Hi All,
I have a question regarding the unemployment benefits from RAV - If you are receiving this benefit but then decide to go back to university (outside of switzerland) for a short study program 4 - 8 months to better your job prospects what happens to your benefit? Can you suspend it till after you complete your course? Do you continue with the benefit whilst studying overseas and maintaining residency in switzerland? can RAV pay for some or part of this course?
Any answers will be much appreciated

RAV can and sometimes do pay for some of the course if they can see a direct benefit. Usually they insist it is within Switzerland but it need not be. They also can and sometimes do keep paying you. It all depends on what arguments you can bring and whether you have an advisor who is open to such suggestions. I would recommend writing down what you want to do, where, for how long and how much it will cost. Then write down the benefits and how it will improve your ability to get a job in the future. To be entirely frank... If you are single and a foreigner that has not been here for 10 years I don't rate your chances but it is worth a go and make sure you are prepared because the first answer will be "no, not what was the question again"

Hi Richard,
This is very helpful, I do not actually expect RAV to pay for the course, but it would be nice to know that should I decide to leave the country for for studies and then return to Switzerland I will be able to go back to RAV whilst I am looking for my new 'improved' role. Whether they will keep paying my benefit while I am away is very debateable ...

Hi All
Im new to this site so thanks in advance for your support and advice? I hope Ive put this question in the right place as I tried to look carefully
What I want to know is can I still claim chomage after a certain period of time if I choose to resign? I have heard through some others that you can do this provided you can present a good case that the situation was untenable as the job offered no real prospects for the future in terms of what I want to do. I have read other sites which says you cannot ever claim if you resign yourself so Im a abit confused. Can someone let me know? Many thanks in advance

I believe you can still claim chomage if you resign - just you will not get any payments for the first 3 months

If chomage is unemployment benefit then yes you can claim this after a waiting period of typically 120 days. Note these 120 days are RAV 120 days and there are typically 21 in a month so after waiting for 6 months you will receive your money. Note also during this time you are expected to be looking for work and to turn up at controls even though you receive no money...

The best thing would be to contact your local RAV / ORP office and ask them...if you have been searching and applying for new jobs (and you can prove it) this will help your case...good luck!

Thanks for everyone's answers! Can anyone clarify a bit whether it is actually 3 months or 6 months as I have to wait as I had heard from another sources it was 3 months if I resign and can argue my case that "there was no future for me at the company etc". Am I allowed for example when I go to the unemployment office to explain that I want to look for a job in a completely different line of work and only go on interviews or accept jobs in my new line of chosen work? For example I now work in HR and am totally fed up and would like to spend time really thinking about my next move, get a puppy in the meantime and then in around 6 to 9 months find a job at entry level in real estate. Is this kind of "scenario" feasible in order to still get unemployment money ? Obviously I would not be telling them about the puppy ... but does this mean from day 1 after resigning I have to keep going to register, going for interviews etc? If anyone can explain to me in clear, detailed and simple terms Id be eternally grateful as the employment websites are a mine field unless you have fluent French. thanks in advance

The short answer to the scenario you outline is no. You can not collect while you are " taking a break to decide what you want to do next".

Being on unemployment is like having a job! You are required to be available to work everyday you are being paid benefits. They can send you on jobs that you must take even if they are up to two hours away, they can send you on classes which you must attend, if not, you wont' get paid. Also, you are expected to apply for any and all jobs that you are qualified for (not necessarily jobs that you are over-qualified for though, just at your level or higher). They also ask you to use your net work & cold call companies that you could work for.

If you want to apply for jobs outside your field that's "on the side". And they know what jobs are out there. So they will ask if you applied for or suggest that you apply for such & such job, if it fits your qualifications.

I would suggest that you not mention your plan to "hang out" for 6-9 months. Also, only the ORP can tell you if you will be docked 3 or 6 months. In fact, I was only penalized one month when I resigned. But you will get a chastising for having quit! A girl I met in one of my classes told me the counselor told her after she explained that she felt she was heading into a depression, that she should have waited until she was actually depressed & gotten medical leave!!!

Of course, everything I wrote depends on the "counselor" you get. Some are much stricter, some are more involved, some what to help, some love to send people to classes, some refuse to send people to classes, some don't really care....

thanks for this great and frank reply! So I guess unless I can make myself available every day for interviews etc its not something I should claim for if I really want to "hang out" for 6 to 9 months? If I have a puppy I can hardly go off for the day to work in any old job for a day or 2 - does this really happen? as I work in recruitment most of the candidates I know who are looking and on chomage never have to go off working for the odd day? I guess if I dont need the money that bad it might be all too much of a headache trying to organise whilst Im off training my puppy but what do you think? you sound very knowledeable

it should take 4-6 weeks to train your puppy in the basics. Or are you looking at a full obedience course? You might need a new thread that meloncollie might look at

Sorry I probably caused this confusion... In a normal case your waiting time before payment is due is 5 days. In the case of someone causing the unemployment ie resigning this waiting period is suspended for 60 days. So in effect you need to wait 65 working days.

Is that clear?

You don't always get sent on jobs but it could happen. I know someone who left the country (to go hang out) only to be called to go to work. And I met someone who was then employed in the city government as they needed help with certain temporary projects. Hey, maybe they will offer you a job at the ORP since you are in HR!

I was never offered a job, but I have a very specific profile which has made it difficult for me to find a job here. My counselor had no idea how to help me. The more generic your profile the more likely they might have offers for you.

Anyway, they are never one or two day jobs. They are one or two months, or more.

You will probably be sent to language classes if you can't navigate the chomage site (as you said). They will probably be 1/2 day classes, but you will need to be there.

If you want to talk about puppies, that's another question!


*It sounds like all my friend are on chomage! But these are people I met at classes provide by the chomage!!