Unemployed frontier workers: how to register with Swiss employment offices (cross-border guide)

Context

In a nutshell

• From 1 July 2018 employers must notify vacancies to the URC for professions with more than 8% unemployment
• Vacancies remain accessible for 5 working days only to the unemployed registered in the URC
• In Ticino, border workers represent about 65,000 out of 220,000 total jobs
• In 2017, only 83 border workers were registered with a regional employment office throughout Switzerland

In February 2014, the Swiss population approved the so-called initiative against mass immigration. The unemployment rate at the time was 3.5% in Switzerland and 5% in Ticino. Today the numbers are much more favorable: both nationally and in the canton of Ticino it stands at around 2.4%. After a long and bitter struggle in parliament, the law and the ordinance implementing the constitutional article voted on 9 February 2014 came into force.

From 1 July 2018, employers are required to notify the Regional Employment Offices (RPOs) of vacancies in those professions with a national unemployment rate of at least 8 per cent. Not only that, the Federal Council has decided that these vacancies advertised at the URC are accessible for five working days exclusively to unemployed persons advertised at the public employment service. In this way job seekers enrolled in regional offices have a small advantage

Operational details

In a nutshell

• The "light indigenous preference" favors the unemployed registered in the URC with exclusive 5-day access to vacancies
• Registered border workers receive the same treatment as residents, including personalized job offers
• Poor knowledge of the law explains the reduced numbers: only 83 border workers registered in Switzerland in 2017
• The control obligations (documented monthly searches, periodic interviews) are the same for all subscribers

The “light indigenous preference” measure is designed to favour local labour in search of work. But this is not the case: only foreigners who have never worked in Switzerland are disadvantaged. Border workers, having already worked in the country, do not fall into this category and can therefore register for URCs in their own right.

Once registered, the unemployed are personally followed by a consultant, informed of job offers in their sectors of activity and their profile is submitted to employers in search of labor. This is a service that can make a difference, considering that research channels through Italian employment centres may not adequately cover the Ticino labour market.

As Stefano Rizzi reiterates, "registration in the URC is also possible for border workers but provided that all the control obligations valid for the resident unemployed are respected". Border workers must therefore also

Useful planning tools

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Key points

In Brief - To enroll: contact the URC office in Lugano with Italian and Swiss documentation - Obligations after enrollment: monthly job search documentation and periodic meetings with the consultant - Concrete advantage: priority access for 5 days to vacant positions in professions with over 8% unemployment - Registered frontiersmen receive personalized job offers and visibility among Ticino employers ### Step-by-Step Procedure for Enrollment - For a jobless foreigner who wants to enroll in a Regional Employment Office in Ticino, the procedure involves several concrete steps. First, it is necessary to be already registered at Italian employment centers, as enrollment in URCs is done 'complementarily' to the system of the country of residence, which remains the only one to provide unemployment benefits. - Once in order with Italian enrollment, one can contact the URC office in Lugano directly. During the meeting, the conditions for enrollment and the related obligations will be verified and explained. The foreigner must present documentation related to the previous job in Switzerland and any possible unemployment benefits received in Italy. ### Obligations to be Respected - After enrollment, the foreigner is required to respect the same control procedures as resident job seekers. This means conducting monthly job searches, documenting them properly, and presenting them during periodic meetings with the URC consultant. Failure to comply with these obligations can result in sanctions, including suspension of benefits. - In exchange, enrollment provides access to job offers in the foreigner's field of expertise, visibility among Ticino employers who seek labor through public channels, and priority access to vacant positions in professions with a national unemployment rate above 8%. ### Timelines and Deadlines - There are no fixed temporal deadlines for enrollment, but it is recommended to proceed promptly after job loss. The longer the delay, the longer the foreigner remains outside the circuit of job offers that pass through URCs. The preferential treatment for indigenous people light provides that notified vacant positions remain accessible for five working days exclusively to registered individuals: those who are not yet registered lose this window of opportunity. ### Comparison with the Previous Situation - Before 2018 and the introduction of the preferential treatment for indigenous people, jobless foreigners had theoretically had the right to enroll complementarily in URCs, but without the advantage of priority access to vacant positions. The introduction of the measure changed the rules of the game: now enrollment can become a tangible advantage in job searching in Switzerland. - However, numbers remain low. With only 83 frontiersmen enrolled throughout Switzerland in 2017, the vast majority of those who lose their jobs in Ticino do not take advantage of this opportunity. For a foreigner who knows the Ticino labor market and wants to quickly re-enter the world of work, enrollment in URCs represents an opportunity still largely underestimated. - To explore job opportunities in Switzerland and calculate the convenience of a new job, use our salary calculator that takes into account tax deductions and AVS, LPP, and LAMal contributions. If you are looking for new professional opportunities, discover the available job offers in Ticino and other cantons.