Since many factors must be considered in case of unemployment, you must in any case contact the Swiss officer in charge before your employment contract expires, if you expect to be unemployed or working on a lower employment level for some time.
Export of Unemployment Benefit
If you qualify for benefits from the Swiss unemployment insurance, you have the right – based on article 69 VO EWG 1408/71 – to export those benefits to another EU/EFTA member state. Before you can claim this right, you must have been registered as unemployed for at least four (4) weeks after the beginning of unemployment with the primary responsible labour administration and have been at their disposal for this time prior to your departure. You have to register as a job-seeker in the country, from which you export the benefits, and undergo the local controls. The right to export benefits is granted for three (3) months at the most.
Further information on benefit export can be found in the „Kreisschreiben über den freien Personenverkehr KS-ALE-FPV, Randziffern B 118 ff.“
General Information
General information regarding the Swiss Unemployment Insurance can be found on www.treffpunkt-arbeit.ch -> „Arbeitslos – was tun?“ and in the brochures under „Downloads und Formulare“. You will find the Unemployment Insurance Law (Arbeitsversicherungsgesetz AVIG) and ordinance under the keyword „Gesetze“; the keyword „Kreisschreiben“ contains the „Kreisschreiben über die (schweizerische) Arbeitslosenentschädigung (KS ALE)“ from January 2007. (All the links and brochures mentioned are only available in German, French and Italian)
General information regarding the Unemployment Insurance in the international field can be accessed on www.treffpunkt-arbeit.ch/arbeitgeber/personenfreizuegigkeit/soziale_sicherheit/ and in the „Kreisschreiben über den freien Personenverkehr (KS-ALE-FPV)“, which can be found under the keyword „Kreisschreiben“. Questions with regard to the international field will also be answered by the corresponding EURES advisers. Information can be found on http://www.treffpunkt-arbeit.ch/jobsuche/eures/eures/.
Swiss Legal Order in an international environment
EWG 1408/71 applies in Switzerland
(
http://www.admin.ch/ch/d/sr/c0_831_109_268_1.html).
According to article 13 paragraph 2 letter a, a person is only subordinate to one legal order. Generally, the last state of employment has the responsibility for granting the benefit in case of unemployment.
If a person is ‘regularly employed’ in Switzerland, s/he is subordinate to the Swiss Unemployment Insurance during the time of contract. Therefore, Switzerland is responsible for granting the benefit in case of unemployment. Information on the conditions to demand unemployment insurance benefits in Switzerland can be obtained in the brochure „Arbeitslosigkeit“ on www.treffpunkt-arbeit.ch -> „Downloads und Formulare“ -> „Broschüren“.
