This article contains a brief summary of the most recent decisions of the Swiss Federal Court in the field of Swiss employment law, covering several key issues, including questions relating to the employee’s personality rights as well as those relating to the termination of employment contracts. It aims mainly to give professionals in this sector an overview of the latest developments in case law as well as practical guidelines for the decisions to be taken in this respect.
Separation agreement: beware of the circumstances
Decision of 21 July 2021 (4A_57/2021)
According to the law, an employment relationship can be terminated by mutual consent, without having to respect any notice period otherwise applicable, as long as the employee is not put under pressure to sign and the mutual understanding is a fair compromise. In practice, such an agreement is consigned in a separation agreement. An immediate termination for just cause, on the other hand, must be communicated to the employee without undue delay.
In the case at hand, the employee booked four tickets for a sponsored event, falsely declaring event tickets as non-private expenses and thus unlawfully enriching himself in the amount of EUR 1,875. The incident led to an internal investigation, whereupon the employee was questioned and admitted his misconduct. Subsequently, 16 days later, at a meeting, the employee was informed that the employer had decided to immediately separate from the employee. He was offered a...
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