The Swiss government presented its measures last Friday and in this article we explain who is entitled to which measures and when and how to apply for them.

• Extension of short-time working
• Help for the self-employed
• Measures to bridge the liquidity gap
• Parents without childcare
• Persons under quarantine by the authorities

We also go into detail on:

• General meetings without shareholders’ physical presence
• Next steps after notification of short-time working

Extension of short-time working
The Swiss government has extended short-time working in its ordinance. Short-time working compensation is now also paid to apprentices, temporary employees and those with fixed-term employment contracts. The following are still not eligible:

• Employees who have reached retirement age
• Persons who have given or received notice of termination of employment
• Employees with an indeterminable absence from work (e.g. employees on call)
• Workers who do not give their consent.

The waiting period will be reduced from one day to 0 days, thus completely eliminating employer participation in absenteeism. Similarly, employees do not have to compensate for their overtime before they can benefit from short-time working compensation.

Ownersoflegal entities and their partners may now also benefit from short-time working compensation. However, the maximum possible compensation is onlyCHF 3,320 per monthfor a workload of 100%, which in our opinion is absolutely inadequate.

It is also intended that the short-time working compensation be paid in advance.

Assistance for self-employed workers
Self-employed persons who suffer a loss of income due to the governmental measures are entitled to compensation from 17 March until the end of the loss of income. The compensation corresponds to 80% of the average earned income.

The last personal OASI contribution serves as the basis for calculating the entitlement. If this was CHF 54,000, for example, this results in a daily allowance of CHF 120 per day (CHF 54,000 x 80% / 360). The maximum possible daily allowance is CHF 196 per day, the same as the amount for maternity allowance. Self-employed persons with an annual income of higher than CHF 88,200 will therefore not be reimbursed for the income in excess of this amount.

Self-employed persons who already receive daily allowances from other insurance schemes or who, for example, expect compensation from an epidemic insurance scheme, are not entitled to this allowance.

All self-employed persons must submit their claim to the compensation office to which they are affiliated; the compensation is not automatically paid.

According to the Federal Social Insurance Office (BSV), compensation may only be registered and paid out “when the system is fully functional”. The BSV mentions “early to mid-April 2020”. However, some compensation offices are already moving forward and will send out claim forms in the next few days.

Measures to improve liquidity
In addition to the governmental measures, which will take some time to take effect, we recommend talking to landlords and suppliers and, if necessary, negotiating later payments. We also refer to the guarantee cooperatives as per our last newsletter.

Bridge loans
The Swiss government would like to grant companies uncomplicated loans of up to 10% of turnover, whereby loans of up to CHF 500,000 are to be 100% guaranteed by the government. Higher amounts are to be guaranteed by the government at 85%. The programme is to build on the existing guarantee cooperatives and include banks as lenders.
An emergency ordinance is currently being drafted and questions on how to proceed are expected to be raised at the earliest on 25 March 2020.

Liquidity buffer for social security and taxes
An interest-free payment deferral will be granted for contribution invoices to OASI/IV/EO/ALV. Likewise, for direct federal tax, VAT and other taxes, there will be the possibility of extending the payment deadlines. Interest on arrears will be reduced to 0% from 21 March 2020 to 31 December 2020.
In addition, companies and self-employed persons are encouraged to review the payments on account and, if necessary, adjust them to the actual circumstances.

Legal standstill according to SchKG/DEBA
From 19 March to and including 4 April 2020, debtors may not be pursued throughout Switzerland.

Compensation for parents without children
Parents with children under the age of 12 who have had to interrupt their employment due to the coronavirus because childcare is no longer guaranteed are entitled to a daily allowance equivalent to 80% of their wage, but not exceeding CHF 196 per day. There is no entitlement to the allowance if the parents can also work remotely or if another insurance benefit is available. In principle, however, both parents are entitled to the benefit.

The claim can be made from 19 March at the earliest and ends when a childcare solution has been found or the corona measures end.

The OASI compensation office is responsible for the claim and transfers the amounts directly to the parents. Only one compensation office is responsible for both parents. Unfortunately, the necessary application form is not yet available.

Compensation for persons due to a quarantine measure
Self-employed persons who are subject to quarantine measures by the authorities and who do not receive continued salary payment from their employer or other daily allowances can apply to the compensation office for compensation, provided they are resident or gainfully employed in Switzerland. Compensation will be paid at the earliest for days after 17 March 2020 and will end when the quarantine is lifted or as soon as 10 daily allowances have been paid out. As with the EO, the daily allowance is 80% of the last wage, but a maximum of CHF 196 per day.

The application forms are not yet available and it is currently not yet possible to register for compensation.

General meetings without shareholders’ physical presence
In the Ordinance on Measures to Combat the Coronavirus, the Federal Council decided that general meetings no longer require the physical presence of the shareholder during the measures. Regardless of the number of participants and without complying with the invitation period, shareholders can now also exercise their rights either in writing (by letter or also electronically) or through an independent proxy. The company must either notify this in writing or publish it electronically four days before the general meeting.

Next steps after notification of short-time working
After the pre-registration of short-time working has been submitted to the local office, short-time working has not yet been invoked. Companies must apply for short-time work no later than 3 months after the end of the accounting period (one accounting period usually corresponds to one calendar month). For this purpose, a simplified Excel spreadsheet has been made available for short-time working as a result of the corona crisis, which can be found here: Application and accounting for short-time working compensation.

It should also be noted that short-time working must be applied for 15 days before expiry of the duration requested in point 4 of the pre-registration of short-time working.

The completed and signed Excel spreadsheet must be sent together with the evidence (recording of hours, payroll journals, wage sheets, etc.) of the information provided to the unemployment insurance fund mentioned in the form for the pre-registration of short-time working under point 7. In addition, it should be noted that if not submitted with the pre-registration, the employees’ consent to short-time working must be submitted subsequently. Furthermore, short-time working is only compensated if the loss is greater than 10%.

For the coming months, the Excel spreadsheet will also be used to apply for advances on short-time working compensation.

If you have any questions or need assistance with any of the individual points, please do not hesitate to contact us.

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