Equal pay analysis / Equal pay verification

The Federal Act on Gender Equality (Gender Equality Act) aims to facilitate enforcement of the right under the Swiss Federal Constitution to equal pay for the same work of equal value.  However, statistical analyses reveal that a gender pay gap persists even today. With their decision to amend the Gender Equality Act, the Federal Council and Parliament are pursuing the goal of realising pay equality between men and women through government measures.
 

What's changing - and who's affected?

The revision of the Gender Equality Act will require all companies in Switzerland with a headcount of 100 or more (excluding trainees) to conduct an internal equal pay analysis with regard to gender.

Employers are defined as all natural and juridical persons who are entitled to receive services on the basis of an employment contract, and who undertake to remunerate employees in consideration of these services. In scope are all employment contracts covered by the Swiss Code of Obligations or public law provisions.

The duty to carry out an equal pay analysis is waived for companies that have already been assessed for compliance with equal pay principles in connection with a public procurement or subsidy process, provided the assessment was carried out for a reference month falling between July 2016 and June 2020.

What action is required - and when? 

In-scope employers are required to carry out an internal equal pay analysis between 1 July 2020 and 30 June 2021. The equal pay analysis must be performed in accordance with a scientific and legally compliant method (e.g. Logib) and should analyse the equality of pay between men and women employed at the company in question.

The result of the analysis must be verified externally by a licensed audit firm, employee representative or women’s organisation. Verification should take place within a year of the equal pay analysis, and by the end of June 2022 at the latest.

Employees and shareholders (in the case of listed companies) must be informed of the result of the equal pay analysis by the end of June 2023.

If the result confirms pay equality at the company, no further equal pay analysis is required. Otherwise, the company must repeat the process in four years’ time.