News and current developments on work and residence permits - June 2024

Results of the Swiss Labour inspector controls to avoid salary dumping and protect employee wages.

The inspection measures are a means of protecting wage and working conditions in Switzerland. Firstly, they effectively protect gainfully employed persons from abusive Swiss wage undercutting and working conditions and, secondly, they guarantee fair competitive employment conditions for Swiss and European companies.

During the controls, the inspectors apply a risk-based strategy to combat non-compliance where the risks are high. The results of the accompanying measures in brief:

• 158'848 persons and 36'587 companies (2 % less than 2022) were inspected by the cantonal joint and tripartite commissions
• 7 % of all Swiss employers, 26% of all posted workers and 31% of self-employed service providers from the EU/EFTA were inspected
• In sectors with a collective employment agreement, the violation rate in the posting sector was 23%, for posted workers without binding minimum wages, wage undercutting was 21%, and for Swiss employers, wage undercutting was 11%
• 6% of self-employed service providers were suspected of being bogus self-employed

The fight against undeclared work at a stable level

To combat illegal employment, employers, employees and self-employed persons are monitored for compliance with the reporting and authorization requirements of social security, immigration and withholding tax law.

The results of the controls on undeclared work in brief:

• In 2023 a total of 13'644 companies were controlled
• Controls were mainly made in the main construction and ancillary construction trades, in the hotel and restaurant industry and in the retail trade
• Overall in Switzerland, 12'500 suspicious cases of undeclared work were reported