Swiss payslip: A guide!

Find out how to draw up a compliant Swiss payslip, and how to optimise your human resources management more broadly!

How do you draw up a payslip in Switzerland?

First of all, you should know that in Switzerland you are free to determine the type and level of your employees’ pay. There is certainly no national minimum wage (only four cantons have introduced one), but you are still required to comply with the legal standards in force in the region and in the relevant sector, whether at cantonal level or under Collective Labour Agreements (CLAs).

The legal standards to be observed

All the general provisions relating to Swiss employment law are set out in the Swiss Code of Obligations (CO). It is on this basis that the various cantons draw up Standard Employment Contracts (SECs), which provide all the necessary detail on the various elements of your employees’ employment contracts.

Good to know: The standards set out in Standard Employment Contracts can generally be adjusted by you, in accordance with sections 361 and 362 of the Code of Obligations.

By law, the employer must pay employees’ wages at the end of the month, although Article 323 of the Code of Obligations states that other arrangements remain possible.

The information that must appear on a Swiss payslip

Much simpler than a French payslip, for example, a Swiss payslip contains only a limited number of items. First and foremost among these are, naturally, the employee’s contact details, their social insurance number and the pay period to which the payslip relates.

Also under the provisions of the Code of Obligations, the employer must provide the employee with a written pay statement, which must give a clear and reasonably precise overview of:

• their gross salary;
• their net salary;
• their allowances (overtime, etc.);
• their deductions (advances, insurance, etc.).

Good to know: If some or all of your employees are cross-border workers, it may be particularly worthwhile for your business to pay their salaries in foreign currency!

Family allowances must also be shown on the payslip when they are paid, which again depends on the canton (both in terms of eligibility criteria and amount), although the employer may choose to pay them at their own discretion.

Withholding tax must also appear on the payslip where the employee is subject to it. It is deducted directly by the employer from the employee’s gross salary.

Lastly, a significant part of the Swiss payslip concerns the various social security deductions, namely:

• Old Age and Survivors’ Insurance (AHV/AVS), which amounts to 4.35% for both employee and employer;
• Disability Insurance (IV/AI), which amounts to 0.7% for both employee and employer;
• the Loss of Earnings Compensation (EO/APG), which amounts to 0.25% for both employee and employer;
• Unemployment Insurance (ALV/AC), whose base rate is 2.2% but varies according to the employee’s salary;
• the Occupational Pension Scheme (BVG/LPP), the amount of which varies according to the employee’s salary level.

You are now familiar with the legal standards to be observed and the key items that must appear on a Swiss payslip. However, bear in mind that managing your employees’ payroll is only one aspect – albeit an already particularly time-consuming one – of the broader management of your staff. Human Resources (HR) management that you will most likely benefit from outsourcing…

How can you support your employees, from onboarding through to their departure from the company?

Successfully onboarding a new employee, helping them thrive and, should they leave the company, ensuring their departure goes smoothly, all require a number of factors to be taken into account.

Among these, the technical and administrative management of human resources should not be overlooked. Calling on an external provider can prove to be an excellent solution…

What is an integrated, end-to-end approach to HR management?

Although your company’s HR department has a wide range of expertise (legal, tax, social insurance, etc.), it unfortunately has to contend with an administrative burden that can be very time-consuming, particularly for certain tasks linked to the direct management of staff.

To address this problem, specialist firms such as Swiss Risk & Care have set up integrated, end-to-end approaches covering five complementary areas of HR management.

Payroll management:

• Preparation of payslips

• Preparation of monthly and annual legal documents

• Reporting and HR support

Absence management:

• Recording and managing absences from day one

• Liaison with the insurer (claims, benefits, disputes)

• Links with payroll and occupational pension providers

• Steering and data analysis

Health insurance management:

• Enrolment in insurance and support in the event of a dispute

• Advice and information for employees

• Management of excess and billing (where a collective policy applies)

Administrative task management:

• Handling of legal formalities: AHV/AVS – EO/APG, ALV/AC, IV/AI – Family allowances – Work permits

Day-to-day pension management:

• Support through changes in personal circumstances (marriage, divorce, retirement, etc.)

• Management of arrivals, departures and transfers

• Secure links with payroll

• Specific and tax-related support for home ownership schemes, buy-backs or departures

Being supported by a competent provider, able to offer advice as part of an end-to-end approach, can clearly make all the difference.

What makes for successful HR outsourcing?

For an HR outsourcing project to succeed, the provider should ideally be chosen through a call for tenders, and the technical resources made available as part of the service must be clearly specified.

A provider working to standards set by an external auditor will be a genuine mark of quality for your business. Beyond being an excellent working tool, such a provider will also offer you impeccable confidentiality and a very high level of security.

Lastly, the human side should never be underestimated. It is essential that the team of consultants made available to you is stable and responsive.

If you would like to outsource all or part of your company’s HR functions, discover the 360° solution from our partner Swiss Risk & Care right now!