Facts
S. commenced employment as an administrative officer with X. on 1 September 1983. From 1990 onwards, she experienced health issues that negatively impacted her work performance. By letter dated 10 December 1993, X. presented S. with a new employment contract with a monthly salary reduction of CHF 500.-- effective 1 January 1994. S. did not accept this contract. Thereupon, X. terminated the employment relationship with due notice effective 30 April 1994 and offered S. a new employment contract for the period from 1 May 1994 onwards, which provided for less favorable conditions.
S. formally objected to the termination on grounds of abusiveness. The parties did not reach an agreement on the continuation of the employment relationship. S. filed a claim for the issuance of a new employment reference and payment of CHF 18,000.-- due to the abusive termination.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court examined whether the termination with altered terms was abusive. It found that a termination with altered terms is generally permissible, but can be abusive if the termination is used as a means of pressure to bring about a contractual amendment that is burdensome for the other party and cannot be objectively justified.
In the present case, the termination was abusive, as X. made the termination conditional on S. agreeing to an immediate salary reduction. This constituted an abuse…