Emails on the train? Swiss civil servants may soon count commute as work
Federal civil servants who answer emails, make phone calls or read minutes on their way to or from the office will be able to count this as working time starting January 1.
An amendment to the directive covering mobile forms of work for the federal administration stipulates that workers will simply need approval from their direct superior in order to have time spent working on the train “fully credited”, the SonntagsZeitungExternal link newspaper reported.
Previously such work could be billed in exceptional cases only.
A spokesperson for the Federal Personnel Office who spoke to the SonntagsZeitung could not say what proportion of the 38,000-strong civil service currently are allowed to work during their commute or how many are expected to take advantage of the new rule.
According to labour law professor Thomas Geiser of the University of St. Gallen, reading emails outside the office should legally count as worktime.
“Making phone calls and [writing] emails in your free time for your job is work and not leisure time,” he told Swiss public television SRF.
The change follows a demand made by the four federal staff unions last year and comes at a time when digitalisation is making more flexible work arrangements possible both in the private and public sectors.
According to the Federal Statistical Office, nine out of ten workers in Switzerland – or four million people in total – regularly commuted to work in 2017, nearly a third of them by public transport. The average commute lasted half an hour.
More
More
Emails on the train? Swiss civil servants may soon count commute as work
This content was published on
Starting January 1, civil servants who answer emails or make calls on their way to or from the office will be able to credit the time as hours worked.
This content was published on
The Swiss took the train on average 71 times last year, travelling 2,398 kilometres by rail, according to the latest figures from the European Statistical Office, Eurostat. Measured by distance travelled per capita, Switzerland is a European leader. The average train distance covered by train passengers in Switzerland last year far outstripped its nearest rivals.…
Train vs plane: would you take a direct train between London and Geneva?
Eurostar is planning to run direct trains from Britain to Germany and Switzerland from the early 2030s. Would you favour the train over the plane? If not, why not?
Women’s Euro 2025 has been largely peaceful so far
This content was published on
After two weeks of football fever in various Swiss host cities, no major incidents have been reported so far, police say.
Planned solar park at Bern airport scaled back after talks
This content was published on
The ground-mounted plant at Belpmoos Airport outside the Swiss capital will be smaller than originally planned, the parties involved said on Tuesday.
Legal action filed against Swiss purchase of Israeli drones
This content was published on
Legal action aims to put an end to the delivery of the six Elbit reconnaissance drones already plagued by delays and setbacks.
Higher direct payments fail to curb scrub encroachment on alpine pastures
This content was published on
The scrub encroachment on Swiss alpine pastures leads to the loss of grassland and damages the typical landscape. It is also responsible for the decline in biodiversity. Despite higher direct payments, the bushes continue to spread.
Head of Swiss financial regulator’s Banks division quits
This content was published on
Thomas Hirschi, head of the Banks division of the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA will leave at the end of August.
Swiss population satisfied with life according to survey
This content was published on
In a survey, the population of German-speaking and French-speaking Switzerland expressed general satisfaction with their lives. Respondents were less happy with politics and their personal finances, according to the online comparison service Moneyland.
WHO ‘extremely concerned’ about growing vaccination scepticism
This content was published on
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), vaccination scepticism and a collapse in funding for vaccination campaigns pose a major threat to the health of the world's population.
This content was published on
In terms of flexibility, an expert says that Switzerland could do better, to try and appeal more to Millennials and their expectations.
This content was published on
Jump on, ride to your stop, hop off — without offending anybody. Sounds easy, but it’s not, warns a guru of Swiss transport etiquette.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.