Cannabis at work in Switzerland: testing, privacy and dismissal

Swiss employment law brings together personal privacy, workplace safety and contractual duties. A positive test or a prescription does not settle a dispute on its own.

TL;DR: Workplace risks matter, and health information requires careful protection. Testing and dismissal need separate assessments. A contract clause does not authorise every test, and private consumption does not guarantee protection from dismissal.

Privacy and safe work

Employers must protect employees’ personality rights and health. Article 328b of the Code of Obligations limits employee data processing to suitability for the employment relationship or what is necessary to perform the contract. Employees also owe duties of care and loyalty. In safety-sensitive tasks, the ability to work reliably without putting others at risk is central.

What a drug test can establish

Evidence of earlier consumption does not necessarily establish current impairment. The purpose, suitability and proportionality of a test, and how its results will be handled, need clarification. A signature in an employment contract does not replace that assessment. Suspicion likewise does not provide an unrestricted right to test. Profession-specific rules may impose additional requirements.

Ordinary and immediate dismissal

These forms of termination follow different rules. Immediate dismissal requires good cause; less serious breaches generally require a prior warning. A particularly serious incident may be assessed differently. It is therefore wrong both to promise “only a warning the first time” in every case and to treat every positive test as an automatic ground for immediate dismissal.

Medication and a specific dispute

Discuss with the treating professional which tasks can be performed safely during treatment. This does not automatically require disclosure of your entire diagnosis to an employer. Conversely, a prescription does not remove an actual safety risk. If a dispute arises, keep instructions, details of the test and the dismissal letter, and obtain timely advice on the case. Public-sector employment can follow different rules.

FAQ

Does a contract clause authorise any drug test?

No. Relevance to the job, personality rights and proportionality still need examination. General consent does not establish them by itself.

Does private use make dismissal impossible?

There is no such guarantee. The type of dismissal, reasons, contractual relationship and applicable statutory protections must be assessed individually.

Sources & references