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Co-managing director Manuel Wiesner (36) earns CHF 20,690 per month.
Salary is still a taboo subject in Switzerland. But there are first exceptions. “The secrecy brings nothing to anyone,” says Manuel Wiesner (36). Together with his brother he runs the Wiesner family gastronomy. The chain includes Negishi Sushi Bar, Miss Miu, Nooch Asian Kitchen, Outback Lodge and burger joint The Butcher. Since March 2021, wage transparency has been a top priority for them.
“I earn 20,690 francs a month,” says Wiesner – as if he were talking about the weather. He had to think first because the wages for 2023 were adjusted. All employees now have a fixed salary, there are no more bonuses. A fifth of the profit goes directly to the employees.
Deep pay gap
The lowest salary in the whole restaurant chain is 3582 francs per month. Wiesner earns 5.8 times more. 465 of the 940 employees are paid less than 4,000 francs, which is quite normal in the industry. “211 of them are bike couriers,” explains Wiesner. Often students who work part-time. And it doesn’t matter whether you work in the Outback at Zurich Stadelhofen or in the Nooch Asia Kitchen in Bern, everyone earns the same amount. The chain includes 34 restaurants in German-speaking Switzerland.
The topic of wages has lost importance since the introduction of wage transparency. “We can now concentrate on the essentials during job interviews,” says Wiesner. The group focuses on further training.
There is a wage calculator on the website of the Wiesner Gastronomy family. Potential employees can use this to calculate their future wages. All you have to do is specify the desired position, your professional training and work experience.
The concept has been very well received by all new employees. Older employees would have had to get used to it first. However, since Wiesner and his brother were the first to disclose their wages, the inhibition threshold soon dissolved.
Hardly an issue anymore
Salary does not seem to be a big issue among employees. “We don’t really talk to each other about wages,” says Sarah Ehrismann (36), deputy manager at Outback Lodge. Since 2023 she has been earning 5,560 francs at 100 percent and has been working in the outback for two years.
Employees can view all wages in the HR department if they wish. “Because wages are dealt with so openly, it never occurred to me to ask HR,” says Ehrismann. The other employees seem to think so too. Because, according to Wiesner, there have been fewer than 20 inquiries in HR since it was introduced.
Wiesner is certain: salary transparency will come. «Generation Z talks about their wages. If companies don’t introduce equal pay now, it will come to light in five years.”