According to a Swiss Federal Council press release, effective July 1, 2018, employers hiring foreign workers in Switzerland will need to conduct a labor market test for certain occupations.

Labor market test details

Employers with foreign workers in occupations with an unemployment rate of over eight percent will need to post vacancies with the Employment Service in Switzerland for five business days before being able to recruit foreign workers.  The threshold is expected to be lowered to five percent unemployment on January 1, 2020.

Posting a vacancy involves the employer accessing an online platform to enter the position and the company details. 

Impact

• Types of permit holders potentially affected. This requirement will affect European Economic Area and other nationals applying for short-term L permits and long-term B permits. However, since only 10% occupations are expected to have unemployment over eight percent, this is not expected to affect many foreign nationals.
• Effects on impacted foreign nationals. Those affected by this requirement will see delayed processing due to the five-day posting timeframe and the time required for employers to review job applications and interview candidates.

Looking ahead

Further information on affected occupations, practical implementation of the job posting requirements and documents required to prove that labor market testing was completed is expected to be published between now and July.

This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact the global immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen or send an email to emea@fragomen.com.