Switzerland does not have a national minimum wage, but some cantons have a minimum wage that applies regionally, and some unions and companies have instituted their own minimum wages. Here’s what you need to know about minimum wage in Switzerland.
There is no national minimum wage in Switzerland. Swiss voters rejected a national minimum wage of 22 Swiss francs an hour (or 4.000 francs per month) in 2014, with nearly three-quarters of all votes cast against the proposal.
However, each canton has the authority to institute its own minimum wage through a referendum. On top of this, certain workplace sectors and even individual companies are able to establish minimum wages via collective and standard employment agreements.
As of 2025, five of Switzerland’s 26 cantons have passed their own minimum wage laws. The minimum wage is currently highest in Geneva, as follows:
| Canton | Minimum wage (Swiss francs per hour) |
|---|---|
| Canton Basel-Stadt | 22 (in some sectors) |
| Canton Geneva | 24,48 |
| Canton Jura | 21,40 |
| Canton Neuchâtel | 21,31 |
| Canton Ticino | 20 - 20,50 |
Cantonal minimum wages are linked to the so-called harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP), which reflects annual inflation by measuring the price development of key goods and services in Switzerland. The index is recalculated annually, meaning that the minimum wage is also recalculated each year. According to the OECD, the minimum wages that do exist in Switzerland are some of the highest in the world.
Minimum wages previously also existed in Zurich, Winterthur and Kloten, but were overturned by an administrative court in 2023.
Some sectors and companies in Switzerland have also established their own minimum wages, as a result of negotiations between unions and employers’ associations. Each minimum wage is defined in the collective labour agreements (GAVs) that apply to each industry or branch of an industry.
As of July 2024, 45 generally binding collective agreements were in force at a federal level, and a further 31 at a cantonal level, covering more than 1 million employees. You can find a list (in French, German and Italian) of these collective bargaining agreements on the website of the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs.
If you work in a sector that has introduced a minimum wage, generally you cannot be paid a salary that is lower than the minimum wage indicated in the collective labour agreement.
Note, however, that there can be some differences in how the agreement is applied. For instance, the agreement might apply:
If you are not sure whether you are covered by an industry-specific minimum wage, you should speak to your trade union representative, who can provide advice.