Hiring in Switzerland

A foreign company can hire through a Swiss entity or, in a qualifying case, directly as an EU/EFTA employer of a Switzerland-resident employee. A licensed employer of record arrangement may use Swiss personnel leasing; independent contractor services depend on the actual engagement. 4dev.com operates a Contractor Platform working with contractors in Switzerland.

Three ways to hire in Switzerland

The route determines the legal employer, the costs above salary and how the relationship ends.

Route	Legal employer	What you pay on top of salary	How you end it
Your own entity	Your Swiss entity, or a qualifying EU/EFTA foreign employer	6.4% national fixed employer component, plus cantonal and fund-dependent family allowances, pension and insurance costs	Statutory post-probation notice: 1–3 months by service tenure, subject to valid contract terms
Employer of record	A Swiss personnel-leasing employer with the required licences	Statutory employment costs and the commercial terms agreed for the arrangement	End the client arrangement under its contract; employment separation follows Swiss rules
Contractor	The contractor's own business, where the engagement is genuinely independent	No employee contribution stack if that independent status holds; service terms govern the engagement	End under the services agreement, subject to the engagement's actual status

The direct foreign-employer route applies to a Switzerland-resident employee of an EU/EFTA employer; the employee’s cantonal AHV compensation office is the contact point. The employer still needs the required social-insurance registration, family allowance fund, accident cover and pension cover. Other foreign-employer arrangements need their own eligibility check.

Commercial personnel leasing requires a cantonal licence; cross-border activity also requires a federal SECO licence. Check the provider in SECO’s public register. A foreign leasing company cannot lease staff from abroad into Switzerland, and a leased worker must be entitled to work and change employer or occupation.

The Swiss labour market

Zurich, Geneva and Basel are distinct hiring locations, so test the role, work location and language requirements against the national and sector wage benchmarks below. These figures are not city salary quotes.

Salary reference points

Full-time gross monthly median, 2024	CHF 7,024 / month (median)	FSO wage structure 2024
Research and development sector median, 2024	CHF 9,139 gross per month	FSO wage structure 2024
Banking sector median, 2024	CHF 10,723 gross per month	FSO wage structure 2024

These are medians rather than averages or role-level offers. The FSO divides annual earnings by 12 to calculate its standardized monthly wage, including one-twelfth of any thirteenth salary and annual special payments or bonuses. Compare a proposed package on the same basis.

For a role-specific range, use SECO's official wage calculator. It estimates a range for an individual profile; it does not set a binding minimum or replace the applicable local or sector rule.

Registering as an employer, step by step

Choose the legal route before registering for Swiss social insurance and arranging the required funds and cover. Registration time depends on the canton, institutions and completeness of the file.

Step	What happens	Takes
1. Confirm the hiring route	Establish a Swiss entity, or confirm that the foreign-employer configuration applies to the employee and employer	Depends on the route and complete documents
2. Set the AHV entry point	Register the employer for social insurance; for a Switzerland-resident employee of an EU/EFTA employer, start with the AHV compensation office in the employee's canton of residence	Depends on the canton and complete file
3. Arrange family and accident cover	Join a family allowance fund and buy occupational accident insurance	Depends on the selected fund, insurer and complete documents
4. Arrange pension cover	Place eligible staff with an occupational pension institution; a foreign employer can join a Swiss institution or use the BVG substitute institution where applicable	Depends on the institution and complete documents
5. Set payroll records	Record the completed registrations, funds and cover before employment begins	Depends on the selected arrangements and complete documents
Total	The steps can be prepared in parallel once the route and employee details are clear	No verified universal duration

You can prepare the fund and insurance steps in parallel once the route and employee details are clear. Confirm eligibility and the selected institutions before treating registration as complete.

Hiring and onboarding

Before a new hire starts, check the candidate's right to work, the terms for the actual work location and the employer cover that the chosen route requires.

Legal limits and work authorisation

For a non-EU/EFTA candidate, Swiss work permits are limited to highly qualified managers, specialists and other skilled professionals. The prospective employer must show that no suitable Swiss or EU/EFTA candidate is available, meet local salary and employment conditions, and work within the annual quota; it files the application with the competent canton, after which SEM reviews approved cantonal applications. Use SEM's procedure page for the applicable file, and do not plan from an assumed approval time.

A personnel-leasing arrangement does not change the candidate's underlying work eligibility. A leasing employer may hire a foreign national only where that person may work and change employer or occupation; employer-restricted permits generally cannot be used for leased staff.

Onboarding checklist

• Put the employment contract and probation terms in writing. The default probation period is 1 month; up to 3 under a written agreement or applicable collective or standard employment contract. The default termination notice during probation is seven calendar days, subject to valid different terms.
• Check the work canton and municipality, then the applicable generally binding collective agreement or mandatory standard employment contract, occupation, experience level and effective date. Switzerland has no federal statutory minimum wage, and a local or sector rule can control the actual role.
• Register the employer for AHV social insurance, join the family allowance fund, arrange occupational accident cover and confirm pension cover for eligible staff.
• Keep the permit and route records with the hiring file, including the final cantonal or SEM decision where the non-EU/EFTA route applies.

Minimum wage: the canton, city and sector decide

No federal minimum wage applies across Switzerland, so the floor for a role comes from the work location, sector and effective rule rather than a single national number.

Check the work municipality first, then its canton; identify any generally binding collective agreement or mandatory standard employment contract; confirm the occupation and experience level; and finally check the effective date. A local floor can be displaced or supplemented by the sector rule that applies to the actual work.

Respective minimum salaries may also be provided for on a communal level.

— Philippe Nordmann, Irène Suter-Sieber, Jonas Knechtli and Gustaf Heintz, employment lawyers, Walder Wyss

Geneva, general rule	CHF 24.59 gross per hour from 1 January 2026	Geneva wage amount and calculation
Geneva, agriculture and floriculture	CHF 18.07 per hour from 2026	Geneva 2026 agriculture announcement
Basel-Stadt	CHF 22.20 per hour in 2026, before hourly holiday and vacation supplements; the cantonal floor does not apply where a generally binding collective agreement governs the sector	Basel-Stadt minimum wage
Jura	CHF 21.40 per hour from 1 July 2024, excluding vacation and public-holiday supplements; specified collective or standard employment contracts with quantified rates can displace the cantonal floor	Jura minimum wage
Neuchâtel	CHF 21.35 per hour in 2026; compliance uses the monthly gross salary, including the prorated contractual thirteenth salary	Neuchâtel 2026 minimum-wage memo
City of Lucerne, not the canton	CHF 22.75 per hour from 1 January 2026	City of Lucerne wage commencement

Geneva has a separate agriculture rate, while the Basel-Stadt, Jura and Neuchâtel figures have the conditions stated in the table. In May 2026, the Federal Supreme Court upheld municipal minimum-wage powers for Zurich and Winterthur, and Zurich resumed implementation work; the ruling did not establish a current hourly floor in either city. Lucerne voters rejected repeal of their city rule by 67.64% on 27 September 2026, leaving its floor in force.

Geneva’s hourly general minimum has changed by effective year:

2021	CHF 23.14 per hour	Geneva wage amount and calculation
2022	CHF 23.27 per hour	Geneva wage amount and calculation
2023	CHF 24.00 per hour	Geneva wage amount and calculation
2024	CHF 24.32 per hour	Geneva wage amount and calculation
2025	CHF 24.48 per hour	Geneva wage amount and calculation
2026	CHF 24.59 per hour	Geneva wage amount and calculation
2027 announced	CHF 24.73 per hour; announced, not current	Geneva wage amount and calculation

Thirteenth salary and comparable pay

A thirteenth salary is not mandatory under general Swiss law, but an employment contract or applicable collective agreement can require it.

The FSO’s standardized 2024 monthly wage includes one-twelfth of any thirteenth salary and annual special payments or bonuses. Multiplying the CHF 7,024 median by thirteen, or adding another month to the employer-cost illustration based on it, would double count those amounts.

For its minimum-wage test, Neuchâtel includes a prorated contractual thirteenth salary in monthly gross pay before comparing it with contracted monthly hours. This local calculation does not create a nationwide thirteenth-salary requirement.

Taxes and contributions

The national fixed employer component is 6.4% of relevant pay: 5.3% AHV/IV/EO plus 1.1% ALV unemployment insurance up to its ceiling. For budgeting, record the remaining employer costs as Varies by canton; the specific family allowance fund, insurer, pension plan and employee profile determine the final amount.

Family-allowance contributions depend on the canton and fund. Occupational-accident premiums vary by income and business activity, while an employer owes the occupational component; occupational-pension funding requires the employer to contribute at least as much as employees combined. Income-tax rates and bases also vary by canton and municipality, so a single Swiss combined tax rate would misstate the position.

For mandatory pension coverage, the 2026 annual entry threshold is CHF 22,680. The coordinated-pay calculation uses a CHF 26,460 deduction and a CHF 90,720 gross-salary ceiling; its age-based savings credits and fund premiums mean the pension amount cannot be treated as one national percentage of gross salary.

What an employee actually costs you

These three Zurich illustrations combine 2024 FSO reference wages with the Zurich SVA family allowance fund and the Zurich cantonal government’s AXA office occupational-accident reference. The pension component models an employee aged 35–44 in a hypothetical equal-share minimum BVG savings plan. The totals are examples, not employer quotes or national rates.

2024 FSO reference	Gross monthly pay	AHV/IV/EO	ALV	Zurich SVA family allowance	Zurich AXA office accident reference	Illustrative BVG savings	Employer additions	Monthly total
Swiss median	CHF 7,024.00	CHF 372.27	CHF 77.26	CHF 72.00	CHF 8.57	CHF 240.95	CHF 771.05 (10.98%)	CHF 7,795.05
Research and development median	CHF 9,139.00	CHF 484.37	CHF 100.53	CHF 93.67	CHF 11.15	CHF 267.75	CHF 957.47 (10.48%)	CHF 10,096.47
Banking median	CHF 10,723.00	CHF 568.32	CHF 117.95	CHF 109.91	CHF 13.08	CHF 267.75	CHF 1,077.01 (10.04%)	CHF 11,800.01

The FSO wages already include prorated thirteenth salary and annual bonuses, so the model adds no further month. It excludes variable SVA administration costs, pension risk and administration premiums, insurer-specific UVG differences, collective-agreement fees and sick-pay insurance. BVG savings use annual coordinated pay divided by twelve; once annual gross reaches the CHF 90,720 ceiling, the modelled monthly contribution stays at CHF 267.75 in the last two scenarios. The employer additions therefore rise in francs while falling as a percentage of gross pay.

Working time and overtime

The statutory weekly maximum is 45 hours for office, technical and specified other staff, and 50 hours for other workers; neither figure creates a universal Swiss 40-hour week.

Contractual overtime and statutory excess hours have different starting points. Contractual overtime can be settled through equal time off by agreement, or through normal pay plus at least a 25% supplement. Statutory overtime starts when work exceeds the applicable 45- or 50-hour ceiling; it generally requires normal pay plus at least 25%, or equal time off with the employee's consent.

For office and technical staff, the statutory obligation to pay for excess hours starts only after the first 60 such hours in a year. Set the contractual schedule and the relevant statutory category before allocating work, then record whether additional hours remain within the agreed schedule or cross the statutory ceiling.

Leave, sick pay and parental leave

The statutory adult vacation minimum is 4 weeks. Budget public holidays, sickness cover and contractual extras separately because their scope differs.

Employees under 20 have five weeks of vacation; other employees have four weeks per service year. At least two vacation weeks must be consecutive. 9 in Zurich refers to the nine statutory public holidays in that canton in 2026, which are treated like Sundays; other local or contractual days do not make this a Swiss-wide count.

Without an equivalent sickness-benefit insurance arrangement, an employer owes full salary for at least three weeks in the first service year if employment has lasted more than three months or was agreed for more than three months. An arrangement paying 80% of salary for 720 days can be equivalent to statutory continued salary only if the employer pays at least half the premium. A contractual top-up belongs in the employment terms; it is separate from the statutory rule and the test for insurance equivalence.

Federal maternity compensation lasts up to 14 weeks or 98 days and is 80% of prior average earned income, capped at CHF 220 per day. The other legal parent can claim up to fourteen daily allowances within six months after the birth, also at 80% of prior average earnings and capped at CHF 220 per day.

Termination: notice and payments

After probation, the statutory notice range is 1–3 months: one month in the first service year, two months in years two through nine, and three months from year ten, each to month-end.

The default probation period is one month, though valid written or collective terms can extend it up to three months. During probation, either party may terminate on seven calendar days’ notice, subject to valid different terms. That is a separate rule from post-probation notice.

After probation, an employer may not dismiss an employee during a protected illness or accident period: 30 days in year one, 90 days in years two through five, and 180 days from year six. Ordinary termination does not create a general statutory severance obligation; the statutory departure-indemnity exception requires the employee to be at least 50 and to have at least 20 service years.

Recent changes that affect a Swiss hire

The 2026 changes affect local wage floors, personnel leasing and vacancy notification. Geneva has also announced its 2027 minimum wage.

• 1 January 2026 — local wage floors took effect. Geneva’s general minimum is CHF 24.59 gross per hour; Basel-Stadt’s base is CHF 22.20 per hour before the stated hourly holiday and vacation supplements; Neuchâtel’s base is CHF 21.35 per hour; and the City of Lucerne introduced CHF 22.75 per hour. These are local rules, not a federal Swiss floor.
• 1 January 2026 — the personnel-leasing agreement changed. Amended collective-agreement provisions became generally binding through 31 December 2027 for personnel leasing within their scope. This does not automatically govern every direct hire, contractor engagement or arrangement labelled EOR.
• 1 January 2026 — the vacancy-notification list changed. The updated list added, among other occupations, cleaning staff, office and hotel auxiliary staff, and cooks. The applicable official occupational classification decides whether a particular vacancy must be notified; the government says the 2026 list covers occupation types containing 10.8% of employed people, up from 6.5% on the 2025 list. Check the current official notification procedure for the applicable publication steps.
• 12 May 2026 — municipal minimum-wage powers were upheld. The Federal Supreme Court confirmed that Zurich and Winterthur may regulate municipal minimum wages. Zurich resumed implementation work, but an in-force Zurich city rate still needs separate confirmation.
• 27 September 2026 — Lucerne’s city floor remained in force. Voters rejected repeal by 67.64%, leaving the CHF 22.75 city minimum in place.
• 1 January 2027 — Geneva has announced CHF 24.73 per hour. It is an announced future rate, not the current 2026 Geneva minimum.

What a mistake costs and who pays

Party	Risk	Amount
Direct employer	Missing social-insurance or eligible occupational-pension coverage, or unpaid salary during qualifying sickness absence	Fact-dependent. Without an equivalent insurance arrangement, full salary is due for at least 3 weeks in the first service year where the qualifying rule is met.
Direct employer	Ending employment on the wrong terms	Fact-dependent. Statutory post-probation notice is 1–3 months by service, and dismissal during an illness or accident protected period is invalid. Ordinary termination has no general statutory severance; the departure-indemnity exception is limited to an employee aged at least 50 with at least 20 service years.
Client calling an engagement independent contracting	The engagement is assessed as employment by its economic reality, rather than its contract label	Case-specific fines and possible retroactive wage or social-insurance liabilities for up to 5 years if sham self-employment is found.
Commercial personnel-leasing provider	Intentionally leasing personnel without the required licence	Fine up to CHF 100,000.
Employer using a commercial personnel-leasing provider	Intentionally using a lessor while knowing it lacks the required licence	Fine up to CHF 40,000.

The CHF 100,000 cap requires intentional unlicensed leasing by the provider. The CHF 40,000 cap requires the employer to use the lessor intentionally while knowing it lacks the required licence. Other employment and classification liabilities depend on the facts.

A direct employer remains responsible for its own employment obligations. For personnel leasing, the provider’s licence and the actual cross-border arrangement determine the separate risks shown above.

Questions people actually ask

Does Switzerland have a national minimum wage?

No. The applicable floor can instead come from a canton, municipality, generally binding collective agreement or mandatory standard employment contract, depending on the job and work location. For example, Geneva’s general minimum is CHF 24.59 gross per hour from 1 January 2026, but that local figure is not a nationwide rate.

What is the average monthly salary in Switzerland?

The official 2024 full-time median gross monthly wage is CHF 7,024, which is not an average, a role-specific quote or a net-pay promise. The FSO standardized monthly figure divides annual pay by 12 and already includes prorated thirteenth salary and annual bonuses.

Can a foreign company hire in Switzerland without a Swiss entity?

It can be possible for a Switzerland-resident employee of an EU/EFTA employer to use the direct foreign-employer route through the employee’s cantonal AHV compensation office. That route is conditional and still requires the relevant Swiss social-insurance, family-allowance, pension and accident-cover arrangements.

Is a thirteenth salary mandatory in Switzerland?

General Swiss law does not require a thirteenth salary, although an employment agreement or collective agreement may do so. Do not add a separate thirteenth month to the CHF 7,024 FSO median: the benchmark already includes its prorated value where paid.

Does Switzerland have a 40-hour work week?

There is no single statutory 40-hour week. The statutory weekly maximum is 45 hours for office, technical and specified other staff, and 50 hours for other workers; the contractual schedule can be lower.

What must I check before hiring a non-EU/EFTA worker?

The role must meet the highly qualified-worker standard, and the employer must address the labour-market test and the relevant annual quota. The canton handles the application before SEM approval, so work authorisation should be resolved through that path before the person starts.

How much notice must I give after probation?

The statutory default is one month in the first service year, two months in years two through nine, and three months from year ten, each to month-end. During the default probation period, the separate rule is seven calendar days’ notice, subject to valid different terms.

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