Member Articles

  MDR postponement On 17 April 2020 the European Parliament decided to postpone the transition timeline to implement the EU Medical Device Regulation (MDR), which was set to expire on 26 May 2020, until 26 May 2021. The EU MDR postponement was published in the Official Journal of the European Union and entered into force on 24 April 2020 ...

On 27 May 2020 the Federal Council adopted the Ordinance on Protecting against Cyber Risks (OPCy, available in French and German), which is set to enter into force on 1 July 2020. This move is the next step in a series of measures taken by the Federal Council to adopt a new organisational structure and implement a national strategy to protect Switzerland against cyber risks (NCS, available in German, French, Italian and English) ...

On Wednesday 18 March 2020, the Swiss Government suspended all deadlines in debt collection proceedings until 4 April 2020. It is a first step under the state of emergency due to the corona crisis that was declared on Monday.   Read the entire article below ...

Short-time work compensation is a crucial component of the governmental COVID-19 rescue package for Swiss economy. The Swiss Federal Council in this context has recently enacted several formal facilitations and expanded the circle of entitled employees. Nevertheless, the requirement of obtaining the employees’ consent to short-time work remains central in several aspects.   Read the entire article below ...

Tourism and event industries are suffering and it is expected that manufacturing enterprises will soon be affected as well. Short-time work can provide a remedy and reduce the economic consequences of the coronavirus for employers and employees ...

Due to the increasing spread of the coronavirus, numerous companies in Switzerland have already ordered home office work for their employees. This article addresses, inter alia, the question of whether employers can unilaterally order home office work in the current situation and what  consequences this might have. Read the entire article below ...

Based on the decision of the Federal Council to extend court holidays in civil and administrative proceedings, the Swiss Institute of Intellectual Property has announced to suspend most of the deadlines with an end date between 21 March 2020 and 19 April 2020 (statutory deadlines and deadlines set by the Institute, including payment deadlines). In particular, deadlines set by the Institute that would end in that period will end on 20 April 2020 ...

On 16 March 2020, the Swiss Federal Council prohibited public and private events. This newsletter deals with possible ways for Swiss companies to hold meetings, especially shareholders’ meetings.   Read the entire article below ...

Scammers and cyber crooks did not take long to adapt their usual fraud to this uncertain period caused by the Covid-19, refinishing notably their sadly notorious “CEO Fraud” to the present circumstances ...

The Coronavirus continues to spread and has now also arrived in  Switzerland. As the Swiss government ramp up efforts to contain the spread of the virus, employers and employees also need to be aware their rights and obligations at the workplace. In this Newsletter, we discuss some frequently asked questions regarding potential employment issues related to the COVID-19 in Switzerland ...