Contracting in Switzerland

With just a few clicks, you can calculate your take-home pay in Switzerland and choose the optimal solution to get the most out of your contract. Use the app below to calculate your possible net retention in Switzerland.

Regardless of the nationality of a contractor, it is illegal for non-Swiss recruitment agencies to hire for a Swiss client without holding a labour leasing, or SECO, license. The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs is the Swiss authority that determines Swiss and labour leasing regulations, terms and conditions Therefore international recruiters typically retain a SECO licensed company (such as Access Financial) to perform the employment and leasing function. The license is cantonal specific, meaning that some licenses may only cover you for Zurich or perhaps Geneva etc. Access Financial hold a Federal SECO license that covers the whole of the Swiss region.

As a labour leasing company, we handle all legal and contractual matters for companies, recruitment agencies, and contractors. Our services provide benefits for the employer by ensuring compliance with local laws, benefits for the recruitment agency by keeping clients satisfied, and benefits for the contractor by maximizing earnings through legal means and reducing tax and social security burdens.

Employment

This is a standard form of employment – you officially work for a company who pays you a monthly salary.

Pros:

• Enrollment in the social security system, which includes a pension plan, paid time off and sick leave.
• Stable monthly paycheck.
• Income tax is deducted from your salary, so you do not need to worry about calculating how much you have to pay.

Cons:

• If you come from a non-EU/EFTA state and would like to work in Switzerland, you may only do so if you are highly qualified, i.e. if you are a manager, specialist or other skilled professional.
• More and more companies are looking towards independent contractors rather than employees, so it could be more difficult to find such employment, especially as a foreigner.
• Less flexibility – you do not get to choose the projects that you can work on, you must work on the tasks assigned to you by your employer.
• Formal working hours – you may have to work “9-5”, as determined by your employment contract, rather than being able to determine your own working hours.

Self-Employment

This type of employment means that you are a freelancer – a company pays you to do a specific job, and you get remunerated, but you are not an official employee.

Pros:

• Freedom to choose projects that interest you.
• Freedom to choose your own working schedule.
• Can deduct certain expenses, dependent on your business activities.

Cons:

• As a self-employed person, you cover the full cost of social security contributions yourself.
• Lower retention rate compared to other solutions due to high social security payments.
• Expat entrepreneurs from third countries have to meet the Swiss labour market requirements to receive a work permit for self-employment, which can prove to be quite difficult.
• From an annual income from self-employment of at least CHF 100,000, you are subject to VAT
• You will need to sort out payments of income tax and social contributions yourself, or you could consider engaging a payroll company like Access Financial.
• Must issue invoices that follow specific rules.
• There can be a fine line between self-employment and regular employment. If, for example, you end up doing too much work exclusively for a specific company, you could be classified by an audit as falsely self-employed, which can result in very hefty fines and the possibility of some legal action against you/your client.

L Permit:

The L Permit is a short-duration permit granted to international individuals visiting Switzerland for a definite purpose. It usually lasts less than a year and may authorize the permit holder to work. EU/EFTA citizens are eligible for the L permit once they provide an employment contract ranging from three months to a year. It can also be granted to those seeking employment, given they fulfill specific criteria.

B Permit:

The B Permit serves as a residential permit for international individuals living in Switzerland permanently for a designated purpose. It permits them to work as well. EU/EFTA citizens can acquire this permit if they demonstrate that they’ve been employed indefinitely or for a fixed duration of at least one year. The permit remains valid for five years and can be extended under specific conditions.

C Permit:

The C Permit, or settlement permit, is given to foreign nationals after residing in Switzerland for five or ten years. The granting of this permit may depend on the individual’s country of origin, family situation, and integration level. The permit is valid for an indefinite period.

G Permit:

The G Permit, also known as the cross-border commuter permit, is granted to EU/EFTA citizens residing in an EU/EFTA member state who work in Switzerland but return to their primary foreign residence weekly. The permit stays valid for five years if the employment contract is permanent or fixed for more than a year. If not, it remains valid for the length of the employment contract.

EU, EFTA

People from EU and EFTA countries (Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein) have the right to enter, live and work in Switzerland.

They may work in Switzerland for three months without taking any particular administrative steps. For employment beyond this period, they must apply for a residence permit from the municipality where they are living.

Other Foreign Nationals

Only individuals who are considered “qualified” can come to work in Switzerland if they are from countries outside of the EU/EFTA. These “qualified” individuals include executives, experts, and others who have professional qualifications.
Even for temporary job assignments, these individuals must possess a work permit. The responsibility for administrative procedures falls on the employer. The employer must be able to prove that hiring a person from a non-EU/EFTA country contributes to Switzerland’s economic progress and that they were unable to locate suitable staff within the Swiss, EU, or EFTA labor markets.

Obtaining a work permit does not necessarily confer the right to enter Switzerland. Depending on the person’s nationality, a visa may be required. Read more

As an Employer of Record, we conclude an agreement with you and your client. We become your legal employer while your client maintains control over your work relationship, ethics, tasks, and daily responsibilities.

Why is this needed?

Not all companies have registered legal entities in the countries where they need employees. Moreover, not all companies want to bother with payroll, work permits, taxes, social security, and in general paperwork when employing workers. That’s why it’s more profitable and convenient for them to turn to an EOR provider (such as Access Financial) who already has local experience and can take on all the worries associated with hiring employees and be responsible for their paperwork and compliance.

Here are just some of the services we offer in Switzerland:

• Registering employees with the tax and social security office.
• Providing consultations on Swiss labour regulation & benefits.
• Setting up the Payroll system compliantly.
• Submitting wage tax returns and national insurance forms.
• Keeping our clients up-to-date and compliant with changes in Swiss regulations.

We provide a full set of services in Switzerland, allowing corporate clients, recruitment agencies and professional contractors to operate in an optimal manner, while ensuring that all local compliance obligations are taken care of.

Access Financial offers the following services in Switzerland:

• Contract Management
• Outsourced Payroll
• Employer of Record (EOR)