Your right to an accurate reference
Art. 330a OR entitles you to a reference that describes the nature and duration of your employment and assesses your performance and conduct. Swiss law requires the letter to be truthful and benevolent — it must not make your professional future unnecessarily difficult. A full reference that leaves out either performance or conduct is incomplete (BGE 129 III 177).
From this follows a right to have the letter corrected if it is inaccurate, incomplete or unclear. What you cannot demand is praise you did not earn: the goal of a correction is an accurate letter, not an inflated one.
When a correction request is justified
Typical reasons for asking for changes include:
- Factual errors: wrong dates, job title, responsibilities or reporting lines.
- Key tasks, projects or management responsibility are missing.
- The performance assessment is clearly worse than your appraisals and feedback suggest.
- Coded phrases that send a misleading negative message.
- Expected elements are missing for your role (eloquent silence).
- Formal problems: missing date or signature, typos, a damaged or unprofessional layout.
Step 1: Analyse the letter and collect evidence
Before you contact HR, know exactly which sentences you want changed and why. Gather supporting documents: performance reviews, objective agreements you met, bonus letters, emails with praise from managers or clients. These facts are what make a request persuasive. In a later dispute, you would generally have to prove the facts that justify a better reference — so collecting them early is time well spent.
Step 2: Draft the wording yourself
HR departments handle many references and rarely want to rewrite one from scratch. You significantly improve your chances if you propose the exact sentences you would like to see. Keep them realistic, consistent with your appraisals and in the language of the original letter. If your German is limited, prepare your proposal carefully or have it checked — a well-phrased suggestion signals that you understand the conventions.
Step 3: Talk first, then write
A short, friendly conversation with your manager or HR is often the fastest route. Explain which points you would like to adjust, hand over your proposed wording and agree on a timeline. If the conversation does not lead anywhere, follow up in writing. A written request should list each sentence you object to, your proposed alternative, a brief reason and a reasonable deadline — ten to fourteen days is common. Keep a copy and send it in a way you can prove, such as registered mail or email with read confirmation.
Step 4: If your employer refuses
If your employer will not correct the letter, you can enforce your claim in court. As a rule, an employment dispute starts with a conciliation hearing, where many cases are settled. Under the Swiss Civil Procedure Code, employment disputes with a value of up to CHF 30,000 generally do not incur court fees, although legal representation and other costs may still arise. In court, you typically need to state the exact wording you request and prove the facts that support it.
Because procedural details vary between cantons, it is worth getting advice from a lawyer, a union or a cantonal advisory service before taking this step.
Timing
The claim to a reference is generally subject to the ten-year limitation period of Art. 127 OR. That does not mean you should wait. The sooner you ask, the better everyone remembers your work and the easier it is to agree on wording. Ideally, raise any issues within a few weeks of receiving the letter.