Milestone for Company Founders: Parliament Ends the Unemployment Insurance Injustice
Wed, 03.06.2026, 08:00
Starting a business in Switzerland always involves risk. That is part of entrepreneurship. For years, however, there was a fundamental injustice in the system: founders and SME owners paid mandatory unemployment insurance contributions month after month, yet in most cases received no benefits when they needed support. That situation has now come to an end. Parliament has corrected a long standing flaw in the system and finally created fair conditions for entrepreneurs.
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The situation: paying without entitlement
Until now, a paradoxical rule applied to founders who were employed by their own
AG or
GmbH, known as persons in an employer-like position. As regular employees on the payroll of their own startup, they were legally required to pay full unemployment insurance contributions. However, if they registered as unemployed due to an economic crisis or a loss of orders, unemployment funds almost always refused to pay out benefits in practice.
The authorities’ reasoning was that, as owners or co-owners, they could theoretically still influence the company’s course. Therefore, they were considered not to be available for placement. In effect, they could “dismiss themselves” and rehire themselves once business improved. The result was a major disadvantage compared with regular employees. Thousands of entrepreneurs paid into an insurance scheme whose protection was effectively denied to them, even when their economic existence had completely collapsed.
The breakthrough: legal certainty and real protection
After years of political and legal debate, the Swiss Parliament achieved the decisive breakthrough. The
parliamentary initiative (20.406) by National Councillor Andri Silberschmidt has cleared the decisive hurdles, despite initial resistance from parts of the Federal Council and individual parliamentary groups. The responsible committees of the National Council and Council of States clearly approved the proposal.
The new legal solution creates practical and legally clear conditions for the first time. In future, company founders will have a genuine, enforceable entitlement to unemployment insurance benefits under clearly defined conditions.
When does the new insurance protection apply to founders?
In future, they will have access to regular unemployment insurance benefits if:
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their company is demonstrably in liquidation, or
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they have lost their controlling position in the company, for example by selling voting shares or fully stepping down from management.
A strong signal for Switzerland as a business location
This reform is far more than a purely technical adjustment to social insurance law. It is a fundamental success for Switzerland’s startup culture. It was simply no longer justifiable that people who take entrepreneurial responsibility, invest capital and create new jobs were systematically excluded from social safety nets. The new regulation strengthens Switzerland’s attractiveness as a business location and lowers the psychological barrier to taking the step into
self-employment.
The case of entrepreneur François Cochard was one of the key catalysts for this debate. Despite years of contribution payments, he received nothing when his company ran into difficulties. His case made the problem clearly visible and set a wider movement in motion. Legal opinions, broad media coverage and intensive political networking followed, supported among others by associations and prominent politicians such as National Councillor Andri Silberschmidt and GLP President Jürg Grossen.
“It cannot be right that entrepreneurs are required to pay mandatory contributions for years and still receive no insurance protection when it matters most. This is exactly the problem that is finally being corrected. Parliament is also sending an important signal to SMEs and self-employed people in Switzerland.”
François Cochard, affected entrepreneur and IFJ partner for
trademark protection.
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Conclusion: more fairness for your new company
For you as a company founder, this decision marks the end of a long era of unequal treatment. If you set up an
AG or GmbH today, you are now investing in a system that will actually protect you in the worst-case scenario. This provides the backing needed to drive innovation with courage and look to the future of your company with confidence.
