The Effect of Coronavirus on Employment in Switzerland

As of 2 May 2022 all health related restrictions for entry are lifted and no entry form has to be filled. For details see the Swiss federal Public Health site.

During the Covid special rules, if an employee was prevented from coming to Switzerland from their location abroad under Swiss health rules, they may work from home abroad and still remain on the Swiss payroll. As soon as the Swiss health rules allow them to come to Switzerland, they could no longer work abroad and had to come to work in Switzerland for which they may need a work permit.

Now that the Special Swiss COVID rules for entry are no more, the above exception is no longer generally allowed. Any such exception needs to be verified on an individual basis with the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health.

The notice period and rules for termination by employer or employee remain unchanged due to Coronavirus. A fixed term employment contract ends on the pre-determined end date unless extended. An employee cannot be served notice while off sick, but this has not been extended to also apply to someone who is not sick but just quarantined.

Anyone who loses their job, regardless of nationality and work contract can receive benefit at 80% salary as long as they have worked in Switzerland or the EU/EFTA/UK for a minimum qualifying period. In the first instance you need to contact your local employment office. In Zürich a good place to start is

https://awa.zh.ch/internet/volkswirtschaftsdirektion/awa/de/arbeitsmarkt/beratung_im_rav/rav_standorte/stadt_zuerich.html

Compensation for short-time working (furloughing) is no longer supported under special COVID-19 rules after 31 March 2022.

This FAQ is compiled based on facts from the following sources:

Federal Ordinance on COVID-19
Centre Patronal
SECO
State Secretariat for Migration

If you have further questions feel free to contact us.