Pay transparency in Switzerland
Directive does not applyin force since 01/07/2020
Switzerland is not in the EU or EEA, so the directive does not apply. Since 1 July 2020 the Gender Equality Act (GlG) requires employers with 100+ employees to run a pay-equity analysis. This duty is limited to 12 years and expires mid-2032. The Federal Council plans to review the GlG's effectiveness by end-2027; the formal evaluation of the analysis duty is due in 2029.
Draft · legal review pending, not yet published.
Last checked: 10/11/2026. This overview is not legal advice. Laws change; the linked legal text is what counts.
- In force since
- 01/07/2020
- Job ads
- No rule yet. There is no federal duty to state pay in job ads. A 2023 motion asking federal employers to state pay ranges was rejected by the National Council (106 to 82). No pending proposal for a general duty was found.
- Asking about previous pay
- No legal ban yet
- Workers' right to information
- There is no statutory right for employees to request comparator pay. Employers subject to the analysis must inform employees in writing of the result within one year (Art. 13g GlG).
- Pay reporting
- Employers with 100 or more employees at the start of a year must carry out an internal pay-equity analysis every four years, have it reviewed independently and inform staff. Listed companies must also report the result to shareholders in the notes to the annual accounts (Art. 13h). Employers whose analysis shows compliance are released from the duty.
- Penalties
- The GlG provides no sanctions for failing to carry out the analysis. A 2025 interim review found that fewer than half of employers comply.
Not verified: Exact expiry day of the duty (12 years from 1 July 2020; sources say 30 June or 1 July 2032). The rejected 2023 motion is known only from press reports, not checked on parlament.ch. Cantonal rules (e.g. for public procurement) were not checked.
16% of job ads in Switzerland state pay
1,909 of 12,163 ads on employer career sites and applicant tracking systems in the last month; 15% for tech-related titles (158 of 1,034). Measured on 11/11/2026 via Active Jobs DB; includes pay read from the ad text.
IT salaries in SwitzerlandSources
- Gleichstellungsgesetz, Änderung vom 14. Dezember 2018 (Schlussabstimmungstext, Art. 13a–13i, Befristung auf 12 Jahre) · Schweizer Parlament · 14/12/2018
- Verwirklichung der Lohngleichheit · Bundesamt für Justiz · 23/02/2026
- Zwischenbilanz Lohngleichheit Schweiz · Berner Fachhochschule · 08/03/2025
- Keine verpflichtende Lohnangaben in Stelleninseraten von Bundesbehörden · inside-it.ch · 20/09/2023