Arbitrating Labor Disputes in Switzerland

Long regarded as against nature, the relationship between arbitration and labor law has generated a growing interest in recent years, with the realization that arbitration can be an effective tool for the resolution of individual employment disputes, especially for top-level managers or international athletes. The Swiss system broadly recognizes the arbitrability of individual employment disputes on an international level. On a domestic level, arbitrability of individual employment disputes is more limited following a decision of the Swiss Federal Tribunal of June 28, 2010. However, under the new Swiss Civil Code of Procedure, which will enter into force on January 1, 2011, parties to domestic arbitration agreements will be able to opt into the international regime and therefore possibly circumvent such limitation. Furthermore, the article discusses particularities related to arbitration agreements in collective employment contracts, as well as arbitration of collective labor disputes.