How will employment law regulation change in 2025?

Retirement age for women

From January 1, 2025, the reference age for men will remain at 65 years and for women the previous reference age from 64 years will gradually increase by three months per year. In 2025, women born in 1961 will therefore reach the reference age with 64 years and 3 months. A woman born on April 15, 1961, will reach the reference age on August 1, 2025.

Family allowances

For the first time since 2009, the Family Allowances Act has been amended and contributions will increase. The child allowance will increase from CHF 200 to CHF 215 per month and the education allowance will increase from CHF 250 to CHF 268 per month. The cantons can also grant higher or additional allowances, which must be examined on a case-by-case basis. In this context, it is worth mentioning that a childcare allowance is currently being discussed in Parliament for parents whose children are cared for by third parties in daycare or after-school care.. The Council of States approved the amendment to the law on December 18, 2024. The next step is for the National Council to deal with the proposal.

Taxation of teleworking in an international context

The Federal Council has brought the Federal Act on the Taxation of Teleworking in International Relations into force on January 1, 2025. 

The law ensures that the Swiss tax authorities can tax the earned income of foreign employees who telework for a Swiss company in their country of residence - however, limited to Switzerland's five neighbouring countries. Previously, the country in which the work was physically carried out was generally responsible for taxation in accordance with double taxation agreements.

Employees domiciled abroad who work for a company in Switzerland are subject to withholding tax. The employer is responsible for the correct handling of this tax. Companies employing employees subject to withholding tax must ensure that the withholding tax is calculated correctly, deducted from the salary in accordance with the applicable rates and paid to the competent tax authority of the canton concerned.

The new regulations significantly increase the requirements for companies, including the obligation to certify the working days spent working from home. They are responsible for ensuring that cross-border commuters do not work more than the permitted amount of time from home, as otherwise there is a risk of complex tax consequences (social security subordination, tax liability, etc.). It may therefore be advisable to adapt work regulations and guidelines accordingly and to closely monitor the place of work of cross-border commuters. 

We would be happy to assess the need for such adjustments for your company. Please do not hesitate to contact us. 

Code of Civil Procedure

On January 1, 2025, the Code of Civil Procedure will undergo its first major revision since it came into force in 2011. The main changes that are relevant in the context of employment law are outlined in the following.

The law now specifies who is authorized to personally represent a legal entity in conciliation proceedings. As an employer, you can send either an executive body to the conciliation hearing or a person with commercial power of attorney who is authorized to conduct the proceedings and conclude a settlement and who is familiar with the subject matter of the dispute. 

If you are unsure whether a particular person can represent your company, we will be happy to check this for you or draw up the appropriate power of attorney.

In addition, the competence of the conciliation authorities has been extended, as they can now make a decision proposal up to a value in dispute of CHF 10,000 instead of just CHF 5,000. However, it remains at the discretion of the conciliation authority whether or not it wishes to respond to such a party request. It can be assumed that this change will allow more employment law disputes to be settled in conciliation proceedings.