Employees required to quarantine after returning to Switzerland from a SARS-CoV-2 risk country have no right to be paid during quarantine, according to the Swiss Employers Union, an employers association.
This echos Switzerland’s Covid-19 Ordinance. Those who have to go into quarantine in accordance with Switzerland’s COVID-19 ordinance are not entitled to loss of earnings compensation.
However, in certain cases employers who send employees to high-risk countries may be required to continue to pay staff salaries during quarantine.
According to the Swiss Employers Union, there is nothing in Switzerland’s code of obligations that requires employers to pay employees in quarantine who have voluntarily travelled abroad to a risk country. The portion of the code that requires employers to continue to pay salaries in certain situations does not apply in this instance, says the association.
Whether employers can prevent their personnel from travelling to risk countries is something that should be decided on a case by case basis based on the balance of pros and cons, recommends the association. If staff oppose what is agreed, the employer is entitled to reprimand or warn the staff member and even hold the employee responsible for paying damages, according to the organisation.
More on this:
Swiss Employers Union article (in French) – Take a 5 minute French test now
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