On June 19th, the Federal Council announced the end of the state of emergency in Switzerland.

Among the measures that are being lifted from Monday is the recommendation issued in mid-March for employers  to favour home-working for their employees.

This strategy was in line with the lockdown measures implemented by the government to ensure that people stayed at home to curtail the spread of the Covid-19 virus.

Only employees deemed to be ‘essential’ to the public health or the country’s economy were required to be physically present at work.

However, last week the Federal Council said that on-site work is now allowed.

READ MORE: UPDATE: What changes in Switzerland today as coronavirus restrictions are eased? 

“The recommendation to work from home is to be lifted, as are the guidelines on protecting people at especially high risk. These individuals may also return to the workplace”, the authorities said.

Employers are, however, obliged to take the necessary measures to protect the health of their employees, in accordance with the Swiss Labour Law, the Federal Council added. 

What about the cross-border workers?

If you have been working from home from your home in France, Italy, or Germany, and your employer now wants you back in your workplace in Switzerland, you should have no more problems crossing the border than you had before the health crisis.

During the lockdown, the commute across the borders was slow because many crossings were closed and controls were in place at checkpoints. 

But since borders with the neighbouring countries and with other Schengen area nations were re-opened on June 15th, the bottlenecks at crossings are not as frequent. 

If you have been working from home these past weeks, you will likely hear from your employer — or perhaps you have been contacted already — regarding your return to the workplace.