441 companies examined – Seco reports 39 cases of misuse of short-time work funds – News

  • The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (Seco) has targeted a number of companies that may have unlawfully received short-time work compensation during the corona crisis.
  • So far, 441 companies have been checked.
  • In 39 cases, the authorities reported, as reported by Seco.

After the outbreak of the pandemic and the lockdown measures imposed by the federal government, short-time work made a significant contribution to stabilizing the Swiss economy. Businesses badly affected by the lockdown received significant financial support from the federal government. Today it is clear that a widespread job cuts could be prevented.

However, not all companies that received short-time work compensation were entitled to do so. Together with the auditors E&Y and PwC, Seco has done a lot to uncover and punish cases of abuse, explained Boris Zürcher, head of the Labor Directorate at Seco, at a conference call. The effort is worth it.

Assessment of the economic correspondent


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“It is important to investigate the abuse cases and bring fraudulent companies and individuals to justice. Only if they were severely punished would this also have a deterrent effect on future federal rescue operations. The alleged amount of the crime of – as of today – almost 40 million francs can be described as manageable, especially since the federal government paid out over two billion francs in short-time work compensation in an uncomplicated manner during the Corona period. In this way, many companies and jobs could be saved.” Andi Lüscher

According to the information, by the end of June, Seco had reclaimed almost CHF 40 million in money paid from companies that had committed abuses. Zürcher continued, 12 million of these have been repaid so far. He estimated the costs for the controls and audits at 4.8 million Swiss francs.

5600 people still on short-time work

The abuses are also prosecuted, but it is not the task of Seco, but of the responsible judicial authorities. According to Zürcher, there are some big differences: “If, for example, even the smallest offenses with amounts of less than 5,000 francs are prosecuted in the canton of Ticino, nothing is done elsewhere in the case of significantly higher amounts and abuse.”

After the outbreak of the corona pandemic at the beginning of March 2020, short-time work compensation was used actively in Switzerland. In March, 1.6 million and in April as many as 1.9 million employees in Switzerland were registered. In April, this was around 37 percent of all employees.

In the meantime, short-time work hardly plays a role anymore due to the very good situation on the Swiss labor market. According to the latest information, just under 5,600 people were still on short-time work in May.

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