Yesterday, Switzerland’s Federal Council rejected an initiative proposing paid paternity leave, and it recommends parliament do the same. It thinks the estimated CHF 420 million cost is too high. It also fears the proposed hike in social security tax (APG) to fund it, could hurt the economy. The plan, which will be put to a […]
Switzerland’s gender pay gap – why educational equality doesn’t lead to the same pay
A recent OECD report on the gender pay difference looks at the situation in Switzerland. Across the OECD, young women are better educated than young men, do more work in total – paid and unpaid – yet earn less. In 2015, the average pay difference across the OECD was around 14%. Over the 5 years […]
Illegal workers cost Swiss social security 320 million, according to estimate
Many people employed in Swiss homes are undeclared. According to one estimate the amount of unpaid social security taxes on the total paid to these people could be as high as CHF 320 million a year. Quitt.ch, a company that helps people with the administration around employing home help, reckons between 200,000 and 250,000 of […]
Zug plans to drop French from school curriculum
Following in the footsteps of Thurgau, the canton of Zug is looking at a plan to remove French from the primary school curriculum. The argument is the same: language learning overload. Choosing to learn English as a second language makes sound practical sense in an increasingly global world, however in Switzerland it is not that […]
A majority of Swiss support legalising cannabis, says survey
According to a survey, a majority of Swiss support the legalising the sale of cannabis under certain conditions. The survey, conducted by GFS Zurich for Fachverband Sucht and GREA, an association of professionals focussed on addiction, involved questioning 1,200 people by telephone. Of those surveyed, 22% had tried cannabis. The biggest variation was across age. Only 4% […]
Swiss gender pay gap only 2 percent, says study
A report published by the head hunting firm Korn Ferry finds pay differences between men and women doing the same job are statistically insignificant. The report says that while it is true that, as a group, women get paid less than men, it is not because they receive less for the same work. It is […]
Most popular Swiss baby names in 2016
Today, the Swiss government released statistics on the most popular baby names in 2016. The Swiss statistics office has been collecting this data for 31 years. In 2016, Mia (488), Emma (446) and Elena (327) were the three most popular girls’ names. Together these three names were given to 3% of the 42,900 girls born […]
Swiss initiative to grant more paternity leave given official green light
20 Minutes. The 100,000 signature mark required to launch a popular vote was reached in June 2017. Yesterday the Swiss Federal Chancellery validated 107,075 of the 107,455 signatures collected completing the first significant official milestone. The initiative is demanding four weeks of paid leave for fathers, to be taken within the first year of the […]
How much pocket money Swiss kids get varies hugely by linguistic region
A study requested by Credit Suisse and Pro Juventute shows how much pocket money habits vary across Switzerland. Of the 14,000 adults surveyed a clear majority said it was their job to teach their children how to deal with money. Parents in the lowest earning category (less than CHF 50,000 p.a.) placed greater emphasis on teaching their […]
Men in Switzerland doing more around the house
The average number of hours spent on domestic tasks by men in Switzerland rose by 10% between 2010 and 2016 according to a report by Switzerland’s federal statistical office. The 17.9 hours dedicated to domestic work by an average man every week was 36% less than that of an average woman. Men however were not […]
