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WORKING IN SWITZERLAND

What Swiss employees need to know about working in a heatwave

Working while temperatures exceed 30C is not only unpleasant, but can also be dangerous to health and safety. What are Swiss employers’ responsibilities in such cases?

Published: 21 August 2023 13:08 CEST
Updated: 24 August 2023 12:17 CEST
What Swiss employees need to know about working in a heatwave
Extra protection is required for those working outdoors.Image by David Mark from Pixabay

Unlike in countries such as Germany, where authorities can declare ‘heat-free’ days when people don’t have to work, no such perk exists in Switzerland.

Or, rather, no longer exists, because before the turn of the millennium, many cantons had these so called Hitzefrei days. For the past 20 years, however, that is no longer the case. In 2003, Basel-City was the last canton to abolish this regulation.

One key exception is for pregnant or breastfeeding women who are not required to work in temperatures above 28C (or below -5C in the winter).

What does Swiss law say?

Generally speaking, the employer must protect employees’ health and safety in the workplace.

While this refers to all kinds of workplace situations, the Swiss Labour Act also specifies health protection in concrete terms.

In extreme weather conditions, for instance, the room temperature, air circulation, and relative humidity must be coordinated in such a way that “a room climate is not detrimental to health and appropriate to the type of work”.

The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) has also issued guidelines for employers about how to protect their workforce during hot spells.

What are the SECO’s recommendations to protect workers during heatwaves?

For those working in offices or other indoor spaces with an internal midday temperature of 32C, employers should consider installing fans, changing work hours (avoiding high-heat periods in the middle of the afternoon), and offering extra breaks.

For outdoor workplaces, such as construction sites for example, employers should — besides voluntarily adjusting work hours as mentioned above — also inform workers about the risks of the sun, heat and ozone; provide means of protection (suitable clothing, sunscreen, etc.), as well as shaded areas for break periods, while ensuring there is plenty of bottled water at hand.

Levels of physical effort should also be reduced as the temperature climbs further.

READ ALSO: Switzerland’s official advice on how to protect yourself in a heatwave

Beware of heat-related work accidents

High temperatures put a strain on the body and can be dangerous for people working outdoors, according to a warning issued by the National Accident Insurance Fund (SUVA).

“Statistics show that on days when temperatures exceed 30C, there are 7 percent more accidents than on other summer days,” SUVA said in a press release.

For all those working outdoors (and their employers), SUVA suggests the following measures:

  • Protect the head from heat and UV rays: if safety requirements permit, wear a helmet with a neck protector and a front visor or a sun hat
  • Cover the skin as much as possible with light summer work clothes and apply sunscreen several times a day to exposed areas
  • Be attentive to the feeling of thirst and drink water at least every 20 minutes to avoid dehydration due to perspiration. Make sure you are sufficiently hydrated before you even start work
  • Take regular breaks in the shade. Frequent short breaks provide better recovery than a few long breaks
  • Adapt the pace of work according to the heat and the feeling

What happens if you have a heat-related health problem or injury at work?

As for all kinds of accidents, if you work for your employer for at least eight hours per week you will be automatically insured under the obligatory accident insurance scheme, also known as UVG (German), LAA (French), or LAINF (Italian).

READ ALSO: How does accident insurance work in Switzerland?

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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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