Modified employment contract. Legal?

Modified employment contract. Legal?

"I have been working for a company at 80% for many years. I've just received a registered letter saying that they've decided to employ me from next month at 60%. Does my employer have the right to do this?

Marie, Geneva

The case law of the Federal Supreme Court, following the opinion of the prevailing doctrine, has accepted this type of procedure. This is what is known as a "congé-modification". This type of leave is a termination by one of the parties to the employment contract, the employer, accompanied by an offer to continue the employment relationship under modified conditions. The employee is thus faced with the alternative of either accepting a deterioration in his or her working conditions or leaving the company.

Case law considers such leave to be lawful because, like any contract, an employment contract is not immutable. However, there may be abuse where the employer proposes changes that must take effect immediately, i.e. before the expiry of the notice period, and dismisses the employee who has not accepted. In addition, there is also abuse when the notice of termination is used as a means of pressure to impose on the employee an unfavourable change to the contract that has no material justification, for a reason that is not worthy of protection, i.e. when neither the running of the business nor the labour market justifies a change in the terms and conditions of employment.

The proposed change must therefore only come into effect after the end of the notice period for the contract in question, unless it aims to obtain objectively unjustified advantages from the other party. You should therefore check that your new contract, if you accept it, does not commence until the end of the notice period initially agreed.

Lastly, the primary aim of leave to amend is not to terminate the employment relationship, but to maintain it with modified rights and obligations. If the change is accepted, a new employment contract comes into force, but the benefits associated with the seniority of the employment relationship are retained.