General description
The Federal Law on Compulsory Unemployment Insurance and Indemnity in case of insolvency aims to provide insured people with compensation adequate to the lack of earnings encountered due to job loss or redundancy, a reduction of working hours, climatic conditions or employer insolvency.

It aims to prevent impending unemployment and to fight actual unemployment through action within the job market in favour of the insured persons.

Benefit Rights 

The insured is entitled to unemployment benefit if:

o He / she is unemployed or partially unemployed
o He / she has endured a minimum 20% loss of work from a full time working week with a salary of no less than 500.- CHF per month
o He / she lives in Switzerland
o He / she has finished compulsory schooling but is not yet of age to benefit from a AVS pension
o He / she does not receive an AVS pension
o He / she fulfils the conditions regarding the period of contributions (minimum 12 months in the two years preceding the start of compensation entitlement) or
o If he / she has been absolved of this (cleared of duty of contributions)
o He / she is able to move location
o He / she satisfies the control requests (LACI art. 8)

Request for unemployment benefits
Since 1st May 2009, the applicant must personally apply at the Regional Employment Office (Office Régional de Placement (ORP)). The Neuchâtel area ORP can be found at avenue Edouard-Dubois 20, 2000 Neuchâtel, Tel.: 032/889. 68.18.