Part-time work is expensive - or so you might think. This is because many personnel costs are incurred regardless of how many percentages an employee works. But this is only true at first glance. Part-time employees also offer advantages that more than compensate for the additional costs. Experience has shown that part-time workers are very productive and take fewer breaks, as they are away from their work anyway. The days off work increase motivation and creativity and reduce absenteeism. Studies have shown that part-time employees often work more than their workload allows. And with modern means of communication, the availability of part-time employees can also be organized satisfactorily.

Please note the following if you employ part-time staff:

- You are free to choose whether you want to employ your part-time staff on an hourly or monthly wage. The difference: with hourly wages, the salary paid naturally varies each month. Short absences (such as visits to the authorities, funerals) and public holidays do not have to be paid (with the exception of August 1, provided it falls on a working day). Vacation and sick leave, however, do. In this case, the exact amount of time that would have been worked must be paid.

- Working hours can be freely agreed. However, if a fixed workload has been agreed or has been established over a longer period of time, this is binding. Even hourly workers cannot simply be sent home unpaid if there is nothing to do. If the part-time employee works more than the agreed number of hours, they work overtime and must be paid accordingly (Art. 321c CO).

- In the case of irregular part-time work, vacation pay may be paid as a supplement to the hourly wage. Four weeks of vacation correspond to a wage supplement of 8.33 percent, five weeks to 10.64 percent and six weeks to 13.04 percent. The vacation pay must be shown separately both in the written contract and in each payslip. A flat-rate wage "including vacation" does not meet this requirement.

- You must register part-time employees with social insurance in the same way as other employees. Only annual salaries under CHF 2,300 can be exempted from the AHV contribution obligation. If you work less than eight hours a week, you are only insured against occupational accidents. And only employees who earn at least CHF 20,880 per year are subject to compulsory pension fund contributions.

- Part-time employees are often referred to as temporary staff. What is meant by this is not regulated by law. In the specialist literature, temporary or casual work refers to employment that only lasts for a short period of time, usually no longer than three months. In the case of such short employment relationships, there is no compulsory pension scheme and no continued payment of wages in the event of illness is owed. However, so-called temporary workers also have the same rights and obligations as other part-time employees.

Do you need legal advice?
The Beobachter Advisory Center offers you and your employees expert advice by telephone on legal issues relating to your company - 6 months for only CHF 99. Order the consulting package for SMEs at www.beobachter.ch/kmu or 0800 83 0800.tel.search.chAll telephone numbers, private and business addresses with relevant detailed information such as directions, product descriptions and services, web links,
 

Part-time work is expensive - or so you might think. This is because many personnel costs are incurred regardless of how many percentages an employee works. But this is only true at first glance. Part-time employees also offer advantages that more than compensate for the additional costs. Experience has shown that part-time workers are very productive and take fewer breaks, as they are away from their work anyway. The days off work increase motivation and creativity and reduce absenteeism. Studies have shown that part-time employees often work more than their workload allows. And with modern means of communication, the availability of part-time employees can also be organized satisfactorily.

Please note the following if you employ part-time staff:

- You are free to choose whether you want to employ your part-time staff on an hourly or monthly wage. The difference: with hourly wages, the salary paid naturally varies each month. Short absences (such as visits to the authorities, funerals) and public holidays do not have to be paid (with the exception of August 1, provided it falls on a working day). Vacation and sick leave, however, do. In this case, the exact amount of time that would have been worked must be paid.

- Working hours can be freely agreed. However, if a fixed workload has been agreed or has been established over a longer period of time, this is binding. Even hourly workers cannot simply be sent home unpaid if there is nothing to do. If the part-time employee works more than the agreed number of hours, they work overtime and must be paid accordingly (Art. 321c CO).

- In the case of irregular part-time work, vacation pay may be paid as a supplement to the hourly wage. Four weeks of vacation correspond to a wage supplement of 8.33 percent, five weeks to 10.64 percent and six weeks to 13.04 percent. The vacation pay must be shown separately both in the written contract and in each payslip. A flat-rate wage "including vacation" does not meet this requirement.

- You must register part-time employees with social insurance in the same way as other employees. Only annual salaries under CHF 2,300 can be exempted from the AHV contribution obligation. If you work less than eight hours a week, you are only insured against occupational accidents. And only employees who earn at least CHF 20,880 per year are subject to compulsory pension fund contributions.

- Part-time employees are often referred to as temporary staff. What is meant by this is not regulated by law. In the specialist literature, temporary or casual work refers to employment that only lasts for a short period of time, usually no longer than three months. In the case of such short employment relationships, there is no compulsory pension scheme and no continued payment of wages in the event of illness is owed. However, so-called temporary workers also have the same rights and obligations as other part-time employees.

Do you need legal advice?
The Beobachter Advisory Center offers you and your employees expert advice by telephone on legal issues relating to your company - 6 months for only CHF 99. Order the consulting package for SMEs at www.beobachter.ch/kmu or 0800 83 0800.tel.search.chAll telephone numbers, private and business addresses with relevant detailed information such as directions, product descriptions and services, web links,