Temporary work: instructions for employers

Temporary workers are those people who often save emergency situations! Companies can rely on them if there is a shortage of resources or when a position requires temporary replacement: holidays, maternity leave, illness, or work overload as an end of year closing. As the level of qualifications of temporary workers has increased significantly in recent years, companies also have the opportunity to hire so-called C-level agency workers who will do the job. higher or leading positions, for example when transferring knowledge or implementing a new strategy. *

The temporary worker, an additional work load?

While Contingent Employment workers are very supportive, companies often face issues such as the type of contract to be concluded, time off, overtime pay and 13 th pay. Not to mention the additional administrative work that they generate like registration with social insurance. It is important that the employer enters into all agreements or agreements in writing, even in cases where the law does not require it. It is indeed a good safeguard if a conflict was to lead the parties to court.

Companies hiring temporary workers need to be aware of these important elements:

  • It is recommended to always sign a written contract, even if it is a fixed-term contract. Although the law does not require any particular form (Article 320 (1) CO) - that the contract can be concluded in oral form or tacitly - the fact remains that in the event of conflict and without a written document, it will be difficult to provide convincing evidence.
  • In addition, under article 330b CO - under a contract of indefinite duration or if it is concluded for more than one month - the employer is obliged to inform the employee in writing a month at most late after the start of work reports on the following: names of parties to the contract, commencement of contractual relationships, employee function, salary, any salary increases, number of weekly hours of work.
  • The written contract must be duly signed by all parties to the contract.
  • Warning: chain contracts (succession of fixed-term contracts) are not authorized by Swiss law.
  • The payment of overtime must be paid in the contract, as this point almost always leads to discussions. Overtime is defined as hours exceeding the working hours indicated in the contract. If the overtime is not compensated by a leave of at least equal duration, and if no other clause has been concluded in writing, defined in a standard contract of employment or in a collective labor agreement (CCT) the employer is obliged to pay the additional hours of work by paying the normal wage plus a quarter or more (Article 321c §3 CO).
  • The law stipulates that a fixed-term employment relationship can not be terminated before the expiry of the agreed period and thus ends at the end of the contractual term. If, however, it is tacitly renewed, it is considered as an indefinite contract and in this case the corresponding period of leave is required.  
  • A possible trial period must be included in the contract.  
  • Our advice: set a specific date for the end of the employment relationship and not set out a vague clause of the type "until the end of the project", in which case the contract would be considered as being of indefinite duration.
  • Temporary workers must be registered with social insurance.
  • If the situation requires it: include in the contract the prohibition to compete (Article 340 §1 CO).

Minimize the risks for the employer

Risks and potential problems are circumvented when a service provider (a licensed recruitment agency) acts as an intermediary between the tenant company and the temporary worker. Indeed, in this tripartite relationship, the fixed-term contract is managed by the service provider and not by the enterprise. After three months, however, the tenant company has the option of taking over at no additional cost - an ideal solution to avoid later mistakes in job assignment within the company.

Appealing to a Lessor of Services for Interim Solutions: Business Benefits:

  • The lessor of services (for example a recruitment agency) takes care of recruiting the person sought.
  • The company does not have to register the temporary worker with social insurance, which is done by the service provider.  
  • Little administrative work since the Lessor of Services is responsible for the staff loan authorization and covers all legal and legal issues related to the temporary appointment.
  • No direct salary cost or workforce cost. The company can manage costs directly by project or purchase.
  • Hours of work and pay slips are set weekly.
  • Workers employed through a service provider are subject to the Collective Labor Agreement (CLC) for staff lending and the Federal Service Employment and Leasing Act (LSE).
  • Shorter leave times:
  1. During the first three months = two working days of notice period
  2. Between the first four to six months = seven days of leave

iii. From seven months = 30 days of leave

  • Overtime is paid as follows: work done over nine hours of daily work or over 45 hours per week is increased by 25% of the salary.
  • Technical instructions and instructions for the worker's tasks are delegated to the service tenant company.