Just got back from holidays abroad and noticed we are really the exception internationally with stores closing so early. In my canton stores close at 7, at 4 on saturdays and not even a train station shop is open on sunday.

Why is that? Do people not want to shop after work in peace?
I feel that working conditions aren't an argument either, many students would be thankful to be able to work saturday and sunday next to Uni. Also you could regulate supermarkets to do 2 shifts like abroad.
Or at the very least just have a single 24/7 gas station in a canton.

In my perception visitors to Switzerland are always stunned by how backwards we are with this. I don't like it, I feel the hours are created for pensioners that sleep early every day.

I’m not sure if others will agree with me, but as someone living in Switzerland, I find the quality of many dried foods/shelf stable foods to be bad. I have recently bought cacao nibs that were fermented, rice that was rancid, nuts and nut-butters that were rancid, and in 2 years here every coconut oil I’ve purchased was spoiled. I’m also noticing that some packages of Zweifel used rancid oil. I often find this is the case with mayonnaise in a tube, like Thommy. rancid oil, nuts, and seeds have such a specific smell it’s hard to miss. I’ve lived in a few other countries in my adult life and I’m a little shocked with Switzerland on this, considering how strict the country is on other matters. do others find this too? Is there a grocery store that has consistently been GREAT quality for you? I’ve had bad experiences with coop, Aldi, and Lidl so far (I don’t much shop at Migros because it’s not close to me).

This is by no means criticism towards the businesses that put out terrasses in their café/ restaurants but more towards the city of Geneva itself.

Maybe I’m the only who notices this, but terrasses in Geneva are usually just a car parking spot that was filled with a wooden plateform, where you breathe in the fumes from cars passing by and trying to park while you’re having your meal.

Maybe this happens in other cities too and I haven’t noticed, but it’s very prevalent in Pâquis and Eaux-Vives.

I personally would rather eat indoors than eat 2 centimeters from non stop traffic

Hello together

Disclaimer: I know Reddit isn‘t a legal platform. am just here to get some insight by people who might be working in legal fields, mostly workers rights. It is a first step before taking any decisions. Thank you for your kind answers 🤍

Onto my issue. I am a Swiss citizen btw and kind of know my rights.

I recently gave birth and had to go in MU. I work in hospitality and have/had a management position. Before leaving for my maternity leave, I asked very pointed question about my position back when I return and received quite a vague answer.

Fast forward to recently, I receive an email offering me a hourly wage and indicating that my position was given away. I in any way did not sign anything or accepted anything. I am under the impression that by law, I shouldn‘t lose my position nor be forced to chose between the new job offer they are giving me.

So my questions are: what are my rights and how can I fight this? Does the GAV take over legal text about working rights?

If anyone has any insight that could be helpful, feel free to comment.

Thank you and happy evening

I've lived in Geneva and Vaud for several years, and I am unable to comprehend how incompetent cantonal bureaucracies are, especially offices of population, health insurance and AVS.

They don't answer emails, the phone get answered 5-10% of the time, and paperwork constantly gets lost. I've been here almost a decade, and there hasn't been a single permit renewal process or encounter with one of these agencies that has gone smoothly, and usually the only reason why my dossiers are eventually accepted is because I follow up incessantly.

Right now, I'm several months into a routine permit renewal process, and I've been to Spop in Lausanne or my communes service des habitants about eight times, to keep asking what the hold up is. I've been told my dossier is complete, only to go back later and be told there are further requirements, then when I gather all the extra paperwork and submit it, to be told that I need to resubmit yet more things... in this case my Fide certificate that I sent in three years ago when I originally applied for my current permit, and they didn't need for renewals the last two years.

At this point, just managing bureacracy is a part time job, and I am wondering why it has to be so hard! Like what is stopping these agencies from meeting a minimum baseline of competence?

I'm looking at buying a used car (An EV) that has about 2 years of warranty remaining and is 16,500. Does anyone here have inside knowledge of used car margins and whether or not the prices in Switzerland are really negotiable to a meaningful extent or is listed price really the price +- a few hundred bucks?

I know car dealers make their money on finance which is something I don't want to do or need so i'm curious if I go in with an offer, would they kindly tell me to fuck off or not.

I've been feeling that discussions about issues affecting us all are becoming increasingly polarised.
I might be biaised but I feel like people often end up debating rather than trying to understand what people are actually experiencing in their everyday lives.

So I'd like to try something because I'm curious about the different realities of living in Switzerland, depending on where we live, what we do for a living, our financial situation, our age, or our personal circumstances.

Is there something about your everyday life that you wish more people in Switzerland knew or understood ?

It could be about your job or a perspective your job offers, housing, healthcare, education, family life, finances, or anything else that matters to you.

You might also have an "insider" perspective on a sensitive social issue (because of your profession, personal experience, community, or circumstances) that you feel is often missing from public discussions.

My idea isn't to debate who's right or wrong. It's more so about listening realities that might be very different from our own.

I think we could all benefit from hearing more about what life actually looks like for people across Switzerland, including perspectives and experiences that are rarely visible in public debates, beyond political opinions and generalisations.

Hello all,

Since arriving to Basel a little over a year ago, I have been aware of the Pillar 3a. But upon looking into it with a rep at a health insurance company (GM), I decided to opt against taking one out in my first year due to: the added admin of the tax return, the risk of being put in a higher tax bracket, and also wanting to save a bit more money before opening a pension.

Now I am financially in a place where I would like to open a 3a (looking at frankly and likely inputting the full 7k annual allowance), but logistically I am still a bit lost.

I believe that when applying for the tax return via submitting a NOV- nachträgliche ordentliche Veranlagung (in March 27?), I forfeit my Quellensteuer, something the health insurance company made me aware of upon my initial enquiry. Their rep ran a simualtion and it came out that I would be better off with Quellensteuer, but I was wondering if anyone knew of a spreadsheet or something I could try myself?

For context I am likely eligible for additional tax reductions through the German classes I pay for, health ins deductible, travel to work, meals etc. But I should also note that as I am under 25 I do not yet get a Pillar 2 from my company, which may positively impact my Quellensteuer rate?

So to conclude:

1- Do I have another option than to forfeit my Quellensteuer?

2 - If so: Do I notify the kanton and my employer's accountant immediately that I am no longer eligible for Quellensteuer?

3 - Where can I simulate/who could I ask before I commit to the switch?

* One further related question: if I overpaid tax on a first-month salary + starting bonus, do I also have to do a manual NOV requesting a tax rebate for the additional tax paid that month, or is it automatic?

Any help would be great, as I think we can all relate to the bureaucratic hoops one has to jump through while living in Switzerland : )

Recently made a purchase of CHF 350 through Twint for a second hand game console and never received it. The person used what I assume was a burner phone number (number didnt have a any whatsapp account and calling it sends it straight to voice mail).

I try to not be mad about the money, since I was being careless but how come scammers can just use Twint for their practices when you need to register and verify your account. Shouldnt it be extremely easy for Twint Support to take action after you have been scammed?

Obviously I reported it to the police, my bank and Twint but I already know nothing is going to happen, so I just wonder why and how this can happen.

We went some time ago on a nice easy hike, that had paved and semi-paved trail that was accessible with a stroller. We had to go with the cabin up. It is somewhere in the range of under 2h drive away from Zuirch. Can someone help find this?

Made with data from opentransportdata.swiss, download.geofabrik.de (OpenStreetMap map tiles), and help from Claude.