Short-time work (RHT), also known as partial unemployment or technical unemployment, is a measure provided for under the Federal Act on Compulsory Unemployment Insurance and Insolvency Compensation (LACI).
Short-time work refers to a temporary reduction or complete suspension of a company’s activities while maintaining the employment relationships. It is generally due to economic factors.
Currently, due to the coronavirus crisis, the Federal Council has taken extraordinary measures to mitigate the economic impact on businesses (see the Ordinance on Measures in the Field of Unemployment Insurance Related to Coronavirus (COVID-19), hereinafter: O-COVID-19 AC).
Among these measures are adjustments to short-time work (hereinafter: RHT - COVID 19). This measure is intended for companies experiencing a partial or total decline in their activity due to COVID-19 and aims to prevent layoffs. It should be noted that this measure does not apply to self-employed individuals.
Conditions for eligibility for RHT-COVID 19 benefits:
The usual conditions set out in Article 31 para. 1 LACI remain applicable:
The worker must be insured with the ACI.
The loss of work must be at least 10% of working hours.
The employment relationship must not have been terminated.
The reduction in working hours must be presumably temporary.
The worker’s agreement is necessary (Art. 33 para. 1 let. d LACI).
Under RHT-COVID 19, the right to benefits is extended to:
Persons in positions comparable to those of an employer or working in their spouse’s or registered partner’s company (Art. 1 and Art. 2 O-COVID-19 AC).
On-call workers (provided they have been employed for 6 months and their activity rate varies by a maximum of 20%) (Art. 8f para. 2 O-COVID-19 AC).
Persons in temporary employment, apprentices, or those employed by a temporary work agency (Art. 4 O-COVID-19 AC).
Vulnerable persons, i.e., those suffering from conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, chronic respiratory diseases, cancer, or immune weakness due to illness (provided the employer cannot maintain sufficiently safe working conditions) (Art. 10c of Ordinance 2 on Measures to Combat the Coronavirus).
Benefits details:
As provided in Article 34 of the LACI, the benefit amounts to 80% of the loss of earnings due to the lost working hours. (The maximum insurable earnings amount to CHF 148,200 per year).
For persons in positions comparable to those of an employer or for the spouse or registered partner of the employer, a flat-rate compensation is set at CHF 3,320 for full-time employment (Art. 5 O-COVID-19 AC).
Short-time work benefits are paid for a duration of 6 months, renewable once, which can extend over 2 years (benefit period).
It should be noted that companies benefiting from short-time work must continue to pay the full social insurance contributions as if the working hours were normal (100%). The employer is allowed to deduct from the employees' salaries the full amount of the contributions that they are responsible for, unless otherwise agreed (Art. 37 let. c LACI).
The procedure:
To provide swift support, the procedure has been simplified.
When an employer intends to apply for RHT-COVID 19 benefits for their employees, they must submit a request to the unemployment insurance, explaining the direct link between COVID-19 and the partial or total decline in their activity.
The notice period has been removed; however, the employer is required to give notice to the cantonal authority. This can be done by phone but must then be confirmed in writing without delay (Art. 8b O-COVID-19 AC).
Also, the waiting period has been removed, meaning companies will be entitled to benefits immediately upon meeting the conditions.
If the cantonal office approves the payment of benefits, the employer must submit all claims for short-time work benefits to the unemployment insurance fund of their choice. The benefits will then be paid to the employer.
If you would like more information on this subject, Valentin’s Legal Consultation will be pleased to welcome you at our office located at rue du Valentin 1, 1004 Lausanne, to answer any questions you may have. We are also reachable by phone at 021 351 30 00 and by email at info@cjdv.ch.
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