What do I need to know as the member of a Swiss board of directors in times of the coronavirus?
The spread of the coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) is causing turnovers to crash and is plunging the Swiss economy into an unprecedented crisis. If the board of directors fails to respond to this crisis, its members risk becoming liable.
Here you will find the answers to the six most important questions regarding a Swiss board member's duties in the wake of the corona crisis:
Key takeaways:
Um was geht es?
Dieser Artikel beschreibt in Kürze das freiwillige Liquidationsverfahren einer Gesellschaft aufgrund eines Sonderbeschlusses seiner Aktionäre.
Was muss ich tun?
Beschlussfassung der Gesellschafter
As Switzerland maintains a quite strict legal regime governing the director’s liability, it is immanent for each person holding a board function to know the rules and risks as well the legal consequences in this respect. During the last couple of years Switzerland has introduced various new rules influencing the director’s liability (new transparency rules for management compensations in listed companies, a comprehensive revision of the audit legislation and new statutory rules governing financial accounting), which are mainly applicable for listed companies.
At the press conference of Friday, 20 March 2020, the Federal Council informed on an additional package of measures to cushion the economic consequences of the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19).
In order to remedy liquidity bottlenecks that continue to exist despite short-time working compensation at companies affected by the forced closure and demand shortages, the Federal Council announced additional support measures.
In addition to:
In der Pressekonferenz von Freitag, 20. März 2020, informierte der Bundesrat über ein zusätzliches Massnahmenpaket zur Abfederung der wirtschaftlichen Folgen der Ausbreitung des Coronavirus (COVID-19).
Zur Abhilfe von Liquiditätsengpässen, die trotz Kurzarbeitsentschädigung bei von der Schliessung sowie von Nachfragerückgängen betroffenen Unternehmen weiterhin bestehen, hat der Bundesrat heute zusätzliche Unterstützungsmassnahmen beschlossen.
So soll nebst:
The tax treatment of financial restructuring measures can significantly impact a company’s financial position.
Introductory remarks
The coronavirus (COVID-19) is currently causing concern and uncertainty and poses challenges to companies and individuals alike. A number of legal issues are also emerging, whether in relation to contractual obligations, labour law matters or corporate law aspects. This article aims to highlight the most important points from a Swiss law perspective and to clarify legal issues in the elaboration of possible courses of action.
1. Commercial contracts
1.1 Force majeure
On 23 November 2016 the Federal Council presented a bill to modernise Swiss company law, including a reform of the corporate restructuring rules which sought to create incentives for financially distressed companies to take necessary actions at an early stage and thus avoid insolvency and bankruptcy proceedings.