Minimum wage: When is it “usually” the place of work?
On Tuesday, the Basel government will present the ordinance for the implementation of the minimum wage provision. For some of the discussions, the scope had already been created in advance. This question does not seem to have been fully resolved.
It was about the important question in the closely networked business location of Basel-Stadt, whether and when employees of non-cantonal companies were also subject to the minimum wage obligation when they work in Basel-Stadt.
Wording too imprecise?
The Basel trade union federation is also bothered by the imprecise wording: “If you ‘usually’ do your work in the canton of Basel-Stadt,” says the ordinance. “It will mean that sooner or later the employee or employer side will have to go to court,” explains Benjamin Plüss, President of the Basel Trade Union Confederation, to Telebasel.
Example pizza courier: The pizzas are made in the Basel area, the courier delivers to the city canton. For Saskia Schenker, Director of the Basel-Stadt Employers’ Association, the matter is clear: “The pizza courier fulfills a mission. The fulfillment of the order does not fall below the cantonal minimum wage.» The wording is not too imprecise. “Employees who fulfill non-cantonal orders here in Basel-Stadt do not fall under the minimum wage”.
«Ordinary» passed in federal court
The government based its wording on a cautious form of the place of performance principle, which is also applied in the western Swiss cantons of Jura, Geneva and Neuchâtel, as well as in Ticino. The minimum wage is therefore mandatory if the place of work is “usually” and “regularly” in Basel-Stadt.
However, there is still a need for regulation in practice when it comes to the precise definition and control of the “usual” place of work, a representative of the Office for Economic Affairs and Labor told the SDA news agency. We are in contact with the cantons of Geneva and Neuchâtel in this regard. However, there are no legal concerns, especially since the comparable solution in Neuchâtel has already passed an examination before the Federal Supreme Court.
Study on the minimum wage labor market
Both sides will monitor the labor market when the minimum wage comes into force. However, the employers’ association expresses concerns that unskilled workers or returnees will lose their jobs. However, this will be examined by a study to be carried out by the university from July.