Facts
A.A. is the father of B.A. and C.A., who live with their mother D. in France. Since A.A. is employed in Switzerland, he is entitled to family allowances for his children. Initially, he received the difference to the allowances paid in France, and from March 2016 he is entitled to the full allowances.
On May 13, 2016, D. filed an application for direct payment of the family allowances to her, as A.A. had not forwarded them to her until then. The Family Compensation Fund Employer Basel instructed A.A.'s employer to pay the allowances directly to D. A.A. filed an objection against this, which was dismissed.
Upholding A.A.'s appeal, the Social Insurance Court of the Canton of Basel-City revoked the objection decision and referred the matter back to the Fund for further clarification. The Family Compensation Fund then filed an appeal in public law matters.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court upholds the appeal. It finds that A.A., as the entitled person, is obliged to pay maintenance contributions for his children and must therefore transfer the family allowances in addition to the maintenance contributions to D. as the custodial parent.
According to Art. 9 para. 1 FamZG, the person for whom the family allowances are intended (or their legal representative) can demand that the allowances be paid directly to them…