I had a friend who provided me his CV to personally give to my HR team, this friend gave my name to his RAV person as an "application". He stated that they may call me to confirm, nobody ever did. I believe there are a variety of ways to show proof of job applications to RAV, mainly the email confirmation sent just after submitting one. Not sure how it works with smaller companies ...
It is highly regulated and the information is available on their websites and you should have been provided with a good dossier of information to read when you applied, and if you were in Canton Zurich you probably also had to do a training programme online... not sure if that's common to all cantons....
As newtoswitz said, the regulations are very strict and clear.
It's not typical in Switzerland to run to a lawyer at the first sign of trouble. Instead, you are expected to be self-informed. However, if you want free legal advice there will be these services where you either have to call a number at a certain time, or turn up in person at a particular time.
If you are not completely fluent in the language of your RAV Office then you are normally expected to provide your own translator. If you are unable to access the legal information yourself (due to lack of language skill) then your first point of call should be a translator/interpreter who is familiar with the system.
Whilst you may not want to put specific details on the forum, 'acting strangely', as I said, is not a reason to grab immediate legal advice, because it is so exorbitantly expensive and unlikely necessary.
One power that you do have, and your RAV office or their website should be able to tell you how to do this, is to request a new advisor if you are unhappy with your current one.
... you can always show the belated response if questioned by the RAV whenever they expose you to their tender mercies
AFAIK the only choice available in the entire process is the ex-employee's choice which ALK is to handle the payouts. The employer has no choice to make, once you're unemployed they're out of scope.
If you're not happy with a RAV decision, request a "Verfügung", a formal decision in writing (or by e-mail, if so agreed) from your RAV person. It won't hurt to add the request in writing/e-mail after placing it verbally, so you can prove having requested one.
A Verfügung must contain
a) a title
b) the decision taken
c) reason(s), grounds
d) what law or regulation it's based on, and
e) how it can be challenged (the "RechtsMittel" [e.g. an appeal], appellate instance and the time limit)
Generally, that should be the overseeing cantonal body. Usually called Arbeitsamt, or Wirtschafts- und Arbeitsamt, or similar. Berne has elected to use its right to an ExtraWurst and calls theirs Wirtschafts-, Energie- und Umweltdirektion .
Your first step is to request a Verfügung (it's your right, not a favor) from your RAV person.
Here, too, a Verfügung is the first step.
Next, speak to the RAV officer to clarify, especially based on "what it says in this paragraph, here" and "this here", etc., how the matter should work, and whether there has been any misunderstanding. This, of course, with OP's own interpreter in the discussion, as needed.
Only then will OP be able to understand whether things are really not okay, as he thinks, or are just different from what he had expected.
It really is about self-advocacy - if you are not good at that, then ask around your connections (the forum is a good one) for someone who really 'knows stuff' - or is simply a very good communicator....
And yes, you should now have all the links you need to get started on finding the right information and support to work out your problem with RAV, whatever it is....
In my experience some cultures are much better at 'self advocacy' than others, some cultures/people have the first reaction to blame-shift, others to tantrum, others to avoid conflict, some to 'save face' and capitulate, and some are really good problem-solvers and self-advocates. In Switzerland, self-responsibility (Selber schuld = it's your own fault) seems to be the default position, and that is broad enough to include being self-informed, phoning a friend and self-advocating.... and if you can't self advocate, you take the advice of someone who is a local and understands the language and culture...
At least, that's my experience.
Whilst I haven't been subject to the RAV process myself, there are many in my network who have. From my direct discussions with them over the years, I have noticed a clear theme for extra demands from the RAV of those folks who haven't been perceived as authentic and diligent in their job-searching efforts, so hopefully you haven't landed in that bucket...And for all of my expat network who've landed with the RAV, there's been a real sense of additional urgency and pressure once they've reached the 3-month unemployed mark - several of my contacts have made comments about the job searching police seemingly scrutinising every hour of every day to the extent that at least 4 of them wound up removing themselves from the process, choosing to live off savings whilst job searching at their own pace and approach.
Good luck OP, I hope you are not experiencing such treatment - just think of this time as a means to an end. With hard work, you will get to where you want to be. Take care!
I am unemployed and don't speak a local language fluently and being unemployed don't have any money. How do I afford a translator in this instance ? If I don't and cannot understand the RAV person, do I lose my benefits and therefore have no income ?
As for money, you do get money from the ALK?
I am not sure if this is still the case, but I have had several colleagues who took intensive language classes through RAV.
Alternatively, you might be able to find a free advice bureau, where there might be a social worker who could check your documents, and make sure you understand the steps to take. Sometimes someone from one of the church organisations (to which you can appeal irrespective of your own personal religion or spirituality) might be willing to help as a free translator. A neighbour or a friend will do, too. If you have children, then you could ask their teachers if they know of someone in the neighbourhood who speaks your language(s) and the local Swiss one, and might help. There are also neighbourhood help organisations, with volunteers. It can take a bit of work to find the right match, though.
The other translation option is to read, read, read what's available online, and run it through both google translate and deepl, as they give slightly different results. And then ask here on this forum, for help understanding specific parts that aren't clear, including instructions from the RAV advisor. Ask the advisor to give you those in writing, to ensure that you receive the message clearly.
I knew someone who, while struggling to get out of bed in the morning, and to get out there and upgrade her skills and make all those applications, was told, rather roughly: "Job-seeking is a full-time job." That remark stung, but turned things around, for her. She told herself she no longer had to worry about this all the time , but only during office hours. In those, she persued whatever she could to improve her employment chances, and she gave herself a lunch break. She decided 8 or 9 hours a day was too much, but made herself do 6 or 7, and documented it all, so she'd know whom to call back, when. Her unemployment officer relaxed the pressure, immediately. Yet is was his blunt statement that had actually given her the push she needed to more effectively seek - and later find - a job.
Yes, I concur. With few exceptions of plan bad service by the RAV officer, everyone I know who has been with the RAV gets better treatment in direct proportion to the amount of effort they demonstrate, in their job search.
Document everything , in a log-book / excel table, etc..
Naturally, the written applications, go on that list. But don't forget to document such things as, for example (with date and time) the call you made to your former colleague from the job-before-last, to ask whether she knew of any posts in your field, 2 hours and 20 minutes that you spent in an online forum related to your work, asking for advice about improving your employability the online course that you then enrolled in, based on that advice, and how many of the n tutorials/modules you have now completed, using y minutes per day on four days a week 50 minutes you spent doing homework to improve your local language skills, on 2 days that week, and 20 minutes on another day, plus the 90 minute lunch with your brother-in-law (with whom you usually speak English) specifically for him to help you practice your conversation skills in the local language 30 minutes per morning, on 2 mornings a week, reading online job ads 3 hours in the [university?] library reading instructions/courses/journals, to keep your knowledge up-to-date 3x 30 minutes homework from the course that the RAV sent you on 90 minutes enquiry to see whether any of your skills/education from abroad could be processed/upgraded by some modules, so as to obtain a new Swiss cerfiticate/qualification.
If you can show that you are making every reasonable effort to find a job, working for at least several hours on this every day, Monday to Friday, then you are much, much less likely to be mercilessly pushed by the RAV officer.
Taking the approach of "well you should learn french or you cant have any money" is an absurd statement. If they can't speak french when they arrive at hospital accident and emergency would you similarly leave them to fend for themselves ?
RAV is a government service. its not a "only if you speak nicely" service. it has a duty to provide citizens who have paid into the scheme with their unemployment compensation while they look for work.
Even if we tend to give English for granted across Europe and beyond, every state has one or more official languages and this clearly sets some boundaries to what is offered.
I have often heard of RAV paying for language courses; this takes longer but also increases the chances of finding a job.
I imagine myself unemployed in Japan, asking them to give me a translator and help me finding an Italian-speaking job...