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Jobs in Switzerland roundup: New regulations for some professions

Helena Bachmann
Helena Bachmann - [email protected]
Jobs in Switzerland roundup: New regulations for some professions
Work hours in some professions are being adjusted. Photo by Oladimeji Ajegbile from Pexels

Find out all the latest information related to jobs in Switzerland with The Local's weekly roundup of relevant news.

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In the making: New ordinance of the labour law

President Guy Parmelin who is also the Economics Minister, is amending the current employment rules in regards to work hours for certain professionals.

The new regulation (see below), would apply to employees in legal, tax, corporate, management or communication consulting, auditing or fiduciary services. They must have a managerial function or work as specialists.

Further requirements would be either a gross annual income exceeding 120,000 francs, a higher education qualification or a high degree of autonomy in terms of working hours.

The following rules would apply to them:

  • Weekly working hours of a maximum of 63 hours
  • At the end of the year a maximum of 170 working hours of overtime
  • Work on one day, including breaks and overtime, must not exceed 15 hours
  • Sunday work is permitted for a maximum of five hours and a maximum of six Sundays per year

 

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Many Swiss employers no longer allow home working

Since the end of the school vacations in August, many companies have called their employees back to the workplace, even though the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) still recommends that people work from home.

While some employees question this change, FOPH sides with the employers.

“Telecommuting is merely recommended. Companies therefore have the right to demand that their employees go to their place of work”, according to Grégoire Gogniat, FOPH spokesperson.

"However, this does not apply to vulnerable employees, who must have protection plans to be able to work on site," he added, pointing out that companies which bring their workers back to the office continue to offer or even impose screening tests for their employees, especially the unvaccinated ones.

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Office vs teleworking: what employees in Switzerland want

A new study by JobCloud recruitement agency provides information about the attitude and behaviour of job seekers during Covid.

One of the findings is that despite the pandemic, employees are ready to commute to the office rather than work from home full-time.

"Most people like to work on site, ideally in combination with an option to work from home," said JobCloud CEO Davide Villa.

Few people — 15 percent of those surveyed — are looking only for telecommuting jobs “Remote working is not the top criterion when looking for a job. However, it can tip the scales later in the application process”, Villa said.

Did you know?

Unlike many other countries, Switzerland has no minimum wage, though some individual regions  — Geneva, Neuchâtel and Jura — do.

Salaries are negotiated either on an individual basis or collectively by trade unions and employers’ associations, for a whole sector or for specific companies. 

You can calculate the salary you can expect in your industry here.

More information can be found here:

Everything you need to know about minimum wage in Switzerland

Useful links

Looking for a job in Switzerland or just want a little more information about working here, then check out the following links: 

EXPLAINED: What you need to know about getting a Swiss work permit

An essential guide to Swiss work permits

The nine most Swiss jobs in Switzerland

 

The jobs roundup is a weekly feature and we’d welcome any feedback or suggestions for areas it should cover. Please email us at [email protected]

 

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