A court in Switzerland – where time is money for its famed watchmaking industry – has ruled that a dial manufacturer was justified in telling workers: If you need a bathroom break, clock out and take it on your own time.
An investigative report by public broadcaster RTS over the weekend revealed how a regional court in western Neuchatel ruled that watch dial maker Jean Singer & Cie SA was within its rights to require staffers to punch out for toilet time.
The case has bared what some say is a labor-law loophole in the rich Alpine country with a reputation for running like clockwork.
Word of the clock-out requirement leaked to labour inspectors on a site visit during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, according to the ruling, which was delivered in June but made public last month.
They ordered the company to end the practice, alleging a violation of federal labour law that protects workers’ personal needs and arguing that it could cause workers to “hold it in or not hydrate, which could lead to serious physiological disorders,” the ruling said.
In its legal action against the order, Singer insisted its staffers had “a great deal of freedom” during their breaks – whose length was “left to the discretion of each employee” – and the clock-in system didn’t involve telling managers why staff took them.
Pascal Moesch, a lawyer for the 105-year-old family-run business, told RTS that the company believed the issue was generally about “an interruption of work – whether a toilet break, meal breaks, rest breaks, phone breaks (or) a nature walk. So regardless of the reason for the break, it requires clocking out.”
The court said that while Swiss law was clearer on issues like the hygiene of restrooms and the rights of company leaders to make decisions suited to the specific needs of their businesses, a “loophole” remains when it comes to bathroom breaks – a hint that lawmakers might need to intervene to fill it.
In its ruling, the court wrote that “Swiss law does not mention the right of employees to go to the toilet, even though this is a basic physiological need.”
Singer is not alone, though it’s not clear how widespread such policies are. Two subsidiaries of the world-renowned Swatch Group also required staffers to clock out for bathroom breaks, but the parent said it had been unaware of such a violation of company policy – and immediately stopped it.
“We do not require our employees to clock out when they use the bathroom,” the Swatch press office said in an e-mail to The Associated Press.
“Last week, we were made aware of two isolated cases in our group where this had nevertheless occurred,” it added. “As soon as we were informed of this practice, we immediately brought the situation in the two companies in question into line with group standards.”