Zurich to launch 35-hour working week pilot scheme

The City of Zurich is set to launch a pilot scheme for a 35-hour working week Keystone-SDA

After more than three years, Zurich city government has set out the framework for a 35-hour working week. However, it has yet to decide which department will host the pilot scheme.

Same pay for fewer hours: Zurich should lead the way by launching a pilot scheme for shift workers, including police officers, public transport staff and carers.

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That was the demand made by left-wing parties in the city parliament on March 15, 2023. “We urgently need to slow down,” said David Garcia Nuñez (Alternative List party), who put forward the motion. The left-wing majority backed it by 60 votes to 57.

On Thursday, the city government approved a directive setting out the legal framework for pilot schemes based on a 35-hour working week, down from the current 42 hours.

Several deadline extensions were needed before the framework could be put in place. The pilot scheme would run for one year, with the option of extending it by up to a further year.

Zurich councillor Daniel Leupi (Green Party) had already voiced concerns about the proposal during the debate in the city parliament. At the time, he warned that it would be a “massively resource-intensive experiment” that would put staff under considerable pressure. He argued that the city’s HR department would struggle to manage such a scheme.

If the shorter working week were rolled out across the entire city administration without any reduction in pay, it could cost the city up to CHF110 million ($137 million). The move would also require up to 1,500 additional staff to cover the shortfall. “I don’t know where we’re supposed to find those people,” said Leupi.

Lessons from Iceland

The directive also points to examples from elsewhere. Iceland ran two pilot schemes. By cutting the length of meetings, reorganising shift patterns and using digital technology more efficiently, the police, for example, were able to keep costs broadly unchanged. In healthcare, however, achieving the same level of cost neutrality proved more difficult.

In Sweden, the report says, several smaller trials required extra staff to make up for the reduction in working hours. The additional costs meant that, unlike in Iceland, the schemes were not rolled out more widely and remained at the pilot stage.

Different treatment is deliberate

The city government believes it is legally permissible to treat participants in the pilot scheme differently from other municipal employees. The aim is not to give a particular group of staff preferential treatment, but to test measures that could later be extended to all employees or a much wider group. In that sense, the different treatment is a deliberate feature of the scheme, not an unintended consequence.

The directive is due to be discussed by a committee of the city parliament next Wednesday. It remains unclear when it will make a decision on the proposal.

No chance in the cantonal parliament

The 35-hour week gained little traction at cantonal level. In September 2024, Zurich’s cantonal parliament rejected a Green Party motion calling for a study into the idea by 111 votes to 57.

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Supporters argued that a shorter working week could bring a range of health benefits. They pointed to examples from abroad and from companies that had already reduced working hours, saying these showed a number of positive effects.

Opponents, meanwhile, warned that the move could worsen existing staff shortages and drive up wage costs. The cantonal government also opposed the motion.

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Translated from German, reviewed by an English Department journalist.