I am asking this for a friend of mine who is working for a finance company here. Her boss is asking her to work an extra 3 to 6 hours on top of the 8 hours daily and expect no pay. Is there a body/organisation she can go to
to ask for legal help?? She doesn't speak very good German (the workinng language is English) and she is confused and a little worried.

Can someone please advise what would her legal stance.

Thanks

Buis

Try running this site through a translator or Google Chrome browser:

http://www.arbeitsrecht-info.ch/ueberzeit.htm

Thanks so much will email her link right away!

I think it is difficult to answer your question without knowing what her employment contract says.
It's possible that a boss asks her to do supplementary work, but the first think to look at is the contract.
Moreover, supplementary hours aren't always "paid" in monney. In some companies, employers don't get paid but can deduce the hours they worked in supplement and get free days and even week. Actually, nowadays this practice is very common in the swiss economic system, one needs to be flexible.
If your friend has some doubts about her contract, I'd advise to talk first to her boss and then if necessary go to HR in her company to clarify things.
The first precaution though is that she carefully registers when, at what time, how long and for what kind of work she had to work supplementary hours.
Good luck

Unless you are a "Kader". Then overtime is neither paid nor recorded in an overtime account.

If she's on 100K, then a 40 hour week is about 50CHF per hour. If she's doing 3-6 hours extra, for free, per day, then that comes to 35CHF-27CHF per hour.

Is her work really worth a rate of 27CHF per hour? I'm sure she could earn as much as that in a far less strenous enviroment.

Here's some rules. Unless she's managment, it seems her boss is breaking the law. Also read this: Maximum working hours

The working week has a maximum duration of 45-50 hours top, number being set per industry; beyond that, overtime MUST be paid, either in free time or in cash, with an additional 25% compensation.

Read it in english here or directly in the Federal Law on Labour in French, art. 9.

Note that all the code of law is published in English at http://www.admin.ch/ch/e/rs/rs.html If you are patient, I am sure you can find the text there.