Switzerland’s highest court recently decided that an employee asked to work at home can claim a part of their rent from their employer, according to the newspaper 20 Minutes.
An employee of a financial firm in Zurich, who got into a disagreement with their employer over the reimbursement of some of their rent, took their case to the Federal Tribunal, Switzerland’s highest court.
The rental reimbursement related to the use of the employee’s home as an office. The court decided in favour of the employee and ruled the rent reimbursement be paid retroactively.
The ruling could have an impact across all of Switzerland. The steep rise in home working resulting from the coronavirus makes the ruling even more significant.
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richardbunning says
My view, based on common sense, is that this ruling is plain wrong and potentially damaging. The employee saves time and money from working from home, aside from the benefit to all of reducing traffic, reducing crowding in public space, reducing crowding at work, and providing flexibility to working lives. Why should the employer, having to adjust to changes in work practice anyway, face the additional cost of subsidizing a rent that has to be paid however a property is used or not used? This will only discourage employers from supporting work from home, which is not in either individuals or the nations best interest. Arguably, looking forward, this negative pressure on home working isn’t in employers interest either. However strong the legal basis of the ruling the result is plain stupid.