Swiss Watching: Inside the Land of Milk and Money

by Diccon Bewes

This aversion to mentioning money includes not putting any salary details in job adverts, because doing that would mean everyone else would know how much you earn. And that wouldn’t do at all. So instead, as a prospective employee you must know how much the job should pay and how much you think you’re worth. At the end of the interview comes the moment for discussing your monthly salary, and it’s a surreal one for those not used to the Swiss system. You have to make an offer, which is met with a counter-offer, with both sides bearing in mind that most Swiss companies pay monthly salaries 13 times a year, not 12 – the 13th is for paying your tax bill (see below). Eventually you agree on a figure acceptable to both parties. It may sound more like bartering in a bazaar than a job interview,