This is what you need to know about the new minimum wages in the CBA Staff Leasing

In Switzerland, the state has so far intervened only cautiously and selectively in the working conditions of the economy. Although the Code of Obligations and the Labour Code with its ordinances provide a certain framework, there is a relatively large degree of leeway, especially with regard to wage conditions. With the exception of the regulations in the standard employment contract for domestic workers, there is no national minimum wage in Switzerland. In recent years, however, more and more cantons have introduced their own minimum wages. The electorates of the cantons of Jura, Geneva, Ticino, Neuchâtel and Basel-Stadt have each approved a cantonal minimum wage. In all other cantons, minimum wages are traditionally negotiated by the private sector and industry-specific in so-called collective labour agreements (GAV).

In 2012, a collective labour agreement for all recruitment agencies was negotiated, the so-called GAV Personalverleih. The parties to the agreement were the trade unions Unia, Syna, KV Schweiz and Angestellt Schweiz as employee representatives and the employers' association swissstaffing. In the CBA Staff Leasing, the parties agreed on minimum standards that apply to all employees who are employed by a recruitment agency and are hired out to customers. The CBA Staff Leasing thus has an impact on those companies that employ temporary staff. In addition to the minimum wages, the CBA on Staff Leasing contains regulations on overtime bonuses, occupational pensions, daily sickness benefits, etc. that are generally binding. As a personnel service provider, Universal-Job AG is also subject to the provisions on minimum wages of the CBA Staff Leasing.

While the regulations of the CBA Staff Leasing apply to the temporary employees regarding, for example, overtime bonuses, these special regulations do not apply to permanent employees. Temporary employees are thus placed in a better position than permanent employees in certain constellations. An example: The accounting department is in high season at the beginning and end of the year. The closing work has to be finalised and the last bookings have to be entered. So the working days can sometimes take a little longer during this time. If the temporary accountant works more than 9.5 hours a day or 45 hours a week, she must receive an overtime bonus of 25%. This is irrespective of whether she works only 5 hours the next day or compensates for the extra hours in the following week. Her permanent colleague, who also works as an accountant, does not receive an overtime bonus for this time and is thus financially worse off.

As with all collective agreements, the minimum wages for the CBA Staff Leasing are adjusted annually, or at least periodically. The parties to the CBA Staff Leasing have agreed to increase the minimum wages again for the years 2022 and 2023. The monthly wages will increase by CHF 40 per month in each of the next few years. For example, unskilled workers aged 20-50 in the standard wage region will earn a minimum of CHF 3,590 in 2022 and CHF 3,640 in 2023. Calculated on an hourly basis and including public holiday and holiday pay as well as 13th month pay, this corresponds to a minimum wage of CHF 23.58/hour for 2022 and CHF 24.12/hour for 2023.