A small digital start up company in Geneva has been fined for underpaying its staff. Some were paid as little as CHF 500 a month.
The company sold online advertising and employed 18 people on the low wage.
It called them interns. The company claims it believed it could pay that little. But the legal definition of an intern means they must have formal training or in in education.
A court has ordered the company to be fined CHF 29,000 and must pay back pay – which now amounts to CHF 270,000.
The company’s lawyer says it’s considering an appeal to the Federal Court.