People-related issues are central to business success and require advice that is both legally robust and commercially grounded. Walder Wyss provides Swiss and international clients with comprehensive support across employment law, executive compensation, global mobility and pensions.
With a team of more than 40 lawyers spread across all Swiss language regions, we are able to serve clients throughout the country with seamless, locally attuned support. We act for employers, top executives and public-sector bodies, advising on routine HR questions as well as strategically significant or time-critical matters, always aiming for solutions that are practical, risk-aware and aligned with our clients’ objectives.
We advise on the full range of individual and collective employment law topics. This includes guiding clients through reorganisations, transfers of undertakings, outsourcing projects and workforce reductions. We also support clients in managing sensitive workplace situations such as internal investigations, whistleblowing processes, data protection in an HR context, discrimination or harassment claims, and complex termination scenarios. When disputes arise, we represent clients in negotiations and proceedings before courts and authorities. We also assist our clients in drafting and negotiating employment and management agreements, as well as preparing clear policies and pay structures.
A particular focus of our practice is executive compensation and incentive structures, international mobility and pensions/occupational benefits. We design and implement short- and long-term incentive plans (cash and equity-based), advise boards and compensation committees on governance and regulatory requirements, and structure arrangements for key talent and management teams in the context of M&A, restructurings and capital-markets transactions. We also guide clients on cross-border assignments and global mobility programmes, including immigration, social security and tax interfaces, as well as Swiss and international pension matters such as plan design, plan changes in corporate transactions and pension-related disputes.
Whether you are growing, transforming or responding to change, we help you build and protect your workforce framework – so you can attract, retain and reward talent with confidence.
Our key areas of activity are:
- Private and public employment law
- Collective employment law, including health protection and safety in the workplace
- Negotiation of collective bargaining agreements and social plans
- Recruitment, monitoring, reviews and surveys
- Negotiating and drafting contracts, terms and conditions of employment and directives
- Developing working models
- Designing compensation and bonus programs
- National and international employee share ownership schemes (stock, options, profit sharing, incentive, phantom stock and phantom option plans)
- Employment law aspects of M&A transactions
- Employment law aspects of out-/insourcing projects
- Job placement and personnel leasing
- Termination of employment, restructuring and mass dismissal
- Court actions and out-of-court dispute resolution
- Anti-discrimination matters
- Health and safety at the workplace
- Pandemic (e.g. Covid-19) advice
- Digitalisation of workplace