Switzerland’s parliament recently decided to increase the amount of childcare costs that can be deducted from taxable income. Parliament voted 131 to 48, with 14 abstentions, to increase the maximum annual childcare deduction from CHF 10,100 per child to CHF 25,000 when calculating federal taxes, according to RTS. Childcare in Switzerland is expensive. According to […]
Global Geneva launches young journalists and writers competition
The Geneva-based magazine Global Geneva is running a writing competition for young writers (14 to 19 year olds). A total of 2,450 francs of prize money will be awarded to the best entries – 1st 1,200 francs, 2nd 750 francs, 3rd 500 francs. To enter, write a compelling article or short story (1,000 words) on […]
International Women’s Day – discontent with Switzerland’s childcare system
Since 1911, when people in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland came out in support of equal rights, 8 March has been International Women’s Day. A survey by Ispos on the event’s website gives insights into attitudes towards gender equality around the world. Some areas, like whether it’s easier to be a man, are controversial and show […]
Poor air quality in two thirds of Swiss classrooms
A recent study by Switzerland’s Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) estimates that the air quality in two thirds of Swiss classrooms is inadequate. The main problem is the build up of CO2. High CO2 concentration affects the concentration of those in the room. It can also provoke head aches and lethargy. The study, which […]
Switzerland comes third globally for higher education
Switzerland trails only the US and UK in this year’s QS World University Ranking. UK-based QS, which ranks 1,200 universities across 78 countries, placed Switzerland’s two federal universities, ETHZ (7th) and EPFL (22nd), in the global top 50 in 2019. ETHZ was ranked in the top 10 across 22 domains, ranking first in biosciences. Both […]
Sharp rise in divorce among Switzerland’s foreign population
This week, Switzerland’s Federal Statistical Office published figures on the number of divorces in 2018. Overall Switzerland’s divorce numbers were up 2.1% at 16,200 for the year. However, when broken down the number of divorces among couples where both were Swiss went down 6.1% as did those where one was Swiss (-0.9%). Divorces among couples […]
Swiss government commission favours parental leave over paternity leave
Switzerland lags behind most european countries on financial support aimed at easing the challenges of combining work with starting a family. An initiative, which aims to introduce 20 days of paid paternity leave to make it easier for fathers to help at home when their children are young, is being discussed in Bern, but no […]
Switzerland scores well on youth job market conditions but suffers from skills mismatch
A recent report places Switzerland second in a ranking of 33 european countries on conditions in the youth labour market in 2016 – youth are those between 15 and 24. Switzerland’s overall score of 5.67 out of 7.00 is close to Denmark’s 5.72. Switzerland’s highest scores are for employment rate (6.01) and working conditions (5.77), […]
Geneva continues to refuse school places to cross-border workers
Last year the courts invalidated the canton’s refusal to offer school places to children living in France. According to the newspaper Tribune de Genève, the canton continues to refuse these children places in its schools. In 2016, around 1,500 children living in France were going to school in Geneva. In 2017, things changed. 143 of […]
Death of child in skiing accident acts as reminder of the dangers of reckless skiing
The recent death of a young girl in a skiing accident in Lenk in Switzerland has reopened the debate on how to deal with dangerous skiers. On 28 December 2018, a four year old girl, who was hit by a skier at the resort of Lenk in the canton of Bern, died in hospital after […]
