How military and civil service leave works#
For: Manager | Admin You’ll need: Nothing to read this. Owner or Admin role to change the policy.
Shiftavo seeds a military service leave policy for every country it supports, so the leave type is requestable from day one. What that policy pays — and for how long — depends on your country’s law, because the two models in Europe are opposites. This article explains what you get out of the box and when to change it.
The two models#
Switzerland continues your wage. Compulsory army service, Zivilschutz, and Zivildienst are paid absence. On top of the federal loss-of-earnings benefit, an employer whose employment relationship has lasted more than three months tops the employee up to 80 % of their pre-service wage for a limited time.
Everywhere else suspends the contract. In Germany, Austria, France, Italy, and the UK, the job is protected but the private employer owes no wage — the state compensates instead. The United States works the same way under USERRA: unpaid leave with a right to reinstatement.
What’s seeded per country#
Country |
Tracking mode |
Pay |
Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
Switzerland |
Spell, on the Berner scale |
80 % |
Art. 324a / 324b CO with EO |
Germany |
Unlimited |
Unpaid |
ArbPlSchG |
Austria |
Unlimited |
Unpaid |
APSG |
France |
Unlimited |
Unpaid |
Réserve opérationnelle |
Italy |
Unlimited |
Unpaid |
Voluntary reserve |
United Kingdom |
Unlimited |
Unpaid |
Reserve Forces mobilisation |
United States |
Unlimited |
Unpaid |
USERRA |
Unlimited means the absence is recorded and the job protected, but nothing is counted down — see Tracking modes — balance, spell, and unlimited. Spell means each period of service draws on a ceiling that grows with service years, exactly like the sick-leave ladder — see How to manage tiers on a leave policy.
Note
For Switzerland, the length of the spell comes from court practice (the Berner scale is the most common), not from statute, and a collective agreement or contract may improve it. The seeded ladder is the legal minimum, not a ceiling on what you may pay.
Warning
Swiss law grants one continuation entitlement per service year shared across all no-fault absences — an employee who used it up through illness gets only the federal benefit for service in the same year. Shiftavo counts military and sick ladders separately by default, which pays at or above the legal minimum. Don’t change that without legal advice for your own arrangement.
Change the policy#
Military service is a leave policy like any other. Open it under Company → Leave policies, pick the ‘Military’ policy, and edit it — see How to manage leave policies. Which employment types it applies to is set under Company → Employment types. The two fields that matter most are the tracking mode and the payment percentage.
Verify it worked#
Open an employee’s leave request form. ‘Military’ appears in the leave-type list and can be requested. Approve one and check the How to view the leave ledger: an unlimited policy records the absence without a balance movement; the Swiss spell policy counts the days against the ladder.