Federal Act of October 8, 1971, on Work in Public Transport Enterprises (WTE) - Enterprises (AZG)

Subject to this act are: a. ... b. the companies operating concessionary railways and trolleybuses; c. the companies operating concessionary automobiles; d. the companies operating concessionary navigation; e. the companies operating concessionary cable transport and companies operating concessionary elevators; f. companies that are commissioned by a company mentioned in letters b to e to regularly conduct professional trips.

Companies are deemed to be concessionary railway companies if they have a concession under Art. 5 of the Federal Act of December 20, 1957, on Railways, or a concession or authorization under Arts. 6 to 8 of the Act of March 20, 2009, on Passenger Transport. Companies whose vehicles have access to the network or use the infrastructure of a concessionary company on a contractual basis are equated with concessionary companies.

If only certain parts of a company serve public transport, only those parts are subject to this act.

Companies headquartered abroad are subject to this act to the extent that the workers they employ have activities subject to this act within Swiss territory. The concessions can specify the regulations that must be observed in each case.

Auxiliary services that constitute a necessary or useful complement to one of the companies mentioned in para. 1 may be subjected to this act by ordinance.

This law applies to workers who are employed in one of the companies referred to in Art. 1 and who are obligated to a service that is exclusively personal. It also applies to workers who perform their work abroad; agreements between states or stricter provisions of foreign laws remain reserved.

This law applies to postal bus contractors and other subcontractors, as well as to the owners of concessionary transport companies, insofar as they themselves operate concession-bound routes.

The ordinance regulates the applicability of this law to workers who, over a 28-day period, do not work more than three hours per day on average.

It does not apply to workers in administrative services.

The workday as defined by this law includes: a. the service shift and the rest shift, or b. the service shift and the rest time before the first rest day.

On an annual average, the daily working time is a maximum of seven hours.

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The working time must not exceed ten hours within the same work shift, nor nine hours on average within a group of seven consecutive working days.

The ordinance regulates special circumstances justifying that the maximum working time referred to in para. 3 may be increased by travel time without any service provision.

The ordinance regulates the working time without service provision and the time credits applicable when calculating the maximum working time.

Work performed between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. generally entitles employees to time compensation. The Federal Council sets the compensation rates and the time intervals to which they apply; it also regulates the compensation process.

On-call service is considered as the service during which, outside of planned working hours, the worker is available for potential interventions intended to address breakdowns or special events of a similar nature, as well as for related inspections.

On-call service can only be required if the enterprise and the workers or their representatives have agreed in writing that it can be required. The agreement specifically regulates the compensation to be paid for the on-call hours provided.

Compensation days are considered as days without service that must be granted to the worker to comply with the regulations on working hours. The ordinance regulates the specifics.

When the duration of work set in the service schedule is exceeded for service-related reasons, the excess is generally considered as overtime work.

As a general rule, overtime work must be compensated with time off of equal length. If compensation is not possible within a reasonable time frame, the overtime work is paid. The compensation corresponds to the salary increased by at least 25%. No more than one hundred and fifty hours of overtime work can be paid per calendar year.

When compelling reasons, such as force majeure or operational disruptions, necessitate exceeding the maximum work duration set in Art. 4, para. 3 by more than ten minutes, the work time beyond ten or sixty-three hours must be compensated by time off of equal length within the following three working days; additionally, compensation calculated according to para. 2 is paid.

The shift schedule includes working time and breaks; it must not exceed an average of twelve hours over 28 days. The shift schedule may be extended once to a duration of thirteen hours between two non-working days.

When there are special circumstances, the shift schedule may be extended to a duration of fifteen hours, but it must not exceed twelve hours on average when calculated with the following two working days. The ordinance governs the modalities.

When compelling reasons, such as force majeure or operational disruptions, require exceeding the maximum shift duration set in para. 2 by more than ten minutes, compensation must take place within the following three working days.

Around the middle of the working period, a break allowing for a meal must be provided. Generally, this break should last at least one hour and, if the service allows, the worker should be able to take it at home or at their place of service.

The number of breaks to be granted during a work shift is regulated in the ordinance. A break must last at least 30 minutes.

The ordinance regulates the time credits to be granted for breaks at the place of service and outside of it; the credits depend on the number of breaks or the total duration of breaks.

After consulting the workers or their representatives, the employer may eliminate the break if the work shift does not exceed nine hours and if the worker has the opportunity to have a snack; in such a case, a work interruption of 20 to 29 minutes should be scheduled, which is to be considered as work time.

If a work shift lasts more than nine hours, work interruptions may be scheduled in addition to breaks. Breaks should not take place during the first two hours nor during the last three hours of the work shift.

The rest period is the interval between two shifts. It must average at least twelve hours over a period of 28 days. The rest period may be reduced once to eleven hours between two non-working days.

When special circumstances exist, the duration of the rest period may be reduced to nine hours, but it must be at least twelve hours on average calculated with the two following rest periods; as a rule, compensation must occur no later than before the next non-working day; the ordinance: a. defines the special circumstances; b. regulates the methods of compensation.

The ordinance defines the conditions under which a transport company may provide for the rest period duration to be less than the minimum duration in cases of compelling reasons such as force majeure or disruptions within its operations or within another transport company.

When service allows, the rest period should be spent at the place of residence.

Work performed between midnight and 4 a.m. is considered night work.

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A worker cannot be required to perform night work more than seven consecutive times, nor more than fifteen nights, within a period of 28 days.

The provisions of para. 3 do not apply to workers engaged exclusively for night work.

When operational necessities require that construction work be carried out at night only, an exception can be made to the provisions set out in para. 3.

The worker is entitled to 63 paid days of rest per calendar year. These days must be judiciously distributed throughout the year.

The ordinance regulates the number of rest days that must fall on a Sunday.

The day of rest is twenty-four consecutive hours and must be able to be spent at home.

The day of rest must be preceded by a rest period that should be at least twelve hours on average over 42 days; the rest period must not be less than nine hours. When two or more consecutive rest days are granted, this provision only applies to the first of these days.

The ordinance regulates the allocation of rest days concerning absences due to illness, accident, military service, civil service or civil protection, leave, or for other reasons.

The service of driving a motor vehicle, a trolleybus, or a tramway will be regulated by ordinance.

Motor vehicle drivers who undertake other transport services in addition to those covered by a concession may be subject to specific provisions contained in an ordinance under the federal legislation on the working hours and rest periods of professional motor vehicle drivers.

Enterprises shall determine the allocation of workdays, rest days, and vacations in accordance with a model established by ordinance.

Workers or their representatives must be consulted before the final establishment of the service and duty rosters.

The worker is entitled, each calendar year, to at least four weeks of paid vacation. The ordinance specifies the age from which the worker is entitled to five or six weeks of paid vacation.

For workers in the operations service, each seven-day vacation period includes one day of paid rest.

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The ordinance regulates the deduction from vacation entitlement for absences due to illness, accident, military service, civil service or civil protection service, leave, or for other reasons.

The application and enforcement of federal regulations concerning hygiene and the prevention of accidents and occupational diseases shall be governed by ordinance. Special provisions that deviate from or supplement these regulations may be enacted by ordinance if it is necessary to take into account the specific conditions of the enterprises.

Young workers are subject to the special protection provisions set forth by the Act of March 13, 1964, on Labor and the resulting ordinances.

The authorities responsible for the enforcement of this Act are competent for supervision and the granting of exemptions. They are also competent for the technical participation as provided by the provisions concerning the protection of young workers that the Federal Council enacts pursuant to the Labor Act.

The protection of health, employment, replacement work, and the payment of salary in case of maternity are governed by the provisions of the Labour Act of March 13, 1964.

For health reasons, it is possible to prohibit or subject to special conditions the performance of certain tasks by pregnant women or other categories of workers. The ordinance regulates the modalities.

The offices within the Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy, and Communications responsible for the supervision and execution of this Act are designated by ordinance. The supervisory authorities decide on the applicability of this Act to certain enterprises, parts of enterprises, or auxiliary services, as well as its application to certain workers. They also rule in cases of disputes between enterprises and workers concerning the application of this Act, the ordinance, and the decisions made under these provisions. Enterprises, as well as workers and their representatives, are entitled to make proposals. Service schedules and allocation tables, along with the supplementary documents containing the information required for the execution of this Act and its ordinance, must be made available to the execution and supervisory bodies.

The supervisory authorities are required to annul, modify, or prevent the execution of decisions and provisions made by an enterprise's organs or services when they are contrary to this law, the ordinance, instructions, the concession, or international agreements.

Enterprises and workers are required to provide the supervisory bodies with the necessary information regarding the implementation of this law and its ordinance and to make the service and duty rosters available to them.

Under particular circumstances, exceptions to the provisions of this law may be authorized for specific categories of enterprises or workers, after consultation with the enterprises and workers or their representatives. The ordinance regulates the procedures.

In order to account for extraordinary circumstances, the supervisory authorities, after consulting enterprises and workers or their representatives, may authorize exceptions to this law in isolated cases and for a limited duration.

Provisions applicable for compelling reasons, such as cases of force majeure or operational disruptions, apply to all public transport enterprises involved in the direct management of the event.

Before authorizing exceptions and exemptions, consideration must be given to the requirements pertaining to traffic and operational safety as well as those concerning worker protection.

After considering the proposals of the enterprises and the workers, the Federal Council establishes a Federal Commission for the Working Time Law. It consists of a chairperson and an equal number of representatives from the enterprises and the workers.

The Working Time Law Commission delivers opinions, intended for the federal authorities, on legislative and implementation issues it raises. It may make suggestions of its own accord.

The Federal Council shall issue: a. executive ordinances in cases expressly provided for by this Act; b. implementation provisions intended to clarify certain requirements of this Act.

Employers, or persons acting or who should have acted on their behalf, are punishable if they, intentionally or negligently, violate a provision of this Act or the ordinance, or a decision made by the competent authorities in application of these provisions, regarding: a. the duration of work and rest; b. vacations; c. hygiene, accident prevention, and special protection.

A worker who, intentionally or negligently, violates a provision of this Act or the ordinance, or a decision made by the competent authorities in application of these provisions, regarding the duration of work and rest, and hygiene and accident prevention, is punishable.

The penalty is a fine.

If the worker commits an offense under this law under the influence of their employer or superior, or if they did not do everything possible to prevent this offense, they are liable for the same penalty as the worker. The penalty for the worker may be mitigated or waived if the circumstances justify it.

When the harm caused or the fault of the perpetrator is of minor importance, the competent authority shall refrain from prosecuting, bringing the case to court, or imposing a penalty.

The special provisions of the Swiss Criminal Code are reserved.

Criminal prosecution is the responsibility of the cantons.

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The total annual salary that the worker received before the entry into force of this law cannot be reduced as a result of its application.

All provisions contrary to this Act are repealed upon its entry into force, including: – the Federal Act of March 6, 1920, concerning the working hours in the operation of railways and other transport and communication enterprises; – Art. 66 of the Federal Act of March 13, 1964, on Work in Industry, Crafts, and Commerce. ...

The Federal Council shall determine the date on which this Act enters into force. Date of entry into force: May 28, 1972