Michael Käsermann
Head of Advisory, Head of Sector Public Administration - Partner
The Federal Act on Gender Equality (Gender Equality Act) aims to facilitate enforcement of the right under the Swiss Federal Constitution to equal pay for the same work of equal value. However, statistical analyses reveal that a gender pay gap persists even today. With their decision to amend the Gender Equality Act, the Federal Council and Parliament are pursuing the goal of realising pay equality between men and women through government measures.
What's changing - and who's affected?
The revision of the Gender Equality Act will require all companies in Switzerland with a headcount of 100 or more (excluding trainees) to conduct an internal equal pay analysis with regard to gender.
Employers are defined as all natural and juridical persons who are entitled to receive services on the basis of an employment contract, and who undertake to remunerate employees in consideration of these services. In scope are all employment contracts covered by the Swiss Code of Obligations or public law provisions.
The duty to carry out an equal pay analysis is waived for companies that have already been assessed for compliance with equal pay principles in connection with a public procurement or subsidy process, provided the assessment was carried out for a reference month falling between July 2016 and June 2020.
What action is required - and when? 
In-scope employers are required to carry out an internal equal pay analysis between 1 July 2020 and 30 June 2021. The equal pay analysis must be performed in accordance with a scientific and legally compliant method (e.g. Logib) and should analyse the equality of pay between men and women employed at the company in question.
The result of the analysis must be verified externally by a licensed audit firm, employee representative or women’s organisation. Verification should take place within a year of the equal pay analysis, and by the end of June 2022 at the latest.
Employees and shareholders (in the case of listed companies) must be informed of the result of the equal pay analysis by the end of June 2023.
If the result confirms pay equality at the company, no further equal pay analysis is required. Otherwise, the company must repeat the process in four years’ time.
Equal pay analysis
How can BDO support you?
You can carry out your equal pay analysis internally – provided you have adequate knowledge and resources within your organisation. Alternatively, our experts would be pleased to support you in performing your equal pay analysis.
A BDO analysis adds value:
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Thanks to our sound knowledge of the legal basis and demands associated with the mandatory assessment, you can be sure that your equal pay analysis complies with the law.
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We have many years’ experience in performing equal pay analyses in accordance with scientific and legally compliant methods, so you benefit from an efficient process.
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You define the scope of support individually – from selected assistance for your internal team, to a comprehensive external equal pay analysis.
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You get an independent analysis report designed to enable efficient independent verification.
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Use the results of the analysis as the basis for developing your remuneration system further – ask BDO for further advice in this area.
Verification of your equal pay analysis
How can BDO support you?
Companies are legally required to have the result of their equal pay analysis verified externally by a licensed audit firm, employee representative or women’s organisation. Formal verification should take place within a year of the equal pay analysis, and by the end of June 2022 at the latest.
A BDO verification adds value:
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You can be confident in our specialist knowledge. BDO was a member of the EXPERTsuisse working group responsible for developing the audit programme used for external verification. We carry out formal verification in accordance with the updated Swiss Auditing Standard 950.
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Thanks to sound knowledge of the legal basis as well as generally accepted and legally compliant scientific methods, you know that you’ll get effective verification that meets the legal requirements.
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We offer a highly efficient process, drawing on many years’ experience in verifying similar equal pay analyses in connection with public procurement law.
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Our lead auditors have all taken part in the mandatory further training. You are free to choose the date for verification within the legal deadline.
