Purpose
As is the case for short-time working, the aim of bad-weather compensation is to avoid redundancies being made. It is paid for working stoppages incurred by employers as a result of bad weather. It is paid directly to the affected employer.
Who is insured/entitled to claim?
A definitive list of the branches of industry eligible to claim can be found in the UIO (Art. 65). The employer can submit a claim for individual employees, provided they have completed their compulsory schooling and not yet reached OASI retirement age.
Claims may not be made for employees who ...
- are not affected by an ascertainable working stoppage or whose working hours are not sufficiently verifiable;
- are employed on a temporary basis;
- do not agree to the bad-weather-related work stoppage; or
- have been hired from a third-party company.
In addition, neither people employed in a function similar to that of an employer (e.g. CEO) nor spouses or registered partners working at the company of the employer may claim bad-weather compensation benefits.
Application for bad-weather compensation
The employer must submit an application for bad-weather compensation. He/She must submit a notification to the responsible cantonal employment office (by no later than the 5th day of the following calendar month). The unemployment insurance fund is also selected when issuing the notification. A separate form must be issued for each individual site on a monthly basis. The cantonal employment office in the canton where the place of work is located.
The cantonal employment office uses a meteorological calendar or other suitable documentation to check whether the working stoppages are really a result of bad weather.
If the cantonal employment office authorises the bad-weather compensation, the employer must submit the additional applications to the selected fund. The unemployment insurance fund checks the application requirements in detail and in the event of a positive decision, it then reimburses the short-time working compensation.
Benefits
The compensation paid out after the applicable waiting period amounts to 80% of the loss of earnings attributable to the reduction in working hours caused by the weather conditions.
With bad-weather compensation, the UI also reimburses the employer contributions for OASI/UI/LE/UI (see also the information service brochures and settlement forms). The employer share of OASI/UI/LE/UI is 6.225%.
Who can provide me with in-depth information about bad-weather compensation?
The cantonal employment office can answer all fundamental questions on forms, advance notification and company departments. The relevant unemployment insurance fund is responsible for specific questions on benefits and calculations.