Facts
Herbert Sigrist had been employed as a field sales representative at the company [H. AG] since March 1, 1984. On May 27, 1985, the employer terminated the employment relationship as of June 30, 1985, although the statutory notice period of two months was not observed. From July 1, 1985, Sigrist visited the stamp control office and applied for unemployment benefits as of July 1, 1985.
The Unemployment Insurance Fund of the Canton of Lucerne rejected the claim for unemployment benefits for the month of July 1985, as Sigrist still had wage claims against his former employer for that month. The Administrative Court of the Canton of Lucerne dismissed Sigrist's appeal, as the company [H. AG] should have terminated the employment contract according to Art. 336b para. 1 CO only as of July 31, 1985, and Sigrist had a claim to the contractual wage until that date.
Considerations
The Federal Insurance Court concluded that Sigrist did not have a wage claim within the meaning of Art. 11 para. 3 AVIG, as he did not make use of his claim to continue the employment relationship until the end of July 1985. However, his behavior constitutes a case of self-inflicted unemployment in July 1985 pursuant to Art. 30 para. 1 lit. a AVIG, analogous to an employee who leaves his job without good reason without notice.
Since Sigrist suffered a compensable loss of work in July 1985, the administrative court appeal must be upheld. The Unemployment Insurance Fund must now examine whether…