Tag Archives: Editor’s Choice

Working from home is a mixed bag of pros and cons for most Swiss who were surveyed by gfs.bern in March and April 2020. But it worked for most. © Vladimir Fedorov | Dreamstime.comIn 2019, before the outbreak of the corona pandemic, around 1.1 million employees in Switzerland occasionally worked from home. During the pandemic the number of hours worked at home more than tripled. Before the virus an average employee spent 10.5 hours working from home a week. During the lockdown, the...

Switzerland’s highest court recently decided that an employee asked to work at home can claim a part of their rent from their employer, according to the newspaper 20 Minutes. © Ronstik | Dreamstime.comAn employee of a financial firm in Zurich, who got into a disagreement with their employer over the reimbursement of some of their rent, took their case to the Federal Tribunal, Switzerland’s highest court. The rental reimbursement related to the use of the employee’s home as an office....

40% of restaurants that have reopened in Switzerland fear they won’t survive, according to a recent industry survey by Gastro Suisse. © Rtdeleon04 | Dreamstime.comWhen Switzerland’s federal government allowed restaurants to reopen on 11 May 2020 around three quarters did. Many of those that didn’t, decided they wouldn’t be able to turn a profit operating with the required space and hygiene requirements. Those that did open report revenues on average 60% lower than over the same period...

Switzerland’s Federal Council plans to lift all travel restrictions and re-establish free movement of persons across the Schengen area no later than 6 July 2020 and possibly as early as mid June, it announced today. © Scaliger | Dreamstime.comIf the epidemiological evolution allows, restrictions on entering, working and living in Switzerland will be lifted for all Schengen states from mid-June and no later than 6 July, said the government. The Schengen area, which consists of 26...

From 6 June 2020, measures put in place to fight the spread of SARS-CoV-2 will be extensively eased, according to Switzerland’s government. © Regissercom | Dreamstime.comThe number of new cases of infection has remained low for a number of weeks now, as has the number of hospital admissions and deaths, said a press statement. From 30 May 2020, the limit on private gatherings in public will be increased from a maximum of 5 people to a maximum of 30. From 6 June 2020, organised...

© Francisco Javier Zea Lara | Dreamstime.com In Switzerland, the finances of hospitals are similar to those of a business. If revenues fall, as they did during the coronavirus pandemic, profits can turn into losses. During the recent phase of the pandemic, non-urgent operations were postponed to free up hospital capacity to care for serious Covid-19 cases. Postponing these operations has left a large hole in hospital revenue. Fears of infection have kept others away...

© Artzzz | Dreamstime.com More than two thirds are in favour of making masks compulsory on Switzerland’s public suggests a survey run by Tamedia, according to the newspaper Le Matin. In addition, the survey showed widespread support for tracing apps (60%) and reopening schools (70%). Confidence is Switzerland’s government (84%) was high. 45% thought the pace of reopening was appropriate, while 15% thought it was too slow and 38% thought it was too fast. The survey...

In Switzerland, the finances of hospitals are similar to those of a business. If revenues fall, as they did during the coronavirus pandemic, profits can turn into losses. © Francisco Javier Zea Lara | Dreamstime.comDuring the recent phase of the pandemic, non-urgent operations were postponed to free up hospital capacity to care for serious Covid-19 cases. Postponing these operations has left a large hole in hospital revenue. Fears of infection have kept others away from hospitals, further...

The rate on deposits at the Swiss National Bank (SNB) is currently -0.75%. And while taking the rate further into negative territory is not the base case scenario, it cannot be excluded, according to some economists at the bank UBS. © Marekusz | Dreamstime.comThe probability that the SNB lowers rates further is not a base scenario, according to Thomas Jordan, the bank’s chief, reported the newspaper 20 Minutes. However, economists at UBS think it is possible, and give it a 30%...

© Ellesi | Dreamstime.com Italy is preparing to reopen its borders with the rest of Europe, according to the newspaper La Repubblica. A draft law on new rules was published on 15 May 2020 by the Italian Council of Ministers. It provides for the possibility of allowing entry to Italy from 3 June 2020 without requiring those arriving from certain countries to quarantine for 14 days. The countries include EU nations and Schengen members, including Switzerland and...