Switzerland revises job reporting obligation for Swiss-based employers

Executive summary

In Switzerland, job vacancies in all professions and industries with an unemployment rate of 8% or more must be reported with the local unemployment office 5 days prior to publishing the position on any job portal.

As of 1 January 2020, the unemployment threshold rate for these purposes will be reduced to 5% and a more detailed and refined list of occupations affected by the rule has also been published.

While no significant change in the number of job openings that need to follow this procedure is expected, employers are advised to ensure their recruiting process take into consideration the registration requirements prior to seeking to fill any position.

Key issues

Further to national referendum approval of the “Stop Mass Immigration initiative” on 9 February 2014, a number of changes have been made to Swiss immigration law. Since 1 July 2018, employers had to report job vacancies for all professions and industries that have an unemployment rate of 8% nationally.

As of 1 January 2020, the unemployment rate threshold will be reduced to 5%. Further, the Federal Council has revised the scope of professions and refined the list with the profession types which generates more clarity for employers. This allows employers to better identify the different profession types, avoiding unnecessary registrations and thus, a delay in the recruiting process. Compared to the previous list, the revised list involves major changes, for example as of 1 January 2020 no more professions in Marketing and PR need to be reported.

A list with the concerned professions and industries is published and updated each year and can be found here.

Furthermore, apart from the threshold reduction to 5%, in 2020 the reporting requirements remain the same and are defined as follows:

• For a limited period of five working days, the positions in the concerned categories of professions will only be accessible by individuals registered with a cantonal public unemployment office. Employers are then allowed to publish their job vacancies by other means after this five working day period.
• Cantonal unemployment offices will communicate all applicable candidacies to employers during the first three working days following the publication of these job vacancies.
• Employers will have to inform the Cantonal unemployment office if any referred candidate has been selected for the interviewing processes. No justification has to be provided should no candidate be suitable for the position.

The main exceptions to employers’ reporting obligations also remain identical:

• The vacant position is filled by an existing employee (of the company or the group), including interns or apprentices (a minimum employment duration of six months is required);
• The duration of the employment contract does not exceed 14 days;
• The vacant position is filled by a close relative of the company’s owner, such as a spouse, registered partner or siblings.

For non-compliance with these obligations, fines up to CHF 40,000 apply. Merely negligent behavior will be subject to a CHF 20,000 penalty.

Next steps

Prior to announcing the position, employers are well advised to check online for the required position to ensure whether the registration obligations apply in this specific profession. Furthermore, it is recommended to amend the recruiting process to ensure compliance with the registration requirement.