News Salary Administration / Social Security Insurances

Analysis on equal pay - Am I affected as an employer?

All businesses in Switzerland with 100 or more employees have been obliged since July 1, 2020 to prepare an equal pay analysis by latest June 30, 2021, have this reviewed independently and disclose the results openly to all employees and possibly to its shareholders.

 

As an employer, what do I need to know / take into account when preparing an equal pay analysis:

 

Business: Here the term business is to be used independently of any legal form. Besides corporations also partnerships, sole proprietorships as well as foundations and associations are affected by the new regulations (the law applies equally to the public service sector).

 

100+ employees: The threshold is calculated based on the head count of employees in the business, regardless of the individual workload. The total number of employees in the legally individual business is decisive (no consolidated group view). Apprentices and interns do not have to be included. The number of employees is assessed on January 1 of the corresponding year. The threshold does not have to be checked during the year.

 

Analysis: The analysis must be carried out according to a scientific and legally compliant method. The federal government provides a tool for this (‘LOGIB’). If the analysis shows wage differences, a new analysis must be carried out every 4 years. If the analysis shows that equal pay is observed, no further analyses need to be carried out. As of July 1, 2032, the law will be automatically put out of force.

 

Audit: The equal pay analysis must be formally reviewed by an independent, qualified body.

 

Disclosure / Information: All employees must be informed in writing of the results of the analysis. Companies whose shares are listed on a stock exchange must disclose the results of the analysis in the notes to the annual financial statements.

 

Sanctions: The law does not provide for sanctions (fines, etc.) if the legal requirement is not met. In addition to a possible damage to reputation (as an employer), it can be assumed that the statutory auditor will include a reference to the violation of the law in its audit report on the annual financial statements.

 

Our recommendation: We recommend every employer to assess the number of employees as of January 1st and the obligation to prepare an equal pay analysis. If there is an obligation, the efforts involved in data collection, data processing, auditing and the coordination of all the parties to be involved should not be underestimated.

 

Do you have any questions or need support? We are happy to help. Send us an email to info@fineac.ch or call us on 041 727 51 00.

 

Patrick Lindegger 30 June 2020

 

Keywords: Analysis on equal pay, payroll