I am about to send my notice letter, I'd like to know if I am obliged to inform my
old employer about who is my new one. Is there any law?
Can they pretend anything other than forcing me to come during notice period?

Unless it's a direct competitor you don't need to mention the name in the notice letter.
the non-competion clause in your contract (if you have that clause) can prevent you from working for a direct competitor.

The notice letter is just a formal information to announce end of contract.
If your employer has a real interest in knowing why you leave, he/she will organize a meeting for debrief during which you can give the name if you wish to do so.

I think you do not need to know where you are going. Most of my colleagues back in NL only announced it after they had started working in the new company...Good luck!

Just a question: Why wouldn't you?

Thanks everyone.
Indeed my contract has this restriction about direct competitors, but for my luck, this is not a direct competitor...
But they may still want to know it to verify it's not a direct competitor, but I'll refuse to disclose.
The reason is today to find a work is hard and I do not want any direct competitor even after my position is secured.
It's really not worth the risk to disclose stuff unless strictly needed.
It's called security by obscurity and it's often very effective.
This is a very specialistic position and I can count with a single hand
most of my possible competitors in my office right now...

If as you say you are not in anyway breaching your contract obligations to your current employer then there is no reason for keeping this a big secret. And by doing so you'll only raise their suspicions, prompting them to check up on you.

You should also remember that Switzerland is a very small country and there is every chance that some of the people who you will be working with in the new company will either have worked in the old company or have friends there, so it is very likely that word will get back one way or the other.

Finally it is really not to difficult for your old employer to find out where you went if he wants to. There are plenty of public documents available that they can use to track you down. The most obvious one being the instructions transferring your pension funds to the new employer

Good luck with that,

Jim

Thanks I'll take it into account, good point, my old old employer though hasn't managed yet to find me hehehe and I've transferred the pension funds through his previdence company... maybe they could be able to track me after 1 or 2 months, but at that point I don't mind anymore.

Your employer can also easily find you via your AHV number.

So what have you done to him? Will his data bank destruct next month? You can still be liable for criminal damages after you leave.

It is in my opinion always best to leave with a good reference.
Things have a habit of coming around again, and how would you feel if the two companies merged next year and you found yourself again in the same department as your boss?

very GOOD POINT, for my luck it's a completely different industry.

A reminder for the timing of your notice letter.

Employment law in Switzerland (and tenant law) states that the notice is effective when the letter is RECEIVED by the company and NOT when it is sent (even by registered letter).

The Swiss Post will not guarantee that a letter, even registered, will arrive the next day.

If timing is tight, it is best to HAND DELIVER the letter yourself and get the person receiving the letter to sign a receipt to say that the letter has been received.

hi,

I think it is also questionable if those parts of your contract stopping you working for a competitor are enforcable in law. For example, if you live in Basel and you work in the pharma industry an anti competition clause would stop people moving from Novartis to Roche or to Actelion etc. Which would mean it would be very difficult for anyone to change job. However, people are changing daily between the different companies.

I think would really depend upon how high you were in company and how much inside information you had.

Have fun

Martin

Don't forget that references are important in Switzerland for future job hunting. So you may find that you will be asked why you don't have a reference from your (current, I think) employer when you move on to your next job search.

Always better to leave on good terms and not to burn the bridges, even if you don't feel like it right now.

Actually most offers are made subject to receiving the references!

I'm working at my first job in Switzerland and don't have any swiss reference. I have a job interview coming up so what can I do if they say I need to provide a reference?

I would simply state you are joining company X. Then you go to company Y. And if someone asks what happened, you can always say you got a counteroffer of the latter company and changed your mind...


A.

Given the length of notice periods here I can think of many instances where a new employer may not necessarily want it to be public knowledge who a position has been offered to. There are several reasons why an announcement about who will be taking over a vacant position may be left until shortly before the new person take up the position. In such a case, and if the new employer is indeed NOT a direct competitor I would have no qualms in responding with "I am sorry but I am not at liberty to say" if asked where one was going to work. I would, however, also assure them that it is not a direct competitor.