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WORKING IN SWITZERLAND

Why freelance and temp workers are in high demand in Switzerland right now

Swiss employers are looking not only to fill vacant permanent positions in the workforce, but are increasingly seeking freelancers and temporary workers as well.

Published: 14 March 2024 11:18 CET
Why freelance and temp workers are in high demand in Switzerland right now
The need for freelancers is growing in Switzerland. Photo: Pixabay

Amid continued labour market shortages, the demand for freelance jobs has grown by 23 percent between January and February, outstripping all other types of employment, PageGroup recruitment company said.

As for temporary employment opportunities, they increased by 8 percent during this period.

The reason for this upward trend is that “heightened economic and geopolitical risks have made employers and candidates more cautious,” according to Yannick Coulange, managing director of PageGroup Switzerland.

“Freelance and interim employment contracts are seen as a way to help manage business risks. As a result, we are seeing a significant increase in most forms of non-permanent work.”

The Michael Page Talent Trends survey confirms this phenomenon: the growth in these types of jobs is in line with the fundamental change happening in the labour market as a whole.

“Loyalty to an employer has lost its lustre: nine out of 10 people who started a new job within the last year are open to new opportunities. Many candidates find advantages with non-permanent work options – from both a career development and work life balance perspective,” Coulange said.

A ‘win-win’ situation

For many job-seekers, a ‘non-fixed’ position is the best-case scenario, as they “prefer to invest in building their careers through project-based work,” often in non-permanent contracts.

And such an arrangement is a plus for companies as well.

“Many employers have increased recruitment requirements to include, for example, candidates undertaking extensive assessments and aptitude tests. As a result, recruitment times for permanent jobs are longer than ever. Interim roles normally do not have such heightened requirements,” Coulange pointed out.

This situation, where both employers and workers make greater use of non-permanent contracts, “is expected to continue for the foreseeable future.”

Can foreign nationals get ‘freelance visas’ to work in Switzerland?
 
If you hope to get a visa or a work permit to work as a freelancer in Switzerland, that is not going to happen. As many Swiss residency permits are tied to an employer, moving to Switzerland in order to become a freelancer will not confer a work permit. 

You can, however, become a freelancer if you are already living in the country, with a legal status that allows you to work here, which usually means either a C or B permit.

READ ALSO : Freelancing in Switzerland: What foreign nationals need to know

And while being a freelancer offers perks such as  flexibility and freedom, it does carry many of the same obligations as permanent work does: paying taxes and social contributions, as well as having the basic health insurance policy.

READ ALSO: What freelancers in Switzerland need to know about paying tax

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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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