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What has changed?
Recommended action
• expenses paid to expatriates, which now have to be declared separately, depending on whether they are special professional expenses or lump-sum expenses.
Changes in established case law on bonuses – April 14, 2016
In April 2016, the Swiss Federal Supreme Court stated that a discretionary bonus never qualifies as a salary component if the employee enjoys a "very high income," which is defined as an amount that corresponds to five times the Swiss median salary (approx. CHF 370,000). The Federal Supreme Court further stated that it was irrelevant under which title a bonus payment had been made and that bonus payments for previous years made in the relevant period count against the threshold. This makes it more difficult for employees with a very high income to succeed in claims for a pro rata bonus if their employment ends part-way through the year.
Note these changes in the case law.
Liability regarding safety measures and instructions from employers – June 13, 2016.
In June 2016, the Swiss Federal Supreme Court declared that it is the employer's responsibility to implement necessary safety measures and safety instructions. The recognition of work risks is not the responsibility of the employees, but rather the employer. The employer must point out the risks to its employees. The Swiss Federal Supreme Court further stressed that a simple tour of the work premises when starting work is not sufficient.
Employers should note these changes in the case law and ensure that their safety instructions are sufficient to make employees fully aware of any safety risks in their workplace.
Disclosure of employee income in court proceedings – October 10, 2016
In October 2016, the Swiss Federal Supreme Court ruled that even though employers must respect and protect the privacy of their employees, this obligation does not rule out the disclosure of employees' income in court proceedings. Employers cannot refuse to provide such data if the income of other employees is relevant to the issue to be determined by the court. In the case at hand, the calculation of a bonus was linked to the income of other employees.
Note these changes in the case law.
Employers subject to duty of disclosure to labor market inspectors – December 12, 2016
In another decision relating to employers' disclosure obligations, the Swiss Federal Supreme Court stated that labor market inspectors (tripartite Kommissionen des
Bundes) and their agents can request all relevant
documents from employers in cases of suspicion of wage dumping or violation of working conditions. Underlining the broad investigative powers of the inspectors, the Swiss Federal Supreme Court made clear that employers
Employers should note these changes in the case law and remain alert to the possibility that they could be required to disclose all relevant documents to labor market inspectors. 3 3 2 2 Argentina Australia Azerbaijan Brazil Canada Chile China Colombia Germany Egypt Hong Kong Indonesia Italy Japan Malaysia Mexico Peru Philippines Russia Singapore South Africa Spain Sweden Switzerland Taiwan Thailand UK Ukraine United States Venezuela Vietnam
Switzerland
2016 Review of developments and trends
Issue
What has changed?
Recommended action
are subject to a duty of disclosure and that labor market inspectors have more extensive rights than the simple right to inspect.
Switzerland
2017 Preview of important forthcoming changes
Issue
What is changing?
Planning action
Proposed prioritization of Swiss job-seekers in the hiring process
A new law regulating immigration has been proposed, following the previous acceptance of the mass
immigration initiative by the electorate in February 2014. The proposed law includes the prioritization of Swiss nationals in the hiring process.
In occupational groups, fields of work and economic regions where unemployment is above average, temporary measures are already being taken to promote Swiss job-seekers. Under the new law employers must start notifying job vacancies to the public employment services, who will provide these openings to registered job-seekers exclusively for a certain time period. The public employment services must also forward files of suitable applicants to the employer, who is then obliged to invite suitable candidates to a job interview or a suitability test. The result is to be communicated to public employment services, but does not need to be justified. This proposal is now subject to discussions with the European Union and a political interest group is currently gathering signatures for a referendum opposing the proposed law. The Federal Council has yet to determine the date on which the law will come into force.
Employers should be aware of the ongoing discussions in parliament.
Proposed amendments to the statutory work time rules
In January 2016, the Federal Council adjusted rules relating to keeping a record of the time worked, to simplify it or even allow it to be overlooked altogether for certain employees under specific conditions. The Commission for Economy of the Second Chamber of Parliament (Ständerat) now wants to exempt managers and specialists with comparable autonomy in terms of their working hours from the statutory work time rules, as well as the prohibition from working on Sundays and the rules on minimum rest periods. This could affect roughly 10 percent of all employees in Switzerland.
Employers should be aware of the ongoing discussions in parliament and mindful of their obligations to comply with the current statutory working time requirements.
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