Implementation of the Federal Supreme Court decision

On 17 November 2021, the Federal Supreme Court made a sensational decision, and ruled that a holiday and public holiday component should be included in the assessment of short-time work compensation (SHC), as part of the summary settlement procedure for employees in their monthly salary. SECO had previously assessed this differently, which is why the corresponding amounts were not paid out by the unemployment insurance funds. We had reported on this. Since January 2022, these portions have now been taken into account and correctly reimbursed to the companies.

With regard to the subsequent payment of the incorrectly settled amounts for the SHC, the Federal Council decided on 11 March 2022 that companies that had settled the SHC in the summary procedure in 2020 and 2021 can submit an application to the unemployment insurance funds for a reconsideration of the claim.

To do so, they must submit an application with a detailed statement for each accounting period, to calculate the additional holiday and public holiday allowance for employees on monthly wages. The Confederation is developing an electronic tool for this purpose, which is expected to be available by the end of May 2022. It was also decided that the Confederation would directly contact the companies in question, and inform them how and where they can submit the corresponding application. In response to our written enquiry with SECO, it was confirmed to us that employers do not need to take any action until then.