Current Pandemic and Official Orders
Legal and Tax Considerations
The consequences of the coronavirus are drastic for Swiss companies and their employees.
To enable you to focus on the really important things, we are at your disposal for legal and tax questions concerning the current pandemic and the orders of the authorities.
Labour law & support of employees
- Overview of labour law challenges and issues
- Compensation for short-time work
- Home office
- Entry Restrictions
- Coronavirus: Current entry restrictions
- Work and childcare: Who pays the wages?
- A challange for employers and cross-border workers
- Short-time work and termination: how does that work?
- Workers from third countries permitted to re-enter
- Overview of labour law issues - quarantine
- Compulsory vaccination at the workplace?
- Preparation of operational instructions
- Reduction of overtime
- Necessary measures due to the employer's duty of care
- Holidays and business trips
Liquidity planning & accounting
- Protection of debtors and judicial grant of debt moratorium
- Annual financial statement planning
- Transfer prices and permanent establishments
- Exceptional regulations of procedural and insolvency law
- Agreements with banks, suppliers and customers
- Additional debt and equity financing
- Recapitalisation measures
Contracts, supply chains & events
- Force majeure in contract law
- Challenges for international trade
- Import + export of medical equipment
- Blocked goods at customs
- Public planning and building regulations
- New MME service: digital general assembly
- The 7 most urgent duties of the board of directors
- Optimization of goods traffic at the border
- Requirements and possibilities of the digital general assembly
- OECD Guidance regarding COVID-19 Impact on Transfer Prices
- Annual general meetings and voting in writing
- Refunds and Damages
Government support & insurance issues
- Tax Relief for Companies and Individuals
- Information re taxation in the Canton of Zug | Update
- Information re taxation in the Canton of Zug | Update 2021
- Insurance coverage of epidemics and pandemics
- Regulatory relief for insurers and other supervised persons
- Dutch Covid-19 Tax Measures
- Applications for support (emergency aid from the Confederation and the cantons)
- Guarantee applications for guaranteed bank loans (Federal Act on Financial Aid to Guarantee Organisations for SMEs)
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Dr. Jonatan Baier
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Raphael Brunner
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Dr. Samuel Bussmann
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Dr. Martin Eckert
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Dr. Alex Enzler
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Dr. Walter Frei
Legal & Tax Partner
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Prof. Dr. Andreas Furrer
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Alexandra Geiger
Legal Partner
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Dr. Andreas Glarner
Legal Partner
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Dr. Lucy Gordon
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Dr. Balz Hösly
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Dr. Urs Isenegger
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Peter Kuhn
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Michèle Landtwing Leupi
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Thomas Linder
Tax Partner
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Dr. Bernhard Meyer
Senior Legal Counsel
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Andreas Müller
Tax Partner
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Dr. Luka Müller
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Dr. Thomas Müller
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Dr. Christoph Nater
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Christoph Rechsteiner
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Andreas Rudolf
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Michèle Stutz
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Dr. Dominik Vock
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From the magazine
Switzerland's double risk list
Since July 2020, the Confederation has compiled a list of countries and regions where there is an increased risk of infection with the coronavirus (so-called FOPH risk list). In addition, the SEM maintains a list of risk countries (so-called SEM risk list) showing the countries for which special restrictions apply regarding a potential entry into Switzerland.
Home Office
By minimising social contacts through the adoption of appropriate measures, the authorities are currently trying to slow down the spread of Covid-19. This also has deep effects on professional life. The instruction to work from home ("home office") is an effective means to achieve this, however there are challenges to overcome.
Coronavirus from employment law perspective
The numbers of new corona infections are during the second wave still very high – even though the trend has been slightly going towards falling numbers again. The pandemic should, however, be taken as an opportunity for employees and employers alike to remember their rights and obligations. The impact of the coronavirus on public life is far greater than the one of past pandemic-like situations. It is impossible to predict with certainty how labour courts will judge various issues which may arise from this pandemic. But Swiss labour law already offers many answers. You will find the most important ones in this magazine article.
Simplified Procedure Short-Time Work
Many companies have to renew their applications for short-time work. The Federal Council has again decided to extend several simplifications.
COVID-19: Transfer Pricing
Due to the outbreak of the corona virus, multinational companies are often confronted with an immediate change in the economic environment, e.g. due to supply chain disruptions or stagnating sales. As a result, actions are required concerning the implemented classical business models and the corresponding transfer pricing systems.
Planning and building law in the Corona crisis
Federal Council issued on 16 March 2020. Despite the move to home offices and the consequent reduction in the range of services offered by cantonal and communal authorities, the authorities are committed to maintaining the planning and building permit procedures in line with the measures ordered to combat the corona virus. As the supervisory authority, the Building Department of the Canton of Zurich issued a circular letter to the communes on 26 March 2020. The following discussion is intended to provide information on how the procedures in building and planning law will continue in the Corona crisis. The information is limited to the Canton of Zurich, although communal differences may arise.
Work and childcare
In March 2020, all schools and kindergartens in Switzerland have been closed for eight weeks. A further school closure is not unlikely. In that case, hundreds of thousands of children would have to stay at home again. But who pays the wages of the employees if they have to look after their children at home? In our FAQ we try to give you an overview of the most frequent questions.
Insurance coverage of epidemics and pandemics
The explosive spread of the corona virus and the resulting official restrictions on business life have led to large and potentially existential financial losses for companies and the self-employed. It is advisable to check whether there is insurance cover for the damages suffered.
Tax Relief
In order to cushion the economic impacts of the spread of the coronavirus, the Federal Council decided, among other things, to provide liquidity aid in tax matters.
Force Majeure in Contract Law
In this article, the question is discussed how contractual defaults caused by the coronavirus are to be legally assessed and what can be legally applied.
Liquidity shortage
As a result of the Swiss federal governmental measures against the coronavirus, many companies in Switzerland find themselves in a liquidity shortage. The Swiss debt enforcement and bankruptcy law contains provisions which protect the debtor’s interest. This gives the debtor time to eliminaLte the liquidity shortage.
FAQ Coronavirus & Employment Law
The coronavirus is spreading rapidly. Except in China, human infection has been confirmed in almost 30 countries. This also poses great challenges and raises questions for employers and employees.
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