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Reminder That Job Advertisement Threshold To Change From January 2020

Effective January 1, 2020, employers wishing to hire foreign

nationals for occupations with an unemployment rate of 5% or above

will have to test the Swiss labor market by advertising. The

threshold has been 8% since the requirement was introduced in July

2018.

Employers can check which vacancies are currently affected with

an online Check-Up tool.

Exemptions

The job posting can be waived in the following situations:

  • Change of position of an employeewithin the same employer, if he has already been employed by the

    employer for six months;

  • Employing trainees after they havefinished their apprenticeship with the same company;
  • Employment for a maximum period of 14days;
  • Employment of close relatives if theyare to succeed an authorized signatory of the company.

How does it work?

  • Positions in these occupations haveto be registered to the competent RAV (employment office) via the

    work

    swiss portal, or by email, phone or in person.

  • The RAV advertises the positiononline for five days, during which time the employer may not

    advertise the position publicly.

  • Within three days of publication ofthe job vacancy on Job-Room, the competent RAV contacts the

    reporting employer to put forward a list of jobseekers with a

    matching profile, or to notify them that none are available.

  • The employer reviews the list sentover by the RAV and informs it which candidates it deems suitable

    and has invited to a job interview or an aptitude test, and whether

    a candidate has been employed. There is no obligation to state

    reasons, only to notify.

  • After five days, the employer canadvertise the position publicly.

Consequences for employing EU / EFTA citizens

The job posting is not a precondition for employing and for

obtaining the Swiss residence permit for EU/EFTA citizens.

Irrespective of whether the job position has been posted, the

responsible authority may not deny the EU/EFTA citizen the

residence permit. In this case, only the sanctions against the

employer are applicable.

Consequences for third-country nationals

For third-country nationals, the job posting is a requirement

during the work permit procedure. The employer must provide

evidence of the completed job posting. The job posting obligation

also applies when changing employers.

If the job posting obligation has been neglected, the work

permit will be rejected without further warning. In addition, the

employer will be faced with additional sanctions.

Sanctions

According to Art. 117a of Foreign Nationals Act, the willful

violation of the obligation to post a job vacancy or the obligation

to hold a job interview or a suitability assessment will be

punished by a fine of up to 40,000 CHF. In the case of negligence,

the penalty can be up to 20,000 CHF.

The person who performed the misconduct and not the company is

held responsible.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general

guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought

about your specific circumstances.

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