HR Administration

Preamble

When an association hires salaried staff, it becomes an employer under the framework established by labour law. It must therefore take on all human resources-related tasks (recruitment, HR lifecycle management, resignations/dismissals, salary management and processing, contribution management, time tracking and planning). This guide summarises the steps to be taken when hiring one or more employees.

Employment contract

It is strongly recommended that a written employment contract be drawn up between the employing association and the employee. This is for the protection of both the employer and the employee, and because it is preferable to have a standard contract that can be adapted as required.

The employment contract must contain the following information:

  • The employee’s name and address/details (date of birth, nationality, residence permit if applicable, AVS number if desired)
  • The employing association
  • The start and end dates (if applicable) of the employment relationship
  • Type of contract (permanent [CDI], fixed-term [CDD], CDMax)
  • The employee’s position
  • Job specifications and duties (unless attached as an appendix)
  • Salary and any additional payments
  • Where applicable, weekly working hours
Specific conditions for the employment of people without Swiss nationality
  • Short-term work:
    Employment relationships lasting less than three months during the calendar year are not subject to authorisation but to an online notification procedure.
    If the person is employed for less than one year, an application for a short-term permit (L permit) must be submitted.
  • Long-term work:
    A residence permit (permit B) or, where applicable, a border permit (permit G) must be obtained.
    The border permit applies to nationals of an EU/EFTA country who reside in the territory of an EU/EFTA country and work in Switzerland, while returning to their main residence abroad at least once a week.

Paid work not exceeding 15 hours per week during term time and full-time during university holidays is permitted.
Paid work must be declared using the L form and is subject to authorisation.
This can also be done online via e-démarches.

Only persons considered qualified (e.g. executives, specialists, graduates with multiple years of experience, etc.) may work in Switzerland.
A work permit is always required.
The number of residence permits issued is limited.
The employer must demonstrate that the recruitment is in Switzerland’s economic interest and that it is not possible to recruit the necessary personnel from among Swiss nationals or nationals of EU/EFTA countries.
The formalities must be undertaken with the cantonal migration and employment authorities.

Students enrolled at a Swiss university may work up to 15 hours per week during term time and full-time during university holidays, six months after the start of their studies.
An application for a work permit must be submitted to the cantonal population and migration office using form E and a letter of agreement from the school. The application can also be made via e-démarches.

Pay-as-you-earn tax

Persons residing outside Switzerland are taxed at source in the following main cases (for further details, see the dedicated page on the website of the Canton of Geneva):

  • They work (as cross-border commuters), regardless of whether they are Swiss or foreign nationals, or
  • They have a work permit valid for a limited period of 120 days, or
  • They work in Geneva and do not have a residence permit, or
  • They are artists, athletes or lecturers and perform in the canton

Persons residing in Switzerland are subject to pay-as-you-earn tax in the following main cases (for more details and exemptions, see the dedicated page on the website of the Canton of Geneva): 

  • They are foreign nationals and do not have a residence permit (C permit)
  • They are minors, of Swiss or foreign nationality

Payslips

It is highly recommended to issue monthly payslips, or payslips for each period in which hours have been worked, detailing the gross pay, net pay and all deductions.
Any additional pay must also be included. Where applicable, holiday pay should be shown both as a percentage and in francs.

Information on the holiday supplement

In hourly employment contracts, no salary is provided for during holiday periods. However, the employing association is required to add a holiday supplement to the hourly wage. To calculate the amount of salary relating to holidays, the gross salary earned during the period concerned can be multiplied by:

  • 8.33% for 4 weeks of holiday (mandatory);
  • 10.64% for 5 weeks of holiday (mandatory for employees under 20 years of age);

The association is free to set the duration of holidays beyond the statutory four weeks.

Salary certificate

It is mandatory to issue a salary certificate attesting to all remuneration and benefits paid to an employee.

Various documents are available on the federal tax administration website, including a PDF version of the certificate to be completed, and the CSI platform, which can be used to generate an electronic salary certificate. A guide to completing the salary certificate is also available on this page.

In Geneva, the employment certificate must be given to the employee. You can also send it by post to the cantonal tax authorities, but this is not mandatory. Please consult the instructions from the cantonal tax authorities.

The salary certificate for the past year must be sent by 30th January at the latest.

Social insurance

The employing association is required to contribute to various social insurance schemes for its employees, to cover an employee’s loss of earnings in the event of sick leave, illness, unemployment, etc.

Remarks

  1. If an employee is paid a maximum of CHF 2,500 per year, the employer is not required to take out insurance.
  2. However, in the case of employment remunerated by dance and theatre producers, orchestras, producers in the phonographic or audiovisual field, radio and television stations, as well as schools in the artistic field, the registration of personnel is mandatory from the first franc of salary.
  3. Health insurance is the responsibility of the employee.

a. First pillar and related contributions

  • The first pillar: AVS (Assurance vieillesse & survivants – Old age and survivors’ insurance), AI (Assurance Invalidité – Disability Insurance) et APG (allocations pour perte de gain – allowances for loss of earnings in the event of military or civil service or maternity leave)
  • AC: assurance chômage – unemployment insurance
  • LAFam: allocations familiales – family allowances
  • Cantonal AMat: allocation maternité – maternity allowance
  • CPE: contribution petite enfance – early childhood contribution

AC, LAFam, AMat and CPE contributions are paid to the compensation fund at the same time as AVS/AI/APG contributions.

There are occupational compensation funds, which are private economic organisations specialising in the management of the first pillar.
There are also cantonal compensation funds. In Geneva, the OCAS (Office cantonal des assurances sociales) is an autonomous public law institution that coordinates the activities of the Geneva Compensation Fund (Caisse genevoise de compensation) and the Disability Insurance Office (Office de l’assurance-invalidité). It is recommended that you use the OCAS for the payment of first pillar contributions and related contributions.
For information purposes, the OCAS contribution rates for 2023.

Démarches auprès de l’OCAS

Application for membership as an employer

  1. The application for membership must be submitted by email to the following email address: employeurs@ocas.ch.
    The following documents/information must be provided:

    1. Surname, first name, date of birth, AVS number of a contact person (a member of the committee of the employing association)

    2. Correspondence address (the address of the association’s registered office, which may be the home address of one of the committee members)

    3. Signed articles of association

  2. Reporting of personnel
    All employees must be reported by 30th January for the previous year at the latest, using the salary certificate (ASA).
    You can also report all salaries online and generate the ASA via the platform AVSeasy.

    The association then receives, by post, the advance invoices and then the final invoice for contributions related to salaries paid during the year.

    Remarks
    All staff departures must be reported via the dedicated online procedure.
    You must also request deregistration if the association ceases its activities, using the dedicated online procedure.

b. Accident insurance

  • LAA-LAAC (accident insurance) for occupational and non-occupational accidents is compulsory for employees working 8 hours or more per week.

    Remarks
    If the employee has two employers, working Tuesday afternoons at EMPL 1 and Wednesday mornings at EMPL 2, and has an accident on Tuesday at 10 p.m., then the insurance of the last employer will be liable.

c. 2nd pillar

  • LPP: occupational pension scheme

It is compulsory to subscribe to the LPP for employees who are already subject to the AVS and who earn an annual income of at least CHF 22,680 (figure for 2026).
However, as already stated above, in the case of employment remunerated by dance and theatre producers, orchestras, producers in the phonographic or audiovisual field, radio and television stations, as well as schools in the artistic field, staff must be registered from the first franc of salary.

There are various entities offering accident insurance and occupational pension schemes to employers. The employers’ association chooses the structure it wishes to use.

Some companies offer both services. This is the case, for example, with la Fondation Artes&Comoedia which brings together both and is open to professionals working in the fields of culture, entertainment and audiovisual media.
The unique feature of Artes&Comoedia is that it offers employers the option of contributing to the LPP from the very first franc of salary.

The procedures for joining accident insurance and a pension fund, as well as the rates charged, depend on each organisation.

Other obligations

  • Interim earnings certificate
    If the association employs someone who is registered as unemployed, it must record the hours worked on an interim earnings form. The document must be completed on a monthly basis, or whenever hours are worked, and given to the employee.

Additional information related to salary calculation

  • Social security contributions are paid partly by the employee (deducted from gross salary) and partly by the employing organisation.
  • The sum of the employee’s gross salary and the employer’s share of social security contributions corresponds to the total payroll. The total payroll thus represents the actual cost of an employee to the employing association.
  • The gross salary is the amount of the salary before deduction of the ‘employee’ portion of social security contributions.
  • The net salary is the amount received by the employee, i.e. the salary after deduction of the ‘employee’ portion of social security contributions.
  • The rates of the various contributions, as well as the breakdown between the ‘employer’ and ‘employee’ portions, change annually and are communicated each year by the compensation funds (OCAS), accident insurance companies and pension funds.
  • When calculating the total payroll, care must be taken to use the rates in force for the current year.
  • The hourly wage can be calculated on the basis of a monthly wage as follows:
  • Hourly wage = (monthly wage x number of months) ÷ (weekly working hours x 52).
  • Conversion of monthly salary into hourly wage:

    • 52.142 weeks per year multiplied by 42 hours = 2,189.96 hours per year

      2,189.96 hours divided by 12 months = 182.49 hours per month

      CHF 4,000 divided by 182.49 hours = CHF 21.92

      • Variation
        4,345 weeks multiplied by 42 hours = 182.49

      CHF 4,000 divided by 182.49 hours = CHF 21.92

As of January 1, 2026, the minimum wage is:

  • CHF 24.59 gross per hour
  • CHF 4,262.27 gross per month for 40 hours per week
  • CHF 4,368.82 gross per month for 41 hours per week