A new report from the State Secretariat of Economic Affairs (SECO) has revealed that a significant number of companies in Switzerland pay salaries that are too low. Swiss unions have condemned the findings, arguing that cantonal authorities are not doing enough to combat wage dumping.
According to the report, of the 140.000 wages analysed and audited by SECO in 2024, including the salaries of workers in Switzerland, cross-border and posted employees, nearly one in five companies analysed either paid excessively low wages or used bogus self-employment. The latter refers to when companies force employees to become freelancers to save on social security and pension contributions.
Interestingly, up to 31 percent of companies whose staff are subject to collective labour agreements (CLAs) do not pay their staff an adequate wage, despite CLAs typically having strict guidelines on wages. Many non-CLA-bound employees were also found to be underpaid.
Though the SECO study did not go into the reasons for the systemic underpaying, the Swiss Trade Union Federation (SGB) argued that it stems from a lack of regulation and inspections. Despite most CLAs mandating minimum wages, very few employers have ever been sanctioned for breaking them.
They also highlighted the fact that for regular workers without a CLA, the rules and guidelines are designed by the cantons. However, most regions have been reluctant to enforce their own rules: on average, employers in Switzerland are inspected for wage abuses every 26 years.
Of the cantons that do regularly check on companies to ensure wage protections, namely Zurich, both Basels, Aargau and Fribourg, “no action” is usually taken. Only two regions, namely Geneva and Ticino, were found to enforce the rules well, according to the SGB.
Things are even worse in the cantons where officials “barely monitor and—judging by the strikingly low violation rates—apply very low standards for wage dumping”. According to the SGB, Zug, Valais, Bern, Solothurn and Thurgau only check Swiss companies for wage infractions every 158, 150, 60, 65 and 45 years respectively.
The news has an added sting thanks to the recent comments of the director of the Swiss Employers’ Association. During a debate over minimum wages, Roland Müller suggested that “employers should not cover [staff’s] basic needs” and that “guaranteeing a living wage is not the role of employers" when offering jobs.
Are you worried about your Swiss wage and want to know if you are being treated unfairly? Check out our guide on how to calculate your salary in Switzerland.