Lifestyles and people’s personal outlooks on life are in flux, just as employees’ expectations of their employers are changing. Swiss Post is meeting these needs thanks to a renegotiated collective employment contract. A particular focus has been placed on creating a balance between work and family, with the specific aim of promoting equality for mothers and fathers in working life. In addition to 18 weeks of paid maternity leave, mothers are now entitled to six further unpaid weeks away from work. Paternity leave is being doubled from two to four weeks, and fathers will also be entitled to a further four weeks of unpaid leave. The same benefits apply to parents who adopt a child and to the female partners of mothers in same-sex partnerships. If both parents work for Swiss Post, the weeks can be pooled as joint parental leave and (as long as statutory requirements are met) divided between the couple as required.

Regular analysis underpins equal pay

Equal pay has also been enshrined in the new collective employment contract. Swiss Post has been analysing its salaries on a regular basis since 2009 to ensure wage transparency. With its unaccountable pay gap between women and men currently sitting at 2.2 percent, Swiss Post compares very favourably with other companies (a figure of up to 5 percent is deemed acceptable by the Swiss Confederation). But for Valérie Schelker, Head of Human Resources at Swiss Post, one thing is clear: “When it comes to unequal pay, every percentage point is one too many.” For this reason, Swiss Post is doing its utmost to reduce the unaccountable disparity even further. To this end, numerous measures have been devised, some of which have already been implemented. For example, the company has established an independent reporting office for employees, to which staff can anonymously report instances of suspected pay discrimination.

And, from 2021 onwards, pay brackets for many Swiss Post jobs will be made transparent even at the advertisement stage. Line managers and HR managers are also being trained to focus on pay equality right from the recruitment phase, as well as throughout the course of the employees’ professional development.

A better work-life balance thanks to ‘top sharing’

Job sharing in management positions? This has been an option at Swiss Post for a number of years. Swiss Post believes that debate and diversity lead to greater reflection and, in turn, to better decisions. Two individuals will offer different capabilities, experiences and networks and will see issues from different perspectives. ‘Top sharing’, or job sharing in management positions, also makes challenging and rewarding full-time positions accessible to part-time employees and promotes a better balance between personal life and working life. Swiss Post believes that top sharing is not just a modern way of working, but also a model that holds great promise for the organisation as a whole.

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