We care about you. This is why we create conditions which are oriented towards the needs of society and enable you to combine life and work optimally.
Wages.
For the third year in a row, SBB has been awarded the We Pay Fair label. That means we received the highest certification level for a fair remuneration system for women and men.
GA Travelcard.
You are entitled to a 2nd class GA Travelcard if your level of employment is 50% and your contract is for at least 12 months. In the case of fixed-term employment contracts (of less than one year), the level of employment must be at least 50% when extrapolated to one year. For a small supplement, you can even become a 1st class GA Travelcard holder. (The GA Travelcard is designated as a salary component and is therefore subject to tax). If you do not meet this requirement, you are entitled to a Half Fare Travelcard. Of course, your family will also enjoy wide-ranging benefits.
Work Smart.
To help you be flexible and balance leisure and work time, SBB offers “Work Smart” as an option in many careers.
Our holiday regulations guarantee all employees who are subject to the collective agreement at least 25 days of holiday. Until the calendar year of your 20th birthday, 30 days of holiday will be available to you. From the age of 50, you benefit from 30 days of holiday, and from the age of 60 you benefit from 35 days of holiday.
Time off in lieu and additional remuneration for shift work.
We provide additional remuneration for shift work, night work and weekend work: for example, with CHF 16 per hour for working on Sundays. For night work, you will also receive time off in lieu of between 10% and 30%.
SBB carries the “Friendly Workspace” label. We advocate for working conditions which promote good health and offer courses on maintaining and promoting physical and mental health. Employees also have free access to professional and confidential social counselling.
Career and educational guidance.
SBB offers career and education guidance to support employees who seek to further develop their careers. During career guidance, perspectives are developed and goals are defined, taking into account your life situation as a whole.
Staff offers platform.
On the staff offers platform, employees regularly benefit from new, attractive offers at preferential prices as well as from discounts of up to 50% on services (for museum visits, fitness centres, language exchanges or branded products).
Part-time work and job sharing.
At SBB, we cultivate a wide variety of forms of part-time work so that individual needs can be met in customised ways of working. This also includes the possibility of job sharing.
Just take a break: During your employment with SBB, you can use the Flexa model to accumulate time or money credits in a long-term account. You can then take the time you have saved up in this way as long-term leave or in the form of a reduction in your workload – thus combining your work even better with your free time or your family. You decide what you want to use the time you have saved for.
Work-life balance coaching offer.
If you have any questions about reconciling work and family life, you and your partner can contact the specialist unit “UND”, who will advise you free of charge.
Saving with the SBB staff savings account.
The SBB staff savings account offers you deposit accounts with favourable conditions. The money you invest will receive a preferential interest rate. SBB will place the deposits into general investments such as real estate and rolling stock. The deposits are underwritten by SBB.
SBB is a family-friendly company and holds the ‘Family-friendly company’ label from Pro Familia Switzerland, the umbrella organisation of family organisations.
Child allowances.
The SBB guarantees you a child allowance of CHF 320 for your first child, regardless of your canton of residence. From the second child onwards, it is CHF 205, as long as only the statutory minimum of CHF 200 can be claimed.
Childcare.
With FamilyCare, we help you to organise and finance childcare outside your family. Depending on your income, up to 90% of your childcare costs will be covered. During the first 6 years of your child’s life, you also have the option of taking 3 months of unpaid parental leave. And if childcare ends up being cancelled at short notice, we will organise a replacement for you in cooperation with our partner organisation, Profawo.
Advisory and placement services in the area of child and family care.
SBB employees can make use of all the advisory and placement services offered by Profawo free of charge. Profawo provides advice and information on childcare services outside the family throughout Switzerland. This includes the provision of nannies and emergency nannies, Profawo’s own daycare centres, parent newsletters with useful tips, holiday care throughout Switzerland and individual advice on looking after family members who need care.
Mothers and fathers benefit from generous leave when their children are born: 18 weeks of maternity leave (only 14 weeks are required by law) and 20 days of paternity leave (only 2 weeks are required by law).
Parental leave.
As a mother or father, SBB gives you the option of taking unpaid parental leave of up to 3 months per child.
Various models of the future allow you to tailor your retirement to your needs.
Valida.
From the age of 60, you can benefit from the Valida model. You can receive income equivalent to your full wage from the Valida foundation for two years. Alternatively, you can enjoy gradual early retirement with reductions in your workload when you want them. During your early retirement period, your pension fund contributions will continue to be paid. This means there’s no reduction in your final pension or associated payments.
Priora.
With the Priora future model, SBB helps you to benefit from greater participation in the bridging pension. With Priora, 80% of the AHV bridging pension is paid out to you by the SBB pension fund from the age of 62. Without Priora, SBB will cover 20% of the costs of your transitional pension from age 60.
Activa.
The Activa model allows you to prepare for your retirement in small steps. You have the option of reducing your working hours from age 60 in exchange for working up to three years beyond the standard pension age. This model is based on the mutual agreement of all those concerned.
SBB Pension Fund.
The SBB Pension Fund is one of the largest pension funds in Switzerland. It insures around 56,000 people and manages capital of around CHF 18 billion. The coverage ratio is over 100%. The provision exceeds the minimum stipulated by the BVG (Swiss pension fund law) and provides more security in old age. The contributions to the 2nd pillar depend on your income and are deducted directly from your salary. But as an employer, SBB also makes generous contributions to the financing of savings and insurance contributions. The money saved and paid in over years can be withdrawn following retirement, death or invalidity.
Your employment contract is based on the SBB collective agreement, whatever your job or the level of your position. This was developed in negotiation with employees’ associations. That guarantees you stable working conditions and the right to participation and a say within the company.
You benefit from our annual working hours model, which follows the principle of a five-day week with 41 hours of work. In case of part-time work or job sharing, your working time is reduced proportionally. Thanks to individual time tracking, both you as an employee and SBB always have an overview of overtime and absences. If your annual salary exceeds CHF 120,000, you can opt out of time tracking if you so wish. As compensation, SBB offers you days off on pre-defined bridging days.
Employment under the Code of Obligations (OR).
A marginal proportion of our workforce is subject to the Code of Obligations. Certain elements of their terms of employment differ from those provided by the collective agreement, for example regarding holidays.
The benefits of SBB’s remuneration system go above and beyond the legal requirements.
We pay fair.
Our fair and progressive remuneration system is something we are proud of. And for good reason. For the fifth year in a row, SBB has been awarded the “We Pay Fair” label. This means we received the highest certification level for a fair remuneration system for women and men. We reward individual performance, take the nature of the job market into account and create transparency. In 2024, women at SBB earned the same amount as men on average. The inequality is only 0.1% in favour of men. This is shown by a review by the Competence Centre for Diversity and Inclusion at the University of St. Gallen. This means SBB comes in considerably below the Confederation’s tolerance limit of 5% and has effectively achieved equal pay. SBB commissions an external audit of equal pay at the company every year and continually develops its remuneration system to reflect current and future challenges.
Bonuses and regional bonuses
If you work on Sundays or at night, you benefit from attractive bonuses. SBB evens out regional wage disparities with regional bonuses. Your salary thus also depends on your place of work. The place of work laid down in your contract defines your eligibility for a regional supplement.
