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Ensure continued salary payment Daily sickness benefits insurance

So longer absences don’t take a financial toll on your company
Excellent personal advice whenever you need it
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Key points at a glance
  • Employers are required to continue salary payments if their employee gets sick. Daily sickness benefits insurance makes these payments after the waiting period has passed.
  • Self-employed persons  can insure their income against accident and illness-related absences.
  • Employees continue to receive their salary and are financially secure if they are unable to work due to illness.
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Who should have daily sickness benefits insurance?

In Switzerland, daily sickness benefits insurance is not required by law but it is recommended for employers and the self-employed. It protects you against financial losses if you or your employees are unable to work for a longer period of time and ensures that salaries continue to be paid.

Why is it recommended to have daily sickness benefits insurance?

Professional benefits management

AXA is a tried-and-tested specialist in the field that can help the employees of its customers when a claim is made. Our care and case managers can support your employees in challenging situations. This means as the employer, you are never alone.

Financial relief for employers

Daily sickness benefits insurance saves your company from the financial consequences that can arise if your staff become unfit for work due to illness and you are required to continue their salary payments. AXA relieves you of this risk and pays for the salary costs following the expiry of the waiting period agreed by you.

Financial security for employees

It’s rarely possible to predict when an employee is going to become severely ill, and the employer’s daily benefit insurance is a boon in serious cases. It covers your employees for longer than the minimum legally required continuation of salary payments in accordance with Art. 324a of the Swiss Code of Obligations and means you don’t have to worry about whether your business can survive. Daily benefits insurance that exceeds the minimum statutory benefits can also provide attractive advantages for employers. In practice, employees and employers share the premiums equally.

Protection for the self-employed

As neither accident insurance nor daily benefits insurance is mandatory for self-employed persons in Switzerland, the risk of loss of earnings is particularly high for them. AXA enables those without employment contracts to buy complete coverage by taking out daily sickness benefits insurance in combination with daily accident benefits.

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What does daily sickness benefits insurance cover?

If a member of your staff is absent on sick leave, AXA pays the agreed benefits for up to two years (730 days). You can individually determine the amount of daily benefits and length of waiting period before these daily benefits are paid out.

Key component of your personal solution

Waiting period

This is similar to a deductible. You determine how long your company will pay the salary of sick staff and when the insurance should begin payment. With AXA, you are able to adjust the waiting period to suit your needs.

Benefits period

The AXA benefits period amounts to at most 730 days (minus the waiting period), which is about two years. If the incapacity for work lasts longer than this, or there is a disability, the benefits will be coordinated with state benefits (AHV/OASI and IV/DI) and with occupational benefits insurance (BVG/OPA).

Amount of daily benefits

How much should the insurance benefit be after the waiting period has expired? At AXA, daily benefits ranging from 80% to the full amount of your employees’ salaries are possible. 80% corresponds to the equivalent statutory solution on continued salary payments, but higher daily benefits offer additional security for your employees.

Support included

Daily sickness benefits insurance from AXA gives you access to our Corporate Health Management service, which supports you in promoting the health of your staff, reducing absences and preventing disability. It also includes case management, legal advice and a medical network that can answer complex questions.

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Support and FAQs

Is daily sickness benefits insurance mandatory?

No. Although it is voluntary, this insurance makes sense in nearly every case because daily sickness benefits insurance provides security for both employers and employees. What’s more, group daily sickness benefits insurance is the absolute gold standard in times when a shortage of qualified staff means employers need to be highly attractive.

Who pays the daily sickness benefits insurance premium?

Employers are usually responsible for paying it, but in practice employees pay up to 50 percent because if they become seriously ill, they have much better protection with voluntary daily benefits insurance . And the employer must pay half to postpone the BVG/OPA disability pension waiting period so that the BVG/OPA waiting period and benefits period for daily sickness benefits insurance can be smoothly coordinated with one another.

How long is the statutory entitlement to salary in the event of incapacity for work (without daily sickness benefits insurance)?

That depends on the length of the employment relationship and on which table is used – the Basel, Zurich or Bern table (in German).

Isn’t accident insurance for companies enough?

With this insurance, you insure staff absences as a result of accident or occupational illness. The financial consequences caused by lengthy illnesses are not borne by the insurer. With AXA however, you can combine daily sickness benefits and accident insurance, saving costs and administrative effort at the same time.

As an employer, can I dismiss sick employees?

Yes, in principle, but statutory blocking periods that protect a sick person against dismissal must be observed: 30 days in the first year of service, 90 days from the second to the fifth year and 180 days from the sixth year onward. Notice of termination can only be served after this period has expired. It is also only legally valid  if incapacity for work continues when the employment contract has ended.

Who pays if I have given notice, then become ill through no fault of my own and am also unfit for work beyond the notice period?

If an employer does not have any insurance, it has a duty to continue making salary payments itself based on the statutory provisions (length of employment relationship, place of work).  With daily sickness benefits insurance from AXA, the employer is exempt from continued salary payments after expiry of the individually agreed waiting period, and the insurance pays either until recovery or up to 730 daily benefits (less the waiting period), even if the insured no longer works for the company or has been dismissed. 

Are daily paternity benefits insured?

New fathers who work full-time (100%) are legally entitled to paternity leave of 14 days. The lost earnings are covered by the Loss of Earnings Compensation Scheme (LEC) on the basis of 80% and up to a maximum annual salary of CHF 99,000. AXA daily sickness benefits insurance enables you to close the gaps in statutory Loss of Earnings Compensation Scheme coverage and also to insure an extension of paternity leave for your employees. 

Are daily birth benefits insured?

As a complementary solution for the statutory Loss of Earnings Compensation Scheme (LEC), you can guarantee continued salary payments for new mothers that exceed statutory maternity pay in terms of duration and amount. 

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WeCare – for healthy and motivated employees

Whether you want preventive measures for better employee health or rapid assistance in an emergency, you can rely on WeCare, our health management program for companies, to take good care of your employees at all times.

More about WeCare