without guarantee. Found an error? → support@conviva-plus.ch
With short-time work, unemployment insurance pays 80% of your insured salary loss (Art. 34 AVIG). With a 40% reduction on CHF 6,000 you don't lose CHF 2,400, but only about CHF 480, because the insurance covers the largest part.
Discussion
3 voices from the community
As an owner, the reminder about the 10 days nearly saved me. I was about to miss the advance notice, otherwise the money for the first days would have been lost.
Important point about the waiting day, I had no idea. In our firm it was accounted for wrongly at first, now I could ask about it.
I was in a panic when short-time work hit. The calculator showed me that with a 50% reduction only about 10% is really missing. A real relief, thanks.
Found an error or have feedback? Let us know or write to us directly.
Templates · 07/05/2026