Access to Geneva airport will be disrupted in mid-June; Parliament wants stricter regulations for employee medical certificates; and other news in our Thursday roundup.
Access to Geneva airport will be disrupted in mid-June
During the G7 summit to be held in nearby Evian, France, from June 15th to 17th, access to Geneva Airport will be disrupted.
Some parking lots will be closed and security will be reinforced.
The recommendation for people planning to travel on those days is to arrive at check-in three hours before departure and opt for public transport whenever possible.
Parliament wants stricter regulations for employees’ medical certificates
Anyone who is absent from work for an extended period due to illness needs to present a doctor’s certificate.
However, they are often viewed with suspicion because they are too often overly ‘generous’- that is, recommending a longer sick leave than strictly necessary.
That is why the National Council is demanding stricter rules for doctors to follow when writing these certificates.
According to MP Diana Gutjahr, who is behind this move, “80 percent of certificates confirm 100 percent incapacity for work, and around 75 percent are heavily based on the patients’ statements. The focus is always on incapacity for work, instead of on the ability to work.”
READ MORE: Do you need a sick note on your first day off in Switzerland?
Long-term tenants pay up to 90 percent less rent than new ones
A new analysis by the Zurich Cantonal Bank shows that existing tenants pay a much lower rent than if the new occupants moved to the same dwelling.
Specifically, the difference between new and existing rents has risen to 21 percent nationwide from 14 percent three years ago.
This gap is particularly high in the Zurich area (33 percent) and Geneva (a staggering 58 percent).
READ MORE: How new renters are paying the price of the housing shortage
Canadian magazine lists best small towns in Switzerland for foreign retirees
WorldAtlas, which is based in Quebec, features nine small Swiss municipalities, which “combine landscape with the practical infrastructure retirees value most.”
They are:
- Zug
- Montreux (Vaud)
- Bad Ragaz (St. Gallen)
- Sion (Valais)
- Spiez (Bern)
- Locarno (Ticino)
- Interlaken (Bern)
- Chur (Graubünden)
- Baden (Aargau)
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