Hello dears,
I am 8 months pregnant and leaving for my maternity leave on Monday.
My employeer already hired someone (temp) to replace me and hired someone else (permanently) to do some of the important tasks I was doing.

Now, I have a feeling that they might fire me after my maternity period ends. If yes, can I sue them? (I would really love to do that! I was the only one who joined for this project from the beginning) Can they fire me without any reason?

Or is that my hormons or last month of my pregnancy makes me feel like this?

Take good care.

They can end your contract for any reason by giving notice . You can't be given notice whilst ill , when pregnant or during maternity leave.

Salaries are high but very little employee protection

According to what other people have posted in the forum it's not really worth to sue an employer if proper notice is given. I'd rather focus on starting to look for a new job if you really feel you're going to be fired afterwards.

For what reason exactly are you going to sue them ?

Firing me without reason Do you think this possible? It is in my country that is why I am asking.

No. Employers do not require a reason to fire someone.

In Switzerland, you can terminate the contract without reason, with the correct notice. A lot of work contracts have a 3 month notice period. With paid maternity leave, sickness insurance that pays up to 80% of your salary, such low unemployment, and high social security / insurance for unemployment, it's assumed that you will easily pick up another job, and that financially you won't be at a massive disadvantage.

I find it a *very* different situation to my home country, Australia. There is more financial protection (in Switzerland) - compensating your loss of income - but less 'job security', but more 'job opportunity' and very high salaries.

I suspect that only a very small percentage of women return to work to the same job/position/hours after having a baby - between the reluctance of employers to offer part-time contracts, the cost of childcare, the high salaries of primary income earners (potential lifestyle of single income families is massively higher here than in my home country), and the general demands of having a small baby, not many new mums return to work...

Even the system of paying your maternity leave as a proportion of your leaving salary, pushes women into working full time through the pregnancy, rather than cutting back to part-time and having the possibility of returning to work part-time afterwards as a 'permanent' arrangement...

?

Best of luck. Focus on your baby. Make the financial adaptations now (run the numbers to see what would happen if you don't go back, or if you were given notice on return)...and try to leave as many of your options open as possible...

employers can fire anyone providing notice is given, there are cases where the employee can take action nut these are few and far between.
dont expect just bcause "back" home you can do something, its the same here..

The bit about job opportunity is true in general but there are particular cases where this is far from the truth. If you are a lab technician in the Geneva area you will need years to find another job if you're fired. The system should take this into account and help those needing to change career. For instance there is a need of more nurses but we hire strangers instead of looking after our own population (Swiss nationals and non-nationals of course, this is no nationalist thread).

Hello

I agree there is little you can do. There are some bad employers out there that stick to the law, which is here biased in their favor.

Focus on your pregnancy and start looking for a job asap.

Suing your employer is here nonsense, you will get nothing and pay a lot to lawyers.

What you can do - after finding a new job - is name and shame, but only to people you trust or anonymously on internet forums. In this way you may help others and feel better. But be careful to tell the truth and only the truth, otherwise YOU may be sued and have to pay loads of money.

In Switzerland employees do not get salaries, they get "compensation", to work > 40 hours a week and without any protection / rights, for assholes (see Merck Serono...how Swiss employees are treated vs French, Spanish, German, etc). Anyone wishing to relocate here should know it (of course no employers tell them about it).

Rather than fight them, you would be best negotiating an excellent reference letter.

Just for understanding. Your employer employed somebody on a temporary base to replace you during your maternity leave and gave a part of your tasks to another person which he hired permanently? Would you have therefore an automatic reduction after your leave or are you going to take over other tasks? Anyway, if he replaced you with a temp, he most certainly doesn't plan to fire you. Why don't you just ask him?

Have you committed to coming back to your job exactly the way it is today or were parts of your role given to a new permanent hire because you will work fewer hours after your maternity leave?

Describing employers as 'bad' because the stick to the law!

Well ok, badly phrased. I meant some employers only stick to the minimal requirements of the Swiss system. It is tough when you work for example in a multinational team. You see that others are better treated, better protection against unfair dismissal in particular.

A few days ago, he told me to leave my laptop and blackberry. I asked why and he said "you will not use it during your maternity anyway?"

I said no, I will keep my laptop or blackberry.

Permanent one makes the important part of my job, the temp one will do the admin part. Also, my maternity will start middle of September and the temp person contract will finish in October.

I said, I would like to come back %100. Do you think that I should ask them now why they have hired the new guy?

If the company owns the laptop and the blackberry they have the right to hold them back and there justification is right, because you don't work during you leave.
As I said it before you have to ask you employer if he plans to replace you.

I know that I might need the reference letter from my last employer but I have other excellent letters only the working certificate will be enough for me.
If I was in my country, I would definitely fight for my rights!! Why wouldn't I? I did nothing wrong, they can not fire someone without reason. If it was about performance why they kept me for 1,5 years?

Ok, let me talk with him this afternoon if he plans to replace me and why they have hired the new guy. I will inform you.