Typical questions: how high is it for part-time work, what applies when someone joins or leaves during the year, and what if it is paid in 12 parts? The calculator uses your figures and states every assumption. Your entries stay on your device.
13th month salary or bonus? · Go to the result · Assumptions and sources
Your result
Working steps
Working steps as text to copy
Gross amount. Social security deductions (AHV/IV/EO = state pension, disability and loss-of-earnings insurance; ALV = unemployment insurance; BVG = occupational pension; accident insurance; withholding tax) are not calculated.
13th month salary or bonus?
An agreed 13th month salary is part of the salary. A bonus (“Gratifikation”, Art. 322d of the Swiss Code of Obligations, CO) is a special payment on top of the salary, and there is an entitlement only if it was agreed. What counts is what was agreed and how it is handled in practice, not the label on the payslip: if a fixed amount is owed at a fixed date, the Federal Supreme Court treats it as salary (leading decision BGE 109 II 447); if the employer keeps discretion over whether to pay or how much, it is a bonus. If you are unsure, ask your legal adviser or your industry association.
What the calculator does not cover
- Social security deductions and taxes: the amount is gross. For the deductions from gross to net, see the Swiss salary calculator.
- Different rules in the employment contract, GAV or regulations, for example waiting periods, cut-off dates or special reductions.
- Illness, accident, maternity: whether and how these periods affect the entitlement depends on the individual case and on the agreement.
- Apprenticeships and salaries with variable parts (commission, bonus).
Next step: document the payslip properly
Frequently asked questions
Does my employer have to pay a 13th month salary?
No, not by law. A 13th month salary is owed only if the employment contract (also if agreed tacitly), a collective labour agreement (GAV), a standard employment contract or regulations that form part of the contract provide for it. If it is firmly agreed, it is salary and not voluntary. So check your contract first.
How is the 13th month salary calculated if I join or leave during the year?
A firmly agreed 13th month salary is usually calculated pro rata, according to the length of the employment in the year. Example with a monthly salary of CHF 5,000: if you start on 1 July, that is 6 of 12 months when counted by months, so CHF 2,500, or 184 of 365 days when counted by calendar days, so CHF 2,520.55. If you leave on 31 March, that is 3 of 12 months, so CHF 1,250, or 90 of 365 days, so CHF 1,232.88. The calculator can count by calendar days or by months of 30 days. What applies in your company is set out in the contract or regulations.
What is the difference between a 13th month salary and a bonus?
A bonus (Art. 322d CO) is a special payment that the employer makes in addition to the salary; there is an entitlement only if it was agreed. An agreed 13th month salary, by contrast, belongs to the salary and is owed. Whether your payment is a 13th month salary or a bonus depends on the agreement, not on the name.
How much 13th month salary do I get if I work part-time?
It is usually based on the salary you actually receive (as agreed). At 60 % and a monthly salary of CHF 5,000 at 100 %, the basis is CHF 3,000, so with full-year employment the 13th month salary is CHF 3,000. In the calculator, enter the salary for 100 % and your employment rate, or enter your actual salary directly with a rate of 100.
Paid in December or 1/12 per month?
Both are common. If it is paid in December, you receive the amount once. With 1/12 per month, one twelfth of the monthly salary is paid along with it. With full-year employment the total is the same. It is advisable that the contract names the variant clearly and that the share is recognisable as 13th month salary on the payslip.
More tools
- Swiss Salary Calculator 2027: gross to net, with AHV, IV, EO and ALV, NBU and BVG as you enter them
- 13. Monatslohn Rechner (German version of this calculator)
- Freelancers who bill an employer or client in Switzerland: What does a Swiss QR bill invoice look like? (English guide, payment part box by box)
Assumptions and sources
- 13th month salary = monthly salary at your employment rate × share of the employment in the year. With full-year employment and no absences the share is 100 %, so the 13th month salary is one monthly salary.
- Share by calendar days: days of employment in the year (the first and last day count) divided by 365 (leap year 366). Share by months: months of 30 days, year of 360 days.
- Unpaid absences are deducted as calendar days from the length of the employment. When counting by months, one day counts as 1/30 of a month.
- Whether a 13th month salary is owed: agreement in the employment contract, GAV, standard employment contract or regulations (Art. 322 para. 1 CO, salary); bonus: Art. 322d CO; a firmly agreed 13th month salary counts as salary and is due pro rata when the employment ends: BGE 109 II 447. Legal text on Fedlex (SR 220).
- Amounts are rounded to 1 centime. Numbers: enter thousands without a separator (5500); a comma is ignored as a thousands separator, the decimal separator is a point (32.50).
Invoicing clients in Switzerland? The Swiss QR-Bill Template Pack (CHF 19, one-off) has invoice, quote and reminder templates: see what is included.
Information as at November 2026. Check the rules with the bodies named. This page is an English version of the German-language calculator and uses the same calculation. Last updated: November 2026.