Legal Frameworks of employment
Theatre and dance performers are seldom civil servants.  As a rule, they are “salaried workers” with either a fixed-term or an indeterminate work contract. They can also have the status of “independent workers” with a fee contract for services.

Laws
The Code of Obligations, Federal Law, 30 March 1911, Article 319 (general law for all workers) covers fixed-term contracts and mission contracts.  A number of associations propose standard mission contracts to their members.

Effects
The Conventions Collectives de Travail (CCT) (collective work agreements) administer the following points:
a) Fixed-term contracts in the French-speaking area: CCT between the Union des Théâtres Romands (UTR) (union of French-speaking theatres) and the Syndicat Suisse Romand du Spectacle (SSRS) (Swiss union of performing arts in the French-speaking area), visit: www.ssrs.ch
b) Fixed-term contracts in the German-speaking area: for examples of standard contracts visit: www.theaterschaffende.ch
c) The right to combine a permanent position as an artist with an additional function (e.g. teacher): during the duration of the contract, the exercise of another form of gainful employment is subject to the employer’s prior agreement, it being understood that mornings remain free (see: CCT-UTR-SSRS. Article 11 CCT).
d) Intellectual property rights: the legal framework does not affect intellectual property rights. 
e) Concerning the right to join a trade union: the legal framework does not affect the right to join a trade union.

Professional status
There is a definition of professional actors for the French-speaking area applied by the SSRS and the UTR (see CCT–UTR-SSRS on the website: www.ssrs.ch).

WORK CONTRACTS

Form and content of contracts
Oral contracts do exist. For them to be valid, the duration, work time and the amount of the salary must be specified. It is, however, more customary to conclude written contracts.
Standard contracts and by whom they are drawn up
There are 2 Conventions collectives de travail (CCT) (collective work agreements) which are applied in both the French- and German-speaking regions:
- CCT Union des Théâtres Romands and the Syndicat Suisse Romand des Spectacles
- CCT Union des Théâtres Suisses and Schweizerischer Bühnenkünstlerverband
These collective agreements are applicable and compulsory for the members of these associations.
There are standard contracts for non-union members.
For the compulsory clauses, see example: CCT-UTR-SSRS on the website: www.ssrs.ch

Duration of contracts
The duration of contracts is not regulated. Casual or fixed-term contracts are used. These contracts cannot be terminated before their expiry date.
Trends towards growing precarity in the employment of artists. Fixed-term contracts are becoming increasingly frequent.

Duration of work
The regulations on the duration of work applicable to artists are contained in the collective agreements (see CCT-UTR-SSRS on the website: www.ssrs.ch).

Health care
Artists holding contracts that are open-ended (or for at least one year in German Switzerland) are insured by the employer both in the case of illness and in the case of accident. Artists holding fixed-term contracts are not, as a general rule, insured by the employer in the case of illness. They have private insurance coverage.
There are no specific regulations on the health of artists.

Employers and safety
The application decrees for labour law comprise articles on safety and hygiene.

Consultation on safety
Unions and professional associations have been consulted and have the right to make proposals on safety.
There is no special regime for artists suffering from a disability.

Administrative inspections of working conditions
Just as for all other workers, inspections cover security, salubrity, compliance with labour law, social declarations. They are carried out by various State services. When offences or irregularities are noted, the administrative services can impose fines on the offenders.

SOCIAL WELFARE

a) Social welfare for salaried workers, i.e. those who are employed under a work contract

Legal framework
The existing insurance schemes are: the private sector: health and accident insurance; the public sector: disability, retirement.
For salaried workers, all these types of insurance are compulsory. Coverage depends on the scale of the contributions.

Workers without steady employment
The status of the “intermittent” worker does not exist in social insurance laws.

Legal obligations of the employer
The employer’s legal obligations are: declarations of employment for foreigners, salary slips, payment of social contributions (social contributions are paid by the employer and the employee).

Salaried workers under fixed-term work contracts
Salaried workers under fixed-term contracts are covered in the same way as salaried workers under open-ended contracts, except for retirement, disability and illness.

Salaried workers residing abroad
The legal status of salaried workers residing abroad is the same. On this point, a form of unfair competition by foreign productions on the national territory has not been noted.

Complementary and/or voluntary insurance
Basic health care insurance is private and obligatory; complementary insurance is also private but voluntary. There are various private insurance schemes for retirement pensions.

Disabled artists
There is no special social cover for artists suffering from a disability.

Administrative aspects
In the case of health care insurance and complementary pensions, employers and private bodies under State control deal with the collection of  contributions.
The State and private insurance companies are responsible for the payment of benefits to artists.
There is no company for the collective administration of royalties (copyright and related rights) that intervenes in the financing and management of social security coverage.
The State takes charge of health expenses and the payment of other social benefits when a salaried worker is no longer covered by an insurance scheme, under certain conditions.


b) Non-salaried workers (without a work contract)

Legal framework
The “employers”, i.e. those who use the services of artists (producer or organizer of shows; records; films; radio; television; gallery owner; editor; etc.), do not have social obligations, notably the payment of contributions when artists are not under a work contract.
It is compulsory for non-salaried artists to insure themselves for health care, retirement and invalidity funds.  They are obliged to contribute for their social security coverage, in particular for illness, disability and retirement.
They may subscribe to a complementary insurance scheme, notably for health care and retirement.
The legal status of non-salaried artists residing abroad is the same as that for those living in Switzerland.

Financial aspects
The service user does not pay any amount linked to social contributions, be it a percentage or a lump sum.
On the other hand, the non-salaried artist must pay all contributions.
Non-salaried workers are not provided with social security coverage.

Administrative aspects
The State and private insurance companies collect contributions and pay benefits to artists.
There is no company for the collective administration of royalties (copyright or related rights) that intervenes in the financing and management of social security coverage.
The State takes charge of health care expenses and other social indemnities when a non-salaried artist is not covered by an insurance scheme.

UNEMPLOYMENT

Legal framework
The law on unemployment insurance (LACI) lays down the unemployment insurance scheme applied to artists.

Financial aspects
The scale and duration of the benefits paid:
the scale of the benefits paid varies according to the amount of contributions paid in. The duration of the payment of benefits is 400 days.

Administrative aspects
Employers collect the contributions, which they then pay to the State. The unemployment funds under State control administer the payment of benefits to artists.
There is no company for the collective administration of royalties (copyright and related rights) that intervenes in the financing and management of social security coverage.
The State takes charge of the payment of a minimum income when an artist is not covered by any insurance scheme, as for any other worker.

REMUNERATION
Artists are paid wages directly.

The minimum level of payment (per service/job, per week, per month):
there is a minimum level of payment for artists subject to a collective work agreement (see CCT-UTR-SSRS on the website www.ssrs.ch).
The gratuity is not frequent.

Income from intellectual property rights
There are companies for the collective administration of royalties. Artists enjoy the effective distribution of the royalties received by the collective administration companies. Artists have no difficulty in recovering the royalties collected in their name by the collective administration company/companies.


Source: SSRS Syndicat suisse romand du spectacle, SBKV Schweizerischer Bühnenkünstlerverband, VTS Vereinigte Theaterschaffenden der Schweiz, novembre 2003.

Useful links:

• Syndicat Suisse Romand du Spectacle: http://www.ssrs.ch/
• Schweizerischer Bühnenkünstlerverband: http://www.sbkv.com/
• Vereinigte Theaterschaffende der Schweiz: http://www.theaterschaffende.ch/