More than 99% of Swiss firms comply with Covid rules

Working on a water pipe near Geneva. Keystone / Salvatore Di Nolfi

Over the past 12 months less than 1% of workplaces visited by the Swiss National Accident Insurance Fund (SUVA) were found to be flouting Covid-19 health measures.

SUVA carried out 19,245 workplace inspections across the country between March 2020 and April 2021 and only had to take serious action in 62 cases, it said on Thursday.

All of these cases go back to the first wave of the pandemic last year, SUVA said. As a result of flouting the distancing or health measures, the businesses in question were forced to close temporarily.

According to SUVA, which carried out inspections of building sites as well as industrial and artisanal workplaces, the respect of the measures was largely down to businesses realising that it was in their own interests not to end up with ill staff.

Respect for mask-wearing and social distancing was sometimes less strong in outdoor or more confined workplaces, SUVA said, but the problems were generally solved rapidly without having to interrupt the work.

Home office

Since last spring and the outbreak of Covid-19 in Switzerland, home office measures have been in place in the country, with strict protective measures required for businesses which decide to (or which have to) bring staff into the workplace.

The work-from-home rules remain in place where possible, although the government plans to relax the obligation to a “recommendation” at the end of May.

At that point, the government says, employees will be able to return to offices and workplaces as long as the employer implements a regular Covid-19 testing regime.