Employer of Record in Switzerland

Employ in Switzerland without your own entity. TopSource employs your team under Swiss staff-leasing rules, with AHV, BVG pension, source tax and compliant contracts handled in every canton.

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Why hire in Switzerland through an EOR

Switzerland offers a multilingual, highly skilled workforce and one of the most flexible labour codes in Europe. Hiring there without a Swiss company means using a licensed staff-leasing employer: under Swiss law that is what an Employer of Record is, and it is what TopSource provides.

Parameter	Statutory requirement	EOR management
Legal basis	Staff leasing under the AVG: a Swiss-registered employer with a cantonal licence	Your hire is employed by our licensed Swiss entity
Social insurance	AHV/IV/EO 5.3% and unemployment insurance 1.1% from employer and employee	Registered and paid every month
Occupational pension	BVG for pay above CHF 22,680 a year; the employer pays at least half	Enrolled in a pension fund from the first salary
Source tax	Foreign employees without a C permit are taxed at source	Deducted at the right cantonal tariff and remitted
Notice	One to three months, ending at the end of a month, plus protection periods	Contracts written to the Code of Obligations

Figures for 2026, verified in October 2026.

Licensed for staff leasing

In Switzerland an EOR is staff leasing under the Recruitment Act (AVG). The employer must be registered in Switzerland and licensed by its canton, and a foreign provider can’t lease staff into the country. TopSource employs your team through its own Swiss entity, which holds the cantonal staff-leasing licence the AVG requires.

Social insurance on every payslip

Employer and employee each pay 5.3% AHV/IV/EO on all pay and 1.1% unemployment insurance up to CHF 148,200 a year. We register your hire with the compensation office and pay contributions monthly.

BVG pension and accident cover

Employees earning over CHF 22,680 a year join a pension fund, with age credits of 7% to 18% and at least half paid by the employer. Every employee is insured against occupational accidents at the employer’s cost.

Source tax in all 26 cantons

Foreign employees without a C permit are taxed at source at their canton’s tariff. We deduct and remit it each month, and flag employees earning CHF 120,000 or more, who must also file a tax return.

Contracts that hold up

Swiss law lets employers end a contract with notice, but not during protection periods for illness, pregnancy or military service, and an abusive dismissal can cost up to six months’ pay. We write and run contracts that respect both.

Hire in Switzerland without setting up an entity

Switzerland combines federal social insurance with 26 cantons that each set their own taxes, family allowance funds and, in five of them, a minimum wage. Statutory employer contributions add around 10% to salary before accident insurance, and the Code of Obligations leaves employers more freedom on hiring and notice than most of Europe. Getting the details right still takes local registrations: an AHV compensation office, a pension fund, an accident insurer and, for many foreign employees, the cantonal source tax office.

The structure matters as much as the payroll. Under the Recruitment Act (AVG), an Employer of Record is staff leasing: the employer must be registered in Switzerland, hold a cantonal licence and lodge a deposit of CHF 50,000 to CHF 150,000, and leasing staff into Switzerland from abroad is not allowed. A company that knowingly uses an unlicensed provider can be fined up to CHF 40,000. Staff leasing also limits who can be hired: Swiss and EU/EFTA nationals, and other foreign nationals already free to change jobs, such as C permit holders. New hires from outside the EU/EFTA generally can’t be employed through staff leasing.

TopSource employs your team through its own Swiss entity, which holds the cantonal staff-leasing licence the AVG requires. We issue a compliant contract, register your hire for social insurance, the pension fund and source tax, and run payroll every month, so you can hire in Switzerland in days without opening a GmbH.

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Calculate Your Employee Costs in Switzerland

Enter a gross annual salary to see the employer’s statutory cost in Switzerland for 2026: AHV/IV/EO, unemployment insurance, the family allowance contribution in the canton of Zurich and the minimum BVG pension share.

Employment Cost Calculator

*Indicative figures only and not definitive legal advice. Local regulations change frequently. Consult an expert

Switzerland

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How EOR in Switzerland works: the process through TopSource

Step 1

Check the hire and the terms

We confirm the employee’s nationality and permit, the canton they will work in, the salary and the pension plan, and whether a collective labour agreement applies to the role.

Step 2

Issue a written contract

Staff leasing requires a written employment contract. Ours sets out pay, working time, holidays, probation and notice under the Code of Obligations, plus any 13th salary you agree.

Step 3

Register and onboard

We register your hire with the AHV compensation office, the pension fund, the accident insurer and the family allowance fund, set up source tax with the right canton, and handle the permit notification for EU/EFTA nationals.

Step 4

Run payroll every month

Salaries are paid at the end of each month, contributions on account by the 10th, source tax to each canton and the annual salary declaration by 30 January, with salary certificates for every employee.

Step 5

Support the relationship day to day

Your account manager and the employee have a direct line for leave, sick pay, permits, notice and anything else that comes up.

Know your Switzerland hiring costs before you commit

Tell us the role, the canton and the salary. We’ll send back the full employer cost and the employee’s net pay after social insurance and pension contributions within one business day.

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Employer Costs in Switzerland at a Glance

10.4 %

Statutory employer cost on CHF 9,000 a month in Zurich

CHF 22,680

Annual pay from which the BVG pension is compulsory

4 weeks

Minimum paid holiday a year (five until age 20)

Employer Costs in Switzerland Explained

A Swiss employee costs about 10% on top of gross salary in statutory contributions, before accident insurance and any pension cover above the legal minimum. On CHF 9,000 a month for an employee aged 35 to 44 in Zurich, the employer pays CHF 936, a total of CHF 9,936 a month. The rules that shape the rest are the staff-leasing law and the Code of Obligations. Here’s the breakdown.

Old-age and survivors’ insurance (AHV), disability insurance (IV) and income compensation (EO) take 10.6% of all pay, 5.3% from the employer and 5.3% from the employee, with no ceiling. Unemployment insurance (ALV) adds 1.1% each on pay up to CHF 148,200 a year, and nothing above it since 2023. Family allowances are funded by employers through a cantonal fund at 1.025% to 2.75% of pay; only in Valais do employees contribute too. Contributions on account are due by the 10th after each month, or each quarter for smaller payrolls, the salary declaration by 30 January, and late payments carry 5% annual interest.

Employees earning more than CHF 22,680 a year from one employer must be insured in a pension fund. The coordinated salary is pay between the CHF 26,460 coordination deduction and CHF 90,720, and the minimum age credits on it are 7% from 25 to 34, 10% from 35 to 44, 15% from 45 to 54 and 18% from 55 to 65, at least half paid by the employer. Occupational accident insurance is at the employer’s cost, and non-occupational cover, for employees working at least eight hours a week, is usually paid by the employee. Foreign employees without a C permit who live in Switzerland are taxed at source: the employer deducts the tax at the tariff of the employee’s canton and remits it, and employees earning CHF 120,000 or more a year also file a full return. Health insurance is bought individually, so it is not a payroll deduction. Our Swiss payroll guide covers each contribution in detail.

Swiss law treats an Employer of Record as staff leasing (Personalverleih) under the Recruitment Act (AVG). Leasing on a regular, commercial basis needs a licence from the canton where the employer is based, and a second licence from SECO to lease staff abroad or to lease foreign nationals arriving from abroad. The employer must be entered in the Swiss commercial register, be run by qualified people and lodge a deposit of CHF 50,000 to CHF 150,000 to secure wages. Leasing staff into Switzerland from a foreign company is prohibited, so a global provider without a licensed Swiss entity can’t legally employ your team there, and fines reach CHF 100,000 for the provider and CHF 40,000 for a client that knowingly uses one. The rules also decide who can be hired: a staff-leasing employer may only employ foreign nationals who are entitled to work and to change jobs, which covers Swiss and EU/EFTA nationals and holders of a C permit, but generally not new hires from outside the EU/EFTA, whose permits are subject to annual quotas and tied to a specific job. Where the client’s sector has a generally binding collective agreement, its pay and working-time rules apply. TopSource employs your team through its own Swiss entity, which holds the cantonal staff-leasing licence the AVG requires.

Probation is one month unless agreed otherwise, up to three, with seven days’ notice. After it, notice is one month in the first year of service, two months in years two to nine and three months after that, ending at the end of a month. The employer can’t give notice while the employee is unable to work through illness or accident, for 30 days in the first year of service, 90 days in years two to five and 180 days after that, during pregnancy and the 16 weeks after the birth, or around military service. A dismissal judged abusive, for example because the employee asserted a claim in good faith, can cost up to six months’ pay if the employee objects in writing before the notice ends. Employees get at least four weeks of paid holiday, five until they turn 20, and mothers 14 weeks of maternity pay at 80% of earnings, up to CHF 220 a day. There is no national minimum wage, but Geneva, Neuchatel, Jura, Ticino and Basel-Stadt set one, Geneva’s at CHF 24.59 an hour in 2026, and a 13th salary is common but only owed if the contract says so.

EOR or entity setup: which one fits your Switzerland plan?

Setting up a Swiss GmbH takes CHF 20,000 of paid-in capital, at least one representative resident in Switzerland, and your own registrations with a compensation office, a pension fund, an accident insurer and the cantonal tax office. An EOR makes sense while you test the market or hire a first small team of Swiss or EU/EFTA nationals. Your own entity makes sense once headcount and permanence justify the overhead, and it is the usual route for new hires from outside the EU/EFTA.

Factor	TopSource Switzerland EOR	Your own Swiss entity
Speed to hire	Days, through our licensed entity	Weeks to months to incorporate and register
Capital and local director	None	CHF 20,000 for a GmbH and a resident representative
Who you can hire	Swiss and EU/EFTA nationals, and permit holders free to change jobs	Also non-EU/EFTA hires, within annual quotas
Best fit	1-10 employees, market entry	Scaled, permanent operations

Consider an EOR if you’re:

Hiring Swiss or EU/EFTA nationals, or people already free to change jobs in Switzerland
Testing the Swiss market before incorporating a GmbH
Building a small team across one or more cantons
Needing payroll, source tax and the BVG pension running from the first month

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The Pont du Mont-Blanc with its flags, the Ile Rousseau and the city centre on the lake, Geneva, Switzerland

Why TopSource for Employing in Switzerland

TopSource for Employer of Record, global payroll or any other of our services represent a simpler, more reliable and transparent option.

We don’t hide fees or sneak price increases. We don’t lock you in for employees you don’t use. But we do give you a dedicated point of contact, available on the phone so you get answers fast, including on the questions Switzerland raises, from which permits allow staff leasing to source tax tariffs and BVG thresholds in each canton. We blend HR advisory with in-market expertise, and we stay flexible around the needs of your business.

EOR Services Switzerland Payroll Services

St. Peter's Church clock tower above the old town houses on the Limmat, Zurich, Switzerland

“Their expertise and understanding of the unique hiring, payment, and human resource practices in each country has been nothing short of outstanding. Our Client Success Manager, has done just that … ensured our success. Her availability and willingness to engage on a personal level has made all the difference.”

Director of Research Operations,

“Excellent service, especially from our account manager who has gone above and beyond to help us use the platform effectively. Our manager, significantly simplifies my workload. It is like having your own TopSource HR representative on your team.”

Chief Human Resources Officer,

“TopSource has been our go-to resource for international hiring. They are responsive, thorough, respectful and knowledgeable. The Client Success team has provided us with the utmost customer service, and the more we use TopSource, the more, it gives us access to more resources and knowledge.”

Senior Manager, Human Resources ,

More than an Employer of Record.

Employer of Record services are only one way that we help you accelerate your global growth goals. From talent advisory to entity management, we give you the tools you need to research, enter and expand into your key markets.

Market Selection Advisory

Compare available talent, compensation, additional costs and regulations across different countries

Salary Benchmarking

Identify and prioritize markets for growth based on talent, cost & regulations

Global Skills Analysis

Map skill availability by region to align talent strategies with business goals..

Talent Acquisition

Find, hire & onboard the highly skilled team members you need in each locality.

Talent Strategy Optimization

Optimize your talent strategy to enable your organization to achieve it’s global ambitions.

Global Benefits Review

Benchmark your global benefits to boost employee retention.

Frequently
asked questions

Yes, as staff leasing under the Recruitment Act (AVG). The employer must be registered in Switzerland and hold a cantonal staff-leasing licence, and leasing staff into Switzerland from a foreign company is not allowed. A client that knowingly uses an unlicensed provider can be fined up to CHF 40,000. TopSource employs your team through its own Swiss entity, which holds the cantonal staff-leasing licence the AVG requires.

Usually only if they are already free to change jobs, for example with a C permit. A staff-leasing employer may only employ foreign nationals entitled to work and to change jobs, so new hires from outside the EU/EFTA, whose permits are subject to annual quotas and limited to managers, specialists and qualified workers, generally need their own employer’s entity. Swiss and EU/EFTA nationals can be hired through an EOR.

Statutory employer contributions add about 10% to salary. For an employee aged 35 to 44 in Zurich earning CHF 9,000 a month, the employer pays CHF 936 in AHV/IV/EO, unemployment insurance, family allowances and the minimum BVG share, CHF 9,936 a month in total, before accident insurance. We quote the exact figure for your canton before you commit.

After probation, notice is one month in the first year of service, two months in years two to nine and three months after that, ending at the end of a month. Notice can’t be given during illness or accident (30 to 180 days depending on service), pregnancy and the 16 weeks after the birth, and an abusive dismissal can cost up to six months’ pay.

There is no national minimum wage. Five cantons set one, and Geneva’s is the highest at CHF 24.59 an hour in 2026; collective agreements set minimum pay in many sectors. A 13th salary is common but only owed when the contract provides for it.

An EOR wins on speed and on cost of entry: no CHF 20,000 of capital, no resident representative and no registrations of your own. Your own entity wins on scale and is the usual route for new hires from outside the EU/EFTA. Many clients start with an EOR and move the team to their own GmbH once Switzerland is proven.