Insure and hire
The first employee: seven obligations at once
An employment contract signed on a Monday triggers affiliations, withholdings and declarations, none of which writes to remind you. Here they are in the order they arise, and the order people miss them.
Before signing
- The work permit. A non-Swiss national needs an authorisation before starting, a G permit for a cross-border worker, B for a resident. In Geneva the notification goes to the OCPM. Having someone work without authorisation engages your liability, not theirs.
- The collective agreement. In construction, a collective agreement declared generally binding applies to you whether you signed it or not: minimum wages, 13th month, contributions to joint funds. It may provide more than the law, never less.
- LAA affiliation, to be concluded before the first day of work, with Suva if your sector falls under it, otherwise with a private insurer. An accident on the first morning without a signed policy is at your expense.
The first month
Affiliation as an employer with an AVS compensation office. From then on, every salary carries withholdings that you collect on behalf of the social insurances:
| Contribution | Total | Withheld from employee | At your expense |
|---|---|---|---|
| AVS / AI / APG | 10.6% | 5.3% | 5.3% |
| Unemployment insurance (up to CHF 148,200/yr) | 2.2% | 1.1% | 1.1% |
| Family allowances (Geneva) | per fund | , | 100% |
| LAA, occupational | per sector | , | 100% |
| LAA, non-occupational (from 8 h/week) | per sector | 100% | advanced by you |
| LPP (from CHF 22,680/yr) | per plan | at most half | at least half |
Family allowances are entirely at your expense, whether or not your employees have children. It is a solidarity contribution on the payroll, not a benefit you pay to your own staff. In Geneva, a child aged 0 to 16 entitles to CHF 311 a month, 415 in training up to 25.
Every month: withholding tax
Every foreign employee without a C permit is taxed at source: you withhold the tax from their salary and pay it to the canton. You become the “debtor of the taxable benefit”, and the calendar is tight.
- Within 30 days of each salary payment: send the tax administration the details of the benefits paid and the tax withheld, for each person.
- By 31 January at the latest: the annual summary list and the certificates, a copy of which goes to each employee concerned.
In Geneva, the ISeL platform allows online entry for small headcounts; Swissdec-certified payroll software transmits directly and exempts you from the separate monthly statement.
Every year
- The salary certificate for each employee, at the start of the following year: the document they attach to their tax return.
- The salary declaration to your compensation office, which settles the AVS/AC advances paid during the year.
- The payroll statement to your LAA insurer and your pension fund, on which the final premiums are calculated.
These three declarations cover the same figures. Payroll software, or a fiduciary, produces them in one go; by hand, you do them three times, and differently.
AVS/AI/APG and unemployment rates checked on 19 September 2026 in the official fact sheets 2.01 (as at 1 January 2026) and 2.08 (as at 1 January 2025); Geneva family allowances 2026 on ocas.ch; LAA obligations on suva.ch; withholding tax on ge.ch. LAA and LPP rates depend on the sector and the fund and are not quantified. This page describes obligations; it replaces neither your compensation office nor a payroll manager.