As soon as you receive the message informing you that the RHT has been accepted, you must fill in and send – each month and by e-mail – the form Request and statement of compensation in the event of a reduction in working hours (XLSX, 78 KB) (Multilingual tabs available at the bottom or top of the form, depending on your browser) to the unemployment fund you have chosen.
Useful information for completing the form :
> Unemployment fund : Name of the unemployment fund chosen by the company (this information is notified in the RHT decision of the cantonal authority).
> Operating sector : Please indicate either “the whole company” if everyone or almost everyone is affected, or the “sector or department of activity” mentioned when the RHT notice was accepted.
> REE + Sct. No : Your REE number is communicated when the cantonal authority makes the RHT decision.
> Settlement period : The settlement period corresponds to a calendar month. If the RHT began in April 2020, “March 2020” should be entered. This form must be submitted to the unemployment fund at the end of each calendar month in which the company has undergone a reduction in working hours. The right to compensation lapses if it is not claimed from the unemployment fund within three months of the expiry of the settlement period. If the reduction in working hours only began in the course of the month (e.g. on April 17 – the date shown on the notice decision), we advise companies to indicate “March” with the hours worked and the hours lost, in order to simplify and avoid pro rata calculation.
> Number of eligible employees : All employees who have received the agreement of the cantonal authority to reduce their working hours (RHT). If the company had only done so for a certain operating sector, only the employees in the sector in question should be considered.
> Exception: In the context of the coronavirus crisis, the circle of those entitled to RHT benefits has been extended to employees on fixed-term contracts, apprentices, temporary workers, managers and their spouses employed by the company, and on-call workers whose activity rate varies by more than 20%, provided that their employment with the company requesting RHT has lasted for more than 6 months.
Companies that have already submitted an application for RHT can register new claimants directly with the unemployment fund, with retroactive effect to the date indicated in the RHT notice decision. Frontier workers are also entitled to RHT benefits.
Please note: Temporary workers should not be mentioned. They will be compensated by their employer, who will also have applied for RHT notice.
> Number of employees affected by RHT : Include eligible employees who have suffered a loss of work, even if an employee has only suffered a 2-hour reduction for the entire month. Generally, this is the same number as the number of eligible employees indicated above.
> Global sum of hours normally worked by eligible employees : This is the total number of hours normally worked by entitled employees, without taking short-time working into account. These are the hours according to the employment contract (number of workers * number of hours to be worked). If the working hours are variable, e.g. based on a monthly schedule, the average number of hours worked over the last 12 months should be taken into account.
Details : The month of March comprises 22 working days; if an employee works 8 hours a day, he would normally have worked 176 hours. Please note that public holidays, vacation periods, periods of incapacity to work or other leave must be taken into account in this calculation. The hours owed by an employee (full-time employee) who has taken vacation during this month will remain at 176 hours. For a part-time employee (50%), the normal working time is 88 hours (4×22). We therefore need to add up all the hours of employees with entitlement.
> Sum of hours lost for workers covered by the RHT: The total number of hours lost during the calculation period in question must be stated for the workers concerned. If the employee benefits from a period of vacation, incapacity to work or other leave (childcare, quarantine), these hours should not be mentioned as lost hours.
Please note that people who are considered vulnerable (on presentation of a medical certificate) and who are unable to telework or work in a company (in compliance with the FOPH’s recommendations) are entitled to RHT.
> Percentage of work lost for economic reasons : This calculation is made automatically by the Excel table. RHT is only possible if the total number of hours lost corresponds to at least 10%.
The sum of all monthly AVS/AHV salaries of the entitled persons must be stated, taking into account certain particularities. If the salaries of the executives or their spouses employed by the company exceed CHF 4,150, only a maximum of CHF 4,150 for full-time employment will be taken into account. Where the salary of the executive or his/her spouse is contractually less than CHF 4,150, the contractual salary will be taken into account. If the manager receives a higher salary, but usually only works 50%, a salary of CHF 2,075 should be entered on the form (pro rata). When an employee’s salary exceeds CHF 12,350 per month, only the maximum amount of CHF 12,350 should be taken into account.
The monthly salary must be calculated taking into account all salary elements (see LACI RHT E4 bulletin):
- basic salary (hourly wage, monthly salary), vacation pay and public holidays for hourly-paid workers, benefits in kind (amounts admitted to AHV), commissions, allowances provided for in the employment contract (e.g. 13th salary), allowances for Sunday or night work, gratuities, etc., see LACI RHT E5 bulletin.
- For people paid on commission, please indicate the basic monthly salary according to the contract and add an average commission calculated over the last 12 months.
Documents to enclose with the application and breakdown of compensation for reduced working hours :
> A document to justify the company’s monthly payroll, e.g. payroll journal (listings with job name, activity rate, hours due (March), monthly salary including 13th salary, salary taken into account and hours lost) and extract from the working time record (showing hours normally worked and hours lost).
> As indicated on the application form, please underline the total number of hours to be worked and the total wages subject to AHV contributions.
> The employer is required to keep the data used to complete the form for 5 years.
> SECO reserves the right to carry out checks when the situation returns to normal.
You will find an example of how to calculate this in point 3 of the AVS 2.11 memento.
> The employer is obliged to pay the employee 100% of the salary for the hours worked, in principle on the usual payday. In accordance with Art. 37 lit. a of the Unemployment Insurance Act, the employer is obliged to advance the compensation and pay it to the employee on the usual payday.
> There is no legal provision preventing the employer from going further and guaranteeing the entire salary. It is therefore perfectly possible for the employer to pay 100% of the salary.
> The employer must pay all social security contributions (AVS/AI/APG/ AC, accident insurance, family allowances, occupational benefits, loss of earnings due to illness, etc.) as if the employee had worked the normal working hours (= 100% of salary).
> The employer is authorized to deduct the full amount of the employee’s contributions from his or her wages. The employer’s share of AVS/AI/APG/AC contributions for lost hours is reimbursed by the unemployment fund. This employer’s share of contributions amounts to 6.375%.
> Pursuant to Art. 37 lit. a of the Unemployment Insurance Act, the employer is obliged to advance the compensation and pay it to the employee on the usual payday. There is no legal provision preventing the employer from going further and guaranteeing the entire salary. It is therefore perfectly possible for the employer to pay 100% of the salary.
For more information, please consult our newsletter on reduced working hours regulations and procedures.
The Argos Group team remains at your disposal for any further information.
