Employer of record in Switzerland: the real cost in 2026

EOR, own company or contractor?

There are several ways to work with someone in Switzerland. Each one fits a different case.

Employer of record

A licensed Swiss staff hire company employs the person and runs the payroll and the social insurance. You need no Swiss company, but the staff hire rules apply (see the next section).SECO, directive on the AVG (June 2024), payrolling and employer of record (PDF), Fedlex, Placement and Staff Hire Act (AVG), Art. 12 to 22 and 39Checked 22 Oct 2026

Your own Swiss company or branch

Your Swiss company or branch employs the person directly and registers with a compensation fund for AHV and family allowances.Fedlex, AHV Act (AHVG), Art. 6 and 12, Fedlex, Family Allowances Act (FamZG), Art. 12 and 16Checked 22 Oct 2026

Direct employment from abroad

An employer with no establishment in Switzerland does not have to pay AHV contributions, so the employee pays them, unless the employer agrees to pay. An employer in the EU, EFTA or the UK can register with a Swiss fund instead. In every case, the employee needs accident insurance.Fedlex, AHV Act (AHVG), Art. 6 and 12, SVA Zürich, employers based abroadChecked 22 Oct 2026

Contractor

A person who works in your service in return for a wage has an employment contract under the Code of Obligations, and you are their employer.Fedlex, Code of Obligations (OR)Checked 22 Oct 2026

Compare an EOR with a PEO, your own company and a contractor.

Read how to hire international employees.

Read how a contractor of record works.

The staff hire licence

An EOR employs the person, but you give the instructions. SECO, the federal labour authority, says that this is staff hire (Personalverleih).

An EOR is staff hire

In payrolling and in the employer of record business, one company uses the person's work, and a second company employs the person and makes them available. SECO treats this as staff hire, and the second company usually needs a licence.SECO, directive on the AVG (June 2024), payrolling and employer of record (PDF)Checked 22 Oct 2026

A cantonal licence and a deposit

A company that hires out staff as a business needs a licence from the cantonal labour office. It must be in the Swiss commercial register and pay a deposit of CHF 50,000, or CHF 100,000 above 60,000 hours of hire a year. Hire to clients abroad needs a SECO licence too, and CHF 50,000 more.Fedlex, Placement and Staff Hire Act (AVG), Art. 12 to 22 and 39, Fedlex, Fee ordinance to the AVG (GebV-AVG), Art. 6Checked 22 Oct 2026

No staff hire from abroad

A company based abroad may not hire out staff into Switzerland. So the EOR must employ the person through its own licensed Swiss company.Fedlex, Placement and Staff Hire Act (AVG), Art. 12 to 22 and 39, SECO, directive on the AVG (June 2024), payrolling and employer of record (PDF)Checked 22 Oct 2026

Without a licence

The employment contract and the hire contract are void. The hirer can be fined up to CHF 100,000, and a client that knowingly uses an unlicensed hirer up to CHF 40,000.Fedlex, Placement and Staff Hire Act (AVG), Art. 12 to 22 and 39Checked 22 Oct 2026

The staff hire agreement (GAV Personalverleih)

The collective agreement for staff hire applies to licensed firms in Suva class 70C with a hired-out payroll of at least CHF 1.2 million a year, for pay up to CHF 148,200. It sets minimum wages, a 13th month salary, a contribution of 0.4% from each side and a compulsory daily sickness insurance. It is valid until 31 December 2027.SECO, extension of the staff hire agreement of 13 Dec 2011 (PDF), SECO, extension of the staff hire agreement of 9 Feb 2024 (PDF), SECO, staff hire agreement, changes of 11 Dec 2025 with the 2026 minimum wages (PDF), SECO, extended collective agreementsChecked 22 Oct 2026

SECO's register lists a Swiss company with a staff hire licence for Switzerland and abroad for 7 providers in our table: Deel, Remote, Rippling, Playroll, Multiplier, WorkMotion and G-P. Boundless says that it holds the licence, but we found no company named Boundless in the register. Check the provider's Swiss company in the register before you sign. Open the SECO register.

Ask each provider these questions:

• Which Swiss company will employ the person? What is its name and its company number (UID)?
• Does that company hold a cantonal staff hire licence, and a SECO licence for hire with clients abroad?
• Do you apply the staff hire agreement (GAV Personalverleih) and its minimum wages, 13th month and sickness insurance?
• Which family allowance fund and which pension fund does the company use, and what do they cost?

These rules are complex. Ask a Swiss employment lawyer how they apply to your case.

Compare an EOR with a staffing agency.

Sources: SECO register of licensed staff hire firms (VZAVG)Checked 22 Oct 2026

Employment rules

Written information

A contract needs no special form, but the employer must confirm in writing within 1 month the parties, the start date, the job, the pay and the weekly working time. For staff hire, the contract must usually be in writing, with more details.Fedlex, Code of Obligations (OR), Fedlex, Placement and Staff Hire Act (AVG), Art. 12 to 22 and 39Checked 22 Oct 2026

Working hours

At most 45 hours a week for office, technical and industrial staff, and 50 hours for other workers.Fedlex, Labour Act (ArG), Art. 9 and 20aChecked 22 Oct 2026

Overtime

Overtime pays the normal wage plus at least 25%, unless the employee takes time off instead or a written agreement says otherwise. Hours above the legal maximum always pay 25% more, for office staff after the first 60 hours a year.Fedlex, Code of Obligations (OR), Fedlex, Labour Act (ArG), Art. 9 and 20aChecked 22 Oct 2026

Holidays

At least 4 weeks of paid holiday a year, and 5 weeks until the age of 20.Fedlex, Code of Obligations (OR)Checked 22 Oct 2026

Public holidays

1 August is the only national holiday, and the employer must pay it. Each canton can add up to 8 more. The canton of Zurich has 9 legal public holidays in total.Fedlex, Labour Act (ArG), Art. 9 and 20a, SECO, FAQ on time off and public holidays, Canton of Zurich, Sunday and night work (public holidays)Checked 22 Oct 2026

13th month salary

No law requires it. A special payment is due only if the contract provides for it. The staff hire agreement gives a right to a 13th month salary.Fedlex, Code of Obligations (OR), SECO, extension of the staff hire agreement of 13 Dec 2011 (PDF)Checked 22 Oct 2026

Probation

The first month is probation, with 7 days' notice. A written agreement can extend it to at most 3 months.Fedlex, Code of Obligations (OR)Checked 22 Oct 2026

Notice period

1 month in the first year of service, 2 months in years 2 to 9 and 3 months from year 10, each to the end of a month. During illness, accident and pregnancy, protected periods stop a dismissal.Fedlex, Code of Obligations (OR)Checked 22 Oct 2026

Pay during illness

After 3 months of service, the employer pays the wage during illness for 3 weeks in the first year and for a longer time after that. In Zurich, the courts use a scale of 8 weeks in the second year, rising by 1 week a year. A written agreement can replace this with an equivalent cover, such as a daily sickness insurance.Fedlex, Code of Obligations (OR), Zurich courts, pay during illnessChecked 22 Oct 2026

Maternity and paternity leave

14 weeks of maternity leave and 2 weeks of leave for the other parent. The income compensation fund (EO) pays 80% of the earnings, at most CHF 220 a day.Fedlex, Code of Obligations (OR), Fedlex, Income Compensation Act (EOG), Art. 16c to 16lChecked 22 Oct 2026

Minimum wage

There is no federal minimum wage. In 2026: Geneva CHF 24.59 an hour, Basel-Stadt CHF 22.20, Jura CHF 21.40, Neuchâtel CHF 21.35 and Ticino CHF 20.00 to CHF 20.50 by sector. The City of Zurich's minimum wage of CHF 23.90 is valid but not yet in force.Canton of Geneva, minimum wage (7 Oct 2026), Canton of Neuchâtel, minimum wage 2026 (PDF), Canton of Basel-Stadt, minimum wage FAQ, Canton of Jura, minimum wages, Canton of Ticino, minimum wage (archive copy of 28 Sep 2026), City of Zurich, minimum wageChecked 22 Oct 2026

Payroll and taxes

The employer, or the EOR, deducts the employee's social contributions from each salary and pays them with its own share to a compensation fund, each month or each quarter. It sends the yearly salary declaration by 30 January.

The employee pays 5.3% for AHV/IV/EO and 1.1% for unemployment insurance, the same as the employer. The employee also pays the non-occupational accident premium and part of the pension contribution.

Foreign employees without a settlement permit (C permit) pay income tax at source: the employer withholds it from the salary and pays it to the tax office. From a salary of CHF 120,000 a year, they also file a tax return. In staff hire, the hiring company is the employer that withholds the tax.

Read how payroll works through an EOR.

Sources: AHV/IV information office, leaflet 2.01 on contributions (1 Jan 2026), AHV/IV information office, leaflet 2.08 on unemployment insurance, Fedlex, Accident Insurance Act (UVG), Art. 66 and 91, Fedlex, Federal Direct Tax Act (DBG), Art. 83 and 88, Fedlex, Withholding Tax Ordinance (QStV), Art. 9, ESTV, Circular No. 45 on withholding tax (12 Jun 2019, PDF)Checked 22 Oct 2026

Payroll in Switzerland: an EOR or a local payroll company?

A local payroll company calculates and pays the salaries, but it does not employ the person. Who must pay the social contributions depends on where the employer is.

An establishment in Switzerland

An employer with an establishment in Switzerland pays AHV contributions for its staff. Without one, the employee pays the full contributions, unless the employer agrees to pay.Fedlex, AHV Act (AHVG), Art. 6 and 12Checked 22 Oct 2026

Employers in the EU, EFTA or the UK

An employer based in the EU, EFTA or the UK can register with a Swiss compensation fund and pay the contributions directly.SVA Zürich, employers based abroadChecked 22 Oct 2026

Tax at source

Only a payer in Switzerland withholds the tax. With no Swiss payer, the employee is taxed by an ordinary assessment.ESTV, Circular No. 45 on withholding tax (12 Jun 2019, PDF)Checked 22 Oct 2026

So with your own Swiss company or branch, a payroll company can run the payroll. Without one, an EOR's licensed Swiss company employs the person for you. Ask a tax adviser if an employee in Switzerland creates a taxable presence (a permanent establishment) for your company.

Read how staff abroad can create a permanent establishment.

Sources: Fedlex, AHV Act (AHVG), Art. 6 and 12, SVA Zürich, employers based abroad, ESTV, Circular No. 45 on withholding tax (12 Jun 2019, PDF)Checked 22 Oct 2026

Benefits

The law requires AHV/IV/EO, unemployment insurance, family allowances, accident insurance and, above a salary of CHF 22,680 a year, the occupational pension (BVG). The pension fund's plan sets the contributions, and the employer pays at least half.

Under the staff hire agreement, the employee also gets a 13th month salary and a collective daily sickness insurance. A pension fund can also insure more than the legal minimum.

Read what an EOR gives you and your staff.

Sources: AHV/IV information office, leaflet 2.01 on contributions (1 Jan 2026), BSV, amounts valid from 1 Jan 2026 (PDF), Fedlex, Occupational Pensions Act (BVG), Art. 8, 16 and 66, Fedlex, Accident Insurance Act (UVG), Art. 66 and 91, Suva, base rates 2026 (publication 335-26), SECO, extension of the staff hire agreement of 13 Dec 2011 (PDF)Checked 22 Oct 2026

How hiring through an EOR works

1. Compare providers and ask for quotesAsk for the monthly fee in Switzerland, the deposit, the pension fund and sickness insurance costs, and the notice period of the EOR contract. Check the provider's Swiss company in SECO's register.
2. Agree the employment termsAgree the yearly salary, a 13th month salary if any, the start date, the holidays and the probation period with the candidate.
3. The EOR registers the employeeThe EOR becomes the legal employer. It signs a written staff hire contract and registers the employee with the compensation fund, the pension fund and the accident insurer. For a foreign national, it applies for the permit.
4. The EOR runs the payrollEach month, the EOR pays the salary and the social contributions and, where it applies, withholds the tax at source.
5. You manage the daily workYou set the tasks and the goals. The EOR handles the employment administration.

Read how to check an EOR provider before you sign.

Read which terms to check in an EOR contract.

Sources: SECO register of licensed staff hire firms (VZAVG), Fedlex, Placement and Staff Hire Act (AVG), Art. 12 to 22 and 39Checked 22 Oct 2026