A reference can accompany applications for years and carries the issuing company’s name. Law says little; case law and authorities provide detail. This guide explains how to write a reference letter meeting Art. 330a of the Code of Obligations (OR; CO): entitlement, contents, truthfulness/benevolence and an orderly process.
Entitlement under Art. 330a CO
Under Art. 330a, para. 1 CO, employees may request a reference from their employer at any time. It describes the nature and duration of employment as well as performance and conduct. “At any time” means employees need not wait until they leave. SECO notes that the right to request a reference becomes time-barred ten years after employment ends.
Full reference or employment confirmation
Two statutory forms:
- Full/qualified reference (para. 1): nature, duration, performance and conduct.
- Employment confirmation (para. 2): on specific request, nature/duration only.
The employee chooses the form. According to BGE 129 III 177, consideration 3.2, employers may issue an employment confirmation only when the employee expressly requests one. Employees can refuse a confirmation issued against their wishes. Anyone requesting a full reference cannot choose an assessment of performance alone or conduct alone: both must appear. According to the scholarship cited in the judgment, choosing one form does not exhaust the entitlement. Employees may request a full reference after receiving a confirmation, and vice versa.
Interim and final references
The law itself refers only to “a reference”. SECO explains that it can be issued as an interim reference during employment or as a final reference when employment ends. In practice, an interim reference can be useful when the employee’s manager changes, the business is reorganised or the person applies for a position internally or externally. The wording normally reflects that distinction: an interim reference uses the present tense, such as “has worked here since…”, while a final reference uses the past tense, such as “worked here from…to…”.
Full-reference structure
SECO recommends including the following information in a full reference:
- the identity of both the employee and the employer;
- the dates on which employment began and ended;
- a detailed list of the important roles and duties, including how long the person performed them;
- a meaningful assessment of performance, covering both the quality and quantity of work, together with an assessment of conduct;
- the employer’s legally valid signature and the date of issue. Normally, the reference is dated on the final day of employment.
Use typed, correct language on good paper without deletions. Common practical order: letterhead, title, personal/employment details, tasks, performance, conduct, leaving reason only if wished, closing thanks/regret/wishes, place/date/signature. Management references commonly assess leadership too.
Truthful, complete and benevolent
The Federal Supreme Court explains this balance in BGE 136 III 510, consideration 4.1. A full reference should support the employee’s professional advancement and therefore use benevolent wording. It should also give future employers as faithful a picture as possible of the employee’s work, performance and conduct, so it must generally be truthful and complete. Negative performance facts may, and must, appear where significant to the overall assessment. SECO takes a similar approach: benevolence must not breach the duty of truthfulness. Negative facts belong only where they matter overall, rather than wholly isolated incidents or insignificant details.
SECO prohibits ambiguous wording/codes sounding neutral/positive but conveying hidden negatives. Outsiders should understand statements literally. Use factual descriptions, e.g. “works independently and reliably”, not coded signals.
Many businesses use phrases expressing different levels of satisfaction to communicate an assessment. This is a practice, rather than a grading system prescribed by law. There is no official, uniform scale, and different readers may interpret the same phrase differently. Base every assessment on observations that support what the reference says.
What belongs in a reference
SECO limits content to necessary performance/conduct information, excluding unrelated matters. In practice include birth date/leaving reason only on express request. BGE 136 III 510, consideration 4.1, requires illness mentioned where substantially affecting performance/conduct or suitability for former duties and objectively prompting termination. The case involved over a year’s illness with no foreseeable return (consideration 4.4). Significant long interruptions, including illness, must appear if omission would misrepresent experience relative to total tenure. Circumstances govern. Recovered illness not affecting assessment must not appear. Seek advice if unsure.
Disputes
BGE 129 III 177, consideration 3.3, permits correction proceedings before the competent court or requesting confirmation instead. Issuance can be enforced without prior agreement on contents. Early discussion of a factually grounded draft avoids disputes.
Practical example: Muster Gartenbau AG
Fictional Muster Gartenbau AG has 22 employees. Mr Lenz, foreman but not management, joined 1 September 2021 and resigns effective Monday, 30 November 2026: five years/three months. Following SECO’s usual practice, date the reference on his last day.
HR starts drafting Monday, 9 November 2026. Latest mutually confirmed review averages: expertise 4.2, working methods 3.6, conduct 3.4, scale 1–5. Rounded suggestions: 4, 4, 3. These do not replace observation: the manager confirms and adds concrete projects. HR submits Friday, 20 November; the managing director, not the author, approves. No work interruptions require absence mention. Lenz declines birth date/leaving reason. On 30 November he receives the signed reference as PDF and paper.
Checklist
- Requested type clarified: full, confirmation or interim
- Start/end/roles checked against personnel file
- Concrete tasks with durations
- Both performance and conduct assessed
- Statements evidenced; material negatives included, trivialities excluded
- No codes/ambiguity
- Birth date/leaving reason only if requested
- Manager involved; second reader
- Date, place, signature; no deletions
- Copy filed
How KMU | base helps
KMU | base is also available in French, Italian and English.
HR | base guides you from the first draft through to filing the approved document. The software does not write the reference for you: its text blocks are suggestions that you must review and supplement with concrete observations.
1. Open. Personnel › Employees › Open person › Reference letter, visible with reference-management rights. Select Interim reference, Reference letter (final) or Employment confirmation. Name, start/end, role and job-description tasks are prefilled. Choose German, French, Italian or English.
2. Grades/blocks. Suggestions use the latest mutually confirmed review; unconfirmed input triggers a warning. Expertise, working methods, conduct and management leadership each offer grades 1–5 and editable Swiss reference-language suggestions. This is HR | base’s scale, not official. Suggestions are literal, without hidden codes. Legal guidance/SECO links appear. Include birth date/leaving reason only on express request.
3. Manager input. Reference letter request to line manager initiates a leaving review in the team portal, without email. Requires review-management rights and a review template. Leaving checklists also request a manager draft and issuance of reference/confirmation (CO 330a).
4. Draft, review and approval. You can save a draft even while it is incomplete. Mandatory information is required only when you select Submit for review. The PDF preview uses the final layout but carries the label “Draft”. Under dual control, approval must come from someone other than the person who last changed the text, using Content checked – approve. This rule can be disabled. Every revision remains visible as a version with its status and timestamp.
5. Export/file. Download approved references as PDF/Word. Export files the version in personnel documents and, for final references/confirmations, completes the corresponding leaving-checklist item (CO 330a).
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Sources
- Code of Obligations (OR, SR 220), Art. 330a, as at 1 October 2026: Fedlex (German original), accessed 26.10.2026.
- SECO: employment reference FAQ (entitlement, contents, requirements; non-binding guidance): seco.admin.ch (in German), accessed 26.10.2026.
- Federal Supreme Court, BGE 129 III 177, First Civil Division judgment extract, consideration 3: bger.ch (in German), accessed 26.10.2026.
- Federal Supreme Court, BGE 136 III 510, First Civil Law Division judgment extract, consideration 4: bger.ch (in German), accessed 26.10.2026.
This guide does not replace legal or tax advice. Information as at 26 October 2026.