Geneva: Occasional professional activities carried out during school or university holidays now exempt from the Geneva cantonal minimum wage

1. Geneva cantonal minimum wage

The canton of Geneva has had a minimum wage since 1 November 2020 (Articles 39I et seq. of the Law on Labour Inspection and Labour Relations (LIRT/GE)). This minimum wage applies to all employees who usually perform their work in Geneva (Art. 39I LIRT) and is therefore applicable in all sectors, regardless of the position concerned.

However, the law provides for certain exceptions to this minimum wage, listed at Art. 39J LIRT, which include apprenticeship contracts, internship agreements forming part of an educational or vocational training program provided for by law as well as employment contracts concluded with minors. No minimum wage applies in such cases.

The minimum wage is indexed annually (Art. 39K para. 3 LIRT) and amounts to CHF 24.59/hour in 2026. A specific minimum wage applies in the agriculture and floriculture sectors (CHF 18.07/hour for 2026).

The amendment to the LIRT adopted on Sunday, 8 March 2026 introduces a new partial exemption from the Geneva cantonal minimum wage for occasional professional activities carried out during school or university holidays.

2. Scope of application of the LIRT amendment

The amendment to the LIRT introduces a new provision, Art. 39K para. 3 LIRT, which provides for an exemption from the Geneva cantonal minimum wage for the following constellation:

• the employee is a student enrolled in an educational institution recognized in Switzerland;
• the activity takes place during the school or university holidays; and
• it is carried out for a maximum of 60 days per calendar year.

If these conditions are met, the applicable minimum wage is reduced and set at 75% of the Geneva cantonal minimum wage.

It should be noted that year-round student jobs, internships forming part of a training program, and seasonal employees who are not year-round students are not affected by this minimum wage reduction.

3. Purpose and amount of the reduced minimum wage

The reduction now introduced aims at encouraging employers to offer more holiday jobs to students and thereby enable a greater number of them to gain initial professional experience.

The reduced minimum wage applicable to holiday jobs will amount in 2026 to CHF 18.44/hour, respectively CHF 13.55/hour in the agriculture and floriculture sectors.

4. Sanctions

Compliance with the minimum wage is monitored (Art. 39M LIRT), and any violation may be sanctioned by an administrative fine of up to CHF 30,000 imposed by the Cantonal Office for Labour Inspection and Labour Relations (OCIRT) (Art. 39N para. 1 LIRT). This amount may be doubled in the event of a repeated offence (Art. 39N LIRT).

Furthermore, the OCIRT maintains a public list of employers who have been sanctioned (Art. 39N para. 4 LIRT).

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