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© 2009 WHO

Geneva and Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The Swiss Federal Office of Public Health (OFSP)  recommends that people who come down with symptoms of the flu avoid contact with others to stop the spread of the disease. A humourous new advertising campaign (link below) says it quite clearly. This means staying away from work until the symptoms have gone away, or to care for sick members of the family. In a front-page article 4 August, Le Temps (Fre) asks whether this means that employers will not insist on having a medical cerificate for any absence longer than three days, as stipulated by law: to leave one’s bed to go and see a doctor defeats the purpose of the quarantine.

A spokesperson for the OFSP says it is mainly concerned with stopping the spread of the pandemic, and that staying away from others while ill is the only way to do this.  The position of the Swiss state secretariat for economic affairs (Seco) is that the government cannot oblige companies to forgo insisting  on a medical certificate. Its recommendations are based on current law, and its spokesperson says that the government cannot change the law to take into consideration a situation, the effects of which are unknown.

Swiss law stipulates that after three days on sick leave, an employee must provide his employer with a medical certificate. This is designed to counter abuse. In exchange, the employer is required to pay a salary during the sick leave. Swiss union representatives say they expect that if faced with an “extraordinary situation” where hundreds of thousands of workers are unable to work, Swiss employers will respond with an “extraordinary attitude” concerning a medical certificate, reports Le Temps.

Background: “The swine flu: what a drag!“, 29 July 2009, GenevaLunch