I have worked in Basel since March 2014 while living in Germany. My department will now close and I will need to claim unemployment benefit. The issue is that my wife started in Basel university just before I received the news about the department closing and we want to send our son to a Kindergarten in Basel so we planned to move there as we only had a 6 month lease which we also started just before I got the news.
My question is, does anyone know what are my rights to unemployment benefit in Switzerland? AWA in Basel has said they will only make a decision after we move but we can't risk this in case they don't pay us and I can't find a new job. If anyone knows the likelihood of them granting payments please advise.
p.s. if you know a laywer that deals with this type of thing for employee rights please let me know.
Sadly, if you are a frontalier, you have to apply for unemployment benefits where you are resident, and paid your taxes, and not where you worked. This is one of the reasons why many here keep reminding frontaliers that costs are indeed cheaper in France or Germany- but unemployement benefits lower. Bonne chance. Do you mean private kindergarten? You can't send your child to state school in Switzerland if you are not employed (lag4r edit/resident) here, as it is paid by tax payers here.
If you move to live in Basel and you worked for the required minimum length of time in an EU country and therefore contributed to unemployment benefit pot then you should normally be able to claim unemployment benefits in Switzerland based on those contributions.
If you continue to live in Germany you will have to claim unemployment benefit there.
Renting an apartment whilst unemployed would be pretty difficult. Add to that the increased cost of living and it probably isn't a very attractive proposition.
Maybe not in Zurich- but here it would be very easy as rents are low, and France so close for shopping, family, etc. Someone who gets 80% of Swiss salary in Basel, Zurich, Geneva- could live very well here on 80% that is for sure.
I have not been able to find anything on line- but still not sure if someone with frontalier status (as compared to someone moving from further afield in the EU) would be allowed to do this- eg move in and claim in CH for unemployment benefit- if they had frontalier status (which is very specific) before becoming unemployed. OP would be wise to ckeck with RAV before doing anything.
Agreed it would be easier there but even so they'd have to find someone willing to rent to them given that unemployment benefit is not endless plus the hassles and fists associated with moving, changing schools etc.
I don't believe many people would think it was a good idea whoever they live in all honesty.
If you live abroad and have a cross-border commuter permit (permit G) which allows you to work in Switzerland, you pay contributions into the Swiss unemployment insurance scheme. If you have to work short-time you receive compensation under the Swiss unemployment insurance scheme. If you lose your job you receive unemployment benefit in your country of residence but can benefit from the services of the public work placement scheme in Switzerland. In order to do this, contact the job centre in the region where you last worked.
Well.. I dont know the details but.. (always a dangerous start).. I thought that if you worked in Switzerland for xx number of years (sorry I don't how many) and paid into the Swiss unemployment insurance and then lost your job, you can be paid the Swiss unemployment amount .. but it's paid out through your country's social security system.
This definitely happened to at least one person I know who lives in France but worked in CH.
Nope, you get 57% instead of 70 or 80% (if you have children) if you are a frontalier, as you have to apply for unemployment in your country of residence.
The question here is, could a frontalier on G permit move to Switzerland after becoming un-employed and receive Swiss unemployment benefits (at 70 or 80%). I have not yet found any information on links to that effect.
The question is how would you claim it? If you move here as a tourist it’ll be difficult to rent a place and you can’t claim unemployment because you’re not a resident. If you move here as a job seeker you still don’t have to register for the first 3 months so still wouldn’t get a permit. If after 3 months you then try and get an L permit you need to show you can support yourself financially so trying to claim unemployment here doesn’t sound as if it would go down very well.
As said before, there are parts of Switzerland where one could rent an small, older flat, for about 500- near the border. Then that person would be resident- but had become unemployment whilst living in France on frontalier G permit. What then- is the question in hand- what would the legal situation be then? Not been able to find anything at all on this situation (irrespective on whether it would be worth it, too much hassle, etc).
Have a meeting tomorrow night with people who should know- will ask.
Well, if AWA in Basel said they won’t make a decision until the OP moves here it sounds as if theoretically it’s possible. Otherwise they would just have said no to start with. Whether they’d pay the Swiss rate (70/80%) or just the 57% we have to wait and see.
The guy is in administration and speaks English with basic German and needs to find a job. Living in the middle of nowhere is not going to make finding a job any easier, to the contrary i imagine.
You also need to be available for RAV meetings and courses and for work at all times whilst on RAV, trying to diddle them to get higher unemployment is probably not the best way to go.
He chose to live in France/Germany as it was evidently cheaper, but at the end of the day, as with most things, you get what you pay for. If it really was that easy, we'd probably have 3 million Frogs claiming unemployment here !
They'd still need a permit to become a Swiss resident though as a G permit will no longer be valid and getting a permit whilst unemployed would be difficult and getting a flat without a permit and unemployed would also be difficult so overall moving from France just to get higher unemployment benefit is clearly not an easy option.
As far as the OP is concerned given that his wife is at the university in Basel ( I assume as a student but maybe as an employee) he has a valid reason for wanting to live in Switzerland so he may find getting a permit slightly easier especially if his wife is actually working at the uni and isn't a student.
Even as a student she could apply for family reunification so long as she/they have the funds to support themselves. That would solve the permit problem.