Tag Archives: Business & Economy

Growing old is something that happens to nearly all of us. However, according to a recent study close to one in three people (28%) reported age-related discrimination in Switzerland in 2017. © Photovs | Dreamstime.com The rate of age discrimination (28%) is higher than sexism (22%) and racism (12%), according to Christian Maggiori, a professor focused on social work interviewed by the newspaper La Liberté. Maggiori thinks the high incidence of agism could be partly explained by a lack laws...

Today, The Federal Council, Switzerland’s executive, announced it has approved a deal safeguarding the rights of Swiss and UK citizens after Brexit. © Melinda Nagy | Dreamstime.com The agreement is part of a package of deals being worked out as part of a plan dubbed “Mind the Gap”. Under the agreement, any UK citizen residing in Switzerland before Brexit will retain all of their existing rights for life. The same will apply to Swiss citizens living in the UK. When the UK leaves the EU, the...

Heidi Joos, the managing director of the organisation Avenir 50 plus, and others, plan to launch a referendum aimed at introducing laws against age discrimination in Switzerland. © Vadimgozhda | Dreamstime.com Age discrimination in recruitment is common in Switzerland. Some job search websites allow filtering by age, and job adverts sometimes specify applicants be below a particular age. The initiative aims to provide a framework for seeking legal justice in cases of age discrimination, to...

Even when labelled properly food labels provide precious little information on what a product might contain. © Tero Vesalainen | Dreamstime.com For example, a piece of farmed salmon will typically be labelled only with its country of origin, containing no information on what the fish has been fed. Contaminated fish feed can significantly push up the level of dioxins found in the fish’s fat. Mad cows disease is another example of how animal feed contaminated food. Recently, the Fédération...

On 1 December 2018, Switzerland’s flag carrier started offering cheese fondue on flights out of Geneva. © Margouillat | Dreamstime.com The dish is a new addition to the airline’s Swiss Saveurs menu, which was launched six months earlier. The pre-heated, specially packaged fondue, which is 50% Vacherin Fribourg and 50% Gruyère cheese, is available on Swiss flights from Geneva to Malaga, Athens, Stockholm, Moscow, Gothenburg, Hurghada, Lisbon, St Petersburg and Marrakesh. The 200 gram portion...

The latest figures show that Swiss salaries have not kept up with inflation. An average Swiss salary rose 0.4% in 2017, compared to inflation of 0.5%. This left the average salary earner 0.1% worse off in real terms over the year. © Convisum | Dreamstime.com The figures were the same for both the secondary and tertiary sectors. The rise in 2017 (+0.4%) was the same as 2016 (+0.4%) but less than 2015 (+0.5%) and 2014 (+0.9%). Average annual salary increases in Switzerland have been below 1%...

Third quarter Swiss GDP figures released yesterday show Switzerland’s economy shrank compared to the quarter before. © Tobias Arhelger | Dreamstime.com GDP for the quarter to September was down by 0.2% compared to the quarter before, ending an 18-month run of quarterly growth. The fall in Swiss GDP follows a quarterly slowdown across the rest of Europe, in Germany in particular. A fall in the output of Germany’s automotive sector has had a knock on effect in Switzerland. Swiss manufacturing...

A recently published study ranks Switzerland 10th on gender pay gap. Switzerland’s gap of 17% is bigger than Italy’s (5.3%), Luxembourg’s (5.5%), Belgium’s (6.1%), Sweden’s (13.3%), Spain’s (14.2%), Denmark’s (15%), France’s (15.2%) or the Netherlands’ (15.6%), but lower than Finland’s (17.4%), Portugal’s (17.5%), Austria’s (20.1%), the UK’s (21%) or Germany’s (21.5%). © Andrii Yalanskyi | Dreamstime.com Confusion around aggregate pay gap figures leads some to conclude women are getting paid...

Switzerland’s unemployment benefits might be generous but they are strictly policed, as one recipient recently discovered. ©-Phartisan-_-Dreamstime.com_ - Click to enlarge For a period of up to approximately two years after losing a job, most workers in Switzerland receive 70% of their former salary up to a maximum of CHF 88,200 a year – the amount paid varies depending on circumstances1. To continue receiving the...

Nestlé recently announced that the global headquarters of Nespresso will move from Lausanne to Vevey. The announcement confirms rumours that have been circulating for some time. © Zingaraheureux _ Dreamstime.com While the move will affect around 350 staff no redundancies are planned. From 2021, Nespresso’s global management team will be housed in a building it owns containing the Nest museum near Vevey’s train station. The global Nespresso team is currently spread across two rented sites in...