Job abandonment

In the event of unjustified abandonment of employment or failure to start work, the employer is entitled to compensation equivalent to a quarter of the gross monthly salary and, where applicable, damages, if he can prove that he has suffered additional damage caused by the abandonment of post or failure to start work. In the case of abandonment of post, the employment relationship is terminated immediately, and immediate dismissal by the employer is superfluous. The employer must nevertheless ensure that the employee who abruptly leaves his or her workstation expresses the conscious, considered and definitive will to terminate the employment relationship. The employee’s willingness to give up his or her job may be shown by an express declaration, or it may be tacit, based on conclusive acts (e.g., not showing up for work for several months without any justification). When it emerges from an express declaration, which is quite rare, the employer does not need to terminate the employment contract. He may, however, be advised to confirm that he has taken note that the employee has abandoned his job and that the employment contract has been terminated. In the case of tacit termination, it is necessary to determine the extent to which the employer must have understood objectively and in good faith that the employee intended to leave his job definitively. In the event of an employee’s absence for health reasons without a medical certificate, the employer may not conclude that the employee has abandoned his or her position without first summoning the employee to return to work or providing a medical certificate. If the employee’s absence is of short duration, this cannot be regarded as a case of abandonment of employment, but rather as a possible breach of contractual obligations on the part of the employee, which, following a warning, may result in immediate termination for just cause within the meaning of art. 337 of the Swiss Code of Obligations. For example, a temporary refusal to work due to anger on the part of the employee is not considered to be job abandonment, as long as the employer is able to identify the temporary nature of the refusal. When the employee’s absence is of long duration, several months, the employer must consider that the employee refuses to continue the employment relationship and that there is therefore an abandonment of employment.