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WORKING IN SWITZERLAND

Switzerland: Zurich’s Green party pushes for ‘menstrual leave’

Zurich's green party is pushing for women who suffer from menstrual cramps to be given leave from work.

Published: 3 June 2022 12:02 CEST
Switzerland: Zurich's Green party pushes for 'menstrual leave'
Zurich authorities will soon decide on the merits of "menstrual leave". Photo: Pixabay

Anyone who suffers from menstrual cramps should be able to be exempted from work in Zurich’s municipal administration for up to five days. This is what the Green deputies on the city council are calling for.

These absences should be with full pay, the party says.

This option should also be open to trans and non-binary people.

Party members are urging city officials to carry out a pilot test for menstrual leave, and the experiment should then be scientifically evaluated.

The City Council will debate the proposal at a forthcoming meeting.

In the past, local elected officials had already demonstrated their willingness to support menstruation-related matters: in March, the Zurich city parliament backed a push for free tampons for schools and public toilets.

In fact, Zurich’s Federal Polytechnic Institute (ETH ) has launched a pilot project  in September 2021 at four locations in Zurich and Basel, where 22 “menstruation stations” have been installed in women’s and in gender-​neutral toilets.

While the move toward the menstrual leave is bold, it is not the first in Europe.

Spain also has a plan to introduce paid “menstrual leave” in the workplace, which is now debated in the parliament.

When can you get a day off work presently?

Swiss law allows employees to take time off with pay in some well-defined circumstances.

They include:

  • A medical appointment
  • A court appearance or similar legal obligation
  • Public duties (working as a member of Parliament, for instance)
  • Your marriage
  • Birth of your child
  • Death of a close relative
  • Moving house
  • Care of a close relative

READ MORE: For what reasons am I allowed to get a day off work in Switzerland?

What if you get sick?

In case of illness, if you are absent for more than three days, you must present a medical certificate mentioning your diagnosis and how many days (or weeks or months) you will be absent from work.

While menstruation is not a valid reason per se to miss work (especially if you are a man), having symptoms that prevent you from performing your job could be.

During this time you will continue to receive your salary for a period of time based on the duration of your employment and whether your company has a sickness benefit insurance for employees.

Generally speaking, if your illness is protracted, your job might not be there waiting for you until you recover — you are protected from dismissal only for a limited period of time, depending on how long you have been employed at a company.

READ MORE: Reader question: Does my Swiss employer have a right to fire me when I’m sick?

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For members

WORKING IN SWITZERLAND

The pitfalls of Switzerland’s social security system you need to avoid

In most cases, Switzerland’s social benefits system functions well. But there are also some loopholes you should know about.

Published: 24 April 2024 13:37 CEST
The pitfalls of Switzerland's social security system you need to avoid

The Swiss social security system has several branches: old-age, survivors’ and disability insurance; health and accident insurance; unemployment benefits, and family allowances.

This is a pretty comprehensive package, which covers everyone who pays into the scheme for a wide variety of ‘what ifs’.

As the government explains it, “people living and working in Switzerland benefit from a tightly woven network of social insurance schemes designed to safeguard them against risks that would otherwise overwhelm them financially.” 

But while most residents of Switzerland are able to benefit, at least to some extent, from this system, others don’t.

What is happening?

If someone becomes ill or has an accident, Switzerland’s compulsory health insurance and / or accident insurance will cover the costs.

However, a prolonged absence from work can become costly.

That is especially the case of people employed by companies that don’t have a collective labour agreement (CLA), a contract negotiated between Switzerland’s trade unions and employers or employer organisations that covers a wide range of workers’ rights. 

READ ALSO: What is a Swiss collective bargaining agreement — and how could it benefit you?

It is estimated that roughly half of Switzerland’s workforce of about 5 million people are not covered by a CLA.

If you just happen to work for a company without a CLA, your employer is not required to pay your salary if your illness is long.

You will receive money for a minimum of three weeks – longer, depending on seniority — but certainly not for the long-haul.

You may think that once your wages stop, the disability insurance (DI) will kick in.

But that’s not the case.

The reason is that DI can be paid only after a year after the wages stop. In practice, however, it sometimes takes several years of investigations and verifications to make sure the person is actually eligible to collect these benefits, rather than just pretending to be sick. 

In the meantime, these people have to use their savings to live on.

What about ‘daily allowance insurance’?

Many companies (especially those covered by a CLA) take out this insurance, so they can pay wages to their sick employees for longer periods of time.

However, this insurance is optional for employers without a CLA is place.

As a result, small companies forego it because it is too much of a financial burden for them.

And people who are self-employed face a problem in this area as well: insurance carriers can (and often do) refuse to cover people they deem to be ‘too risky’ in terms of their age or health status.

Critics are calling the two situations —the length of time it takes for the disability insurance to kick in and gaps in the daily allowance insurance—”perhaps the biggest failures of the social security system.”

Is anything being done to remedy this situation?

Given numerous complaints about the unfairness of the current system, the Social Security and Public Health Commission of the Council of States (CSSS-E) will look into the “consequences of shortcomings and numerous dysfunctions in long-term illness insurance.”

But not everyone in Switzerland sees a problem in the current situation.

According to the Swiss Insurance Association (SIA), for instance, “making daily sickness allowance insurance compulsory for employers would not have the desired effect. Due to false incentives, it would only exacerbate the upward trend in costs and premiums.”

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