Labour laws
Swiss labour law governs the rights and duties of employers and employees. It includes significantly fewer requirements than in EU states and is laid down in various acts, most notably the Code of Obligations (individual employment contracts, collective employment contracts, standard employment contracts), the Labour Act (general health protection, working hours and breaks, young people, pregnant women and nursing mothers) and the Accident Insurance Act (occupational health and safety).
Labour market deregulation (2010)
Entrepreneurship is 1 = severely impaired, 10 = not impaired at all
Source: 2010 IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook
Where mandatory, legal provisions take precedence over any collective tariff or employment agreements. In such cases, neither the collective employment contract nor the individual employment contract may contain contradictory provisions, particularly not ones which are less favourable for the employee. Where labour law provisions are not mandatory, however, matters are agreed upon between the parties. Furthermore, some legal provisions can be derogated from through collective bargaining agreements, but not under individual employment agreements.
Salaries can be negotiated either on an individual basis between the employer and the employee or under a collective bargaining agreement. Here, too, legislation refrains from strict regulation in favour of a liberal approach. Sufficient latitude has deliberately been allowed for direct negotiation between labour and management.