Hi all, Yes I am a Newbie but have been following this discussion with interest, as have a lot of people. I am just curious what everyone thinks of my situation (which in a way is similar to the OPs.)

I was working permanently in Zurich for 12months and went on maternity leave. I wanted to go back to work full time but my employer did not want me to return. Although no reason given i think it was due to the fact that I could no longer work the long hours, weekends etc that I had been working as my childcare was strickly 8am - 6pm. They finally paid me an extra 2 months after my 4 months maternity leave which meant I had been working here for 18months and entitled to RAV. Perhaps because of this I did not bother to renegotiate with my boss and was happy that got rid of me. Because I have not been working I did not put my child into daycare and have become a stay at home mum whilst getting paid unemployment. I have been honestly looking for work both part-time and full-time for 6 months now and have had a number of interviews but never get far because as soon as they know I have a small baby (they ask why I finished my last job and I am honest) they dont seem to be interested in employing me. My husband works and has an average income. We could survive on his income but the extra money is helpful and makes life here that much nicer.
So I am the lucky one as I have benefited from being paid and being a stay at home mum. Is this wrong? Am I a fraud? I imagine many of you think so but I am entitled to the money and use that entitlement. Should I give it up because I use the system and dont pay for childcare?
Would be interested in your thoughts.
Thanks
Giraffe

Sorry if I should of started a new thread but this seemed topical

13 weeks holiday..I'm jealous! That's wonderful and also fab that your employer provides daycare. I'm happy you have such a positive situation.

They do lunch breaks, but husband works remotely from home 60% and the rest traveling, and he`s allowed to host meeting and conferences from his home office as most of his colleagues also live on silver coast, He will be spending his lunch break with baby! local day care is as pricey and expensive as any private org since we are priced according to our income, however we rather use local care rather than private as it`s just 20 meters away from our house and it has a great reputation. We are already on a waiting list, so it`s plan A !

Gramma lives 3 hours drive away! so she is plan B ! Though might have to start a forum asking how is it like living with Italian southern mother in-law !

Do all day cares close for lunch? really? how the heck is that supposed to work? BTW, what are the differences in cost between day care and a nanny? And I know there are probably huge ranges, so if anyone has an idea of what an average value is, I am curious!

The way you put it seems to be thats why RAV is there for !! You lost your job as you no longer can work long long hours, your trying to find another job meanwhile you are taking care of your child !

No day care I know closes for lunch. Public day care (Kinderkrippe, Tagesschule or Tageseltern) is subsidized by the canton. parents usually pay the fees according to the income. The tariffs can be found on the homepages of the cantons or the town. For private day care and nannys you pay market prices.

Not all of them do. How it works? Simples - mommy picks up the kids (or kids walk home), mommy has cooked lunch, they eat lunch, and they go back to daycare for the afternoon while mommy washes up and prepares dinner.

Private creche (no lunch closure, ie kids eat there) around Zurich is anywhere between CHF 100 and CHF 150 per day, depending how fancy they are. A legal live-in nanny is minimum 2'100 CHF/month + full board + insurance for a 42 hour week, possibly more for skilled nannies.

I think I am in the same situation. Like I said in my very 1st original post which somehow get twisted and rearranged into a horror/criminal movie plot, my company work long hour. And they have told me that they will NOT accept part timers.

Now I know, they are just waiting for me to resign 1st when things get too tough with a baby. Maybe sacking a person require too much paper work???

The fact that there are no lady bosses here makes it even harder. We are purely a male working environment, and none of their wives work.

So with a tummy going for an interview, would YOU hire me????

While I understand perfectly this situation, it doesn't excuse the idea to use unemployment as a way to finance extra time with baby.

One very good friend of mine has a son the same age than mine. She is working full time and I am totally amazed of how she is handling it. But you see, she is struggling very much right now because she has way too much work on her hands. So she will ask to reduce her hours and if they don't accept, she is thinking to quit.

She doesn't think to ask them to fire her so she can get benefices.

The difference here seems to be that this lady wanted to return to work but her employer decided otherwise. She didn't set out with the intention of getting fired.

Your post or intentions weren't twisted. You clearly say in your first post that you would like to figure out how to get fired so you can stay at home with your baby for 18 months with 80% salary.

No you're not. Stop BS-ing.

Like mimi pointed out, your first post is nothing like the other posters. It was very clear to me, and all the others on here that you intend to find a loophole to claim RAV whilst spending time with your newborn with no intention of working full time.

Giraffe on the other hand, wanted to continue working full time (8-6pm) but she just cant work outside of work hours which I think is very reasonable - just that her company wasnt happy about her not being able to put in extra hours.

See the diff?

If Giraffe's situation is anything to go by, that should open your eyes to how difficult it is to try and look for a job with a new born - full or part time. You are lucky to have a job when alot of people out there wish they have one, meeting rejection after rejection. Having a baby shouldnt change that. If your employer isnt happy that you are having a baby, they will fire you on their own accord. If you claim RAV then, there probably wont be such outrage.