Due to recent developments, many employers are faced with the following question: How do I finance my employees’ salaries? With short-time working compensation, the insurance company offers employers an alternative to the threat of redundancies. Short-time working refers to the temporary reduction or complete cessation of work in a company, whereby the contractual relationship under employment law is maintained. The employees affected receive compensation for the loss of working hours. This amounts to 80% of the lost salary and is paid to the employer. In particular, absences from work due to official measures are also considered short-time working. The requirements for short-time working compensation are that there is a loss of working hours (per payroll period) of at least 10% of the total working hours normally performed by the company’s employees and that the loss of working hours is due to economic reasons and is unavoidable. All employees who are subject to ALV contributions and employees who have completed compulsory schooling but have not yet reached the minimum age for AHV contributions are entitled to short-time working compensation. There is no minimum period of contribution to ALV, provided the employee is not in a fixed-term employment relationship. However, the law lists numerous exceptions where short-time work compensation is excluded. For example, apprentices, employees with uncontrollable working hours, employees with shareholder status and their assisting spouses or employees with a fixed-term employment relationship are not entitled to short-time working compensation. The law provides for further exceptions, which must be examined on a case-by-case basis. As a rule, the employer must notify the cantonal office of the planned short-time working in writing using the notification form at least ten days before it begins. Exceptionally, the notification period is three days if the employer can prove that short-time working has to be introduced due to sudden, unforeseeable circumstances.