CONVINUS Global Mobility
CONVINUS Global Mobility Insights - Frühling / Spring 2025Permanent assignment abroadIn the case of a permanent foreign assignment, the connection to the domesticcompany is less strong than in the case of a temporary foreign assignment due tothe time component (i.e. the duration of the foreign assignment). Thiscircumstance generally means that it is either more difficult or no longer possibleto subject the employee to domestic social security and generally to domestic law.Rather, in this constellation, the foreign legal system will want to be appliedcomprehensively in all areas. Against this background, it is then also most sensibleand simplest if the employee - if the possibility exists via a foreign group companyor similar - is employed locally abroad.However, it is also possible for the first phase of a foreign assignment - up to amaximum of five years - to be organised and lived in the same way as a fixed-termforeign assignment. This means that the employee remains more closely linked tothe domestic company and the country during this initial period and cantherefore, for example, remain affiliated to the domestic social security systemduring this time, which would facilitate an early return. At the end of this period,the separation from the domestic company and the domestic legal systemdescribed above would then occur by law.Temporary assignment abroad with unchanged employer sideThe most familiar form of temporary foreign assignment is the posting with anunchanged employer, i.e. the foreign assignment in which the domestic companyremains the employer during the temporary period (see figures 1 and 2). Theposting is characterised by a special domestic connection, in such a way that theforeign assignment is an exception to the rule in relation to the domesticemployment relationship before after the posting. This close domestic connectionis also the reason for the special legal treatment described above. Althoughdomestic labour law may continue to apply in principle in this constellation,various mandatory provisions, e.g. of working time and occupational health andsafety law, must nevertheless be observed locally abroad which may contradictthe otherwise applicable domestic legal system. This generally results inuncertainties and ultimately also potential for conflict. At this point, it is worthrecalling the Swiss Posted Workers Act.50
CONVINUS Global Mobility Insights - Frühling / Spring 2025It requires foreign employers to comply with Switzerland’s binding minimum wageand working time regulations when posting workers to Switzerland, regardless ofthe law otherwise governing the employment relationship.In order to enforce these requirements, Switzerland also provides the postedworkers concerned with jurisdiction in Switzerland, which takes precedence overany agreement on the place of jurisdiction that deviates from this.Figure 1: Temporary assignment abroadAssignment with unchanged employer (without integration)51
Expat policy 
LinkedIn
Youtube
Instagram
Email