Hiring household help in Switzerland: What you need to know

Do you want to hire a domestic helper to assist you with cleaning, cooking, babysitting, or other household tasks? Then you must observe certain legal and administrative steps. In Switzerland, you are considered an employer and must therefore fulfill certain obligations. This article will inform you about what you need to do if you want to hire a domestic helper.

Conclude Accident Insurance

First, you must register your domestic helper with an approved accident insurer. This is mandatory for all household employees, regardless of the number of hours worked. Accident insurance covers the costs for occupational accidents and for non-occupational accidents if the number of hours worked is more than eight per week. The premium for occupational accident insurance must be paid by the employer. The premium for non-occupational accident insurance can be deducted from the employee's salary.

Pay AHV and ALV Contributions

Next, you must register your domestic helper with the cantonal compensation office of your canton of residence. This is necessary to pay the AHV (Old Age and Survivors' Insurance) and ALV (Unemployment Insurance) contributions for your domestic helper. The AHV contributions are 10.6% and the ALV contributions are 2.2% of the gross salary, and are borne equally by the employer and employee. The compensation office will provide you with a registration form where you can also indicate the accident insurer.

Provide Family Allowances

You should also check whether you need to register your domestic helper with the family allowances fund. This is necessary if they or their spouse do not receive family benefits. The family allowances vary by canton and range between 200 and 300 francs per child per month and are paid by the employer. The family allowances fund will also provide you with a registration form.

Issue Payroll Statements

Once the domestic helper is employed, you must issue a payroll statement every month. The payroll statement must reflect the gross salary, deductions for AHV, accident insurance, any withholding tax, and the net salary. You can use a template for this. Don’t forget that you must also provide the salary certificate for the tax declaration at the end of the year.

Conclusion

As you can see, hiring and insuring a domestic helper correctly is not straightforward. If you want to save yourself the administrative hassle, we at Findea AG can help you with this.