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Court rules on jobless benefit for cross-border worker

Border crossing in Chiasso between Switzerland and Italy
About 71,000 people living in neighbouring Italy have jobs in Switzerland. Keystone

A cross-border worker has been denied the right to claim unemployment benefits from the Swiss authorities after her limited contract ran out.

The Supreme Court said an employee from neighbouring Italy had to apply for payments from her country of residence but could not count on benefits from Switzerland.

In a statement published on Monday, the court confirmed a decision by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, adding that the verdict was based on an accord regulating the free movement of people between Switzerland and the European Union.

The case involved an employee of the restaurant industry, resident in Italy but working in nearby canton Ticino. Her full-time job ran out after seven months and she tried to claim benefits for the following months when she had another limited at part-time only.

Latest official figures show there are about 312,300 cross-border workers employed in Switzerland. Most of them work in the Lake Geneva region, around Basel and in Ticino. They live mainly in France and Italy, but also in Germany and Austria.

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SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR