The Federal Court (TF) recently made a decision which undermines, in certain cases, the protection of employees against dismissal during sick leave. If the absence is considered to be directly linked to the position occupied by the employee – for reasons of conflicts or mobbing – it is possible to terminate the contract before the legal deadlines according to the TF. In other words, the employee who could continue to work in a different environment or find another job is no longer protected, we read in the “Tages-Anzeiger”.
The German-speaking newspaper emphasizes that this judgment clarifies on the one hand a point that has been debated for a long time, but, on the other hand, further weakens the protection of employees which was already considered, in Switzerland, to be lesser in international comparison.
On a legal level, there is a “Röstigraben” on the question, underlines the article. The French-speaking Swiss judges had until now rather defended the employees while the German-speaking ones tended to be on the side of the employers. A specialist explains that if depression or burn-out are considered a general incapacity for work, the legal deadlines must continue to be applied.
In the event of illness, employees benefit from protection against dismissal for a variable period depending on seniority: 30 days during the first year of service, 90 days from the second to the fifth year and 180 days from the sixth year. Questioned about this decision, the Unia union said it was shocked. The latter speaks of illnesses that employers contribute to causing when they do not assume their duty to protect the physical and psychological health of their employees.
