Posting and minimum wage calculator

The following page provides a concise overview of the key aspects to consider when posting workers to Switzerland. A minimum wage calculator and additional applications are available to support you. You will also find all relevant contacts here for further information.

Applications

Posting to Switzerland

A posting occurs when an employer sends employees to a country other than the one where the company is based and where the employees normally work. The employees perform their work on behalf of and for the account of the employer. Their employment contract remains valid, and they remain registered with the social security system of their home country.

In 2004, Switzerland introduced accompanying measures within the framework of the free movement of persons with the EU. These measures are designed to protect employees from the risk of social and wage dumping. They allow the competent authorities to monitor compliance with minimum or usual working and salary conditions and to take action in cases of abuse (see legal basis).

• Difference between posting and temporary recruitment services

  Temporary recruitment services occur when an employer makes its employees available to another company unconnected to them for the purpose of fulfilling a contract. In doing so, the employer transfers its authority to give instructions to the company that has hired them. Unlike posted workers, the provided staff do not work on behalf of or at the expense of their original employer.

  Foreign recruitment agencies may not find jobs for people in Switzerland. In addition, they may not find jobs abroad for job seekers in Switzerland.

  Further information can be found at:

  Private employment agencies and temporary recruitment services

• Subject to VAT

  Please note that you are required to pay Swiss VAT for work performed in Switzerland.

  All companies with a worldwide turnover of at least CHF 100,000 are subject to the value-added tax. They are required to pay VAT in Switzerland from the first franc of sales:

  Register for Value Added Tax

Permit or notification?

Employees require either a work permit or are subject to a notification requirement, depending on their industry and country of origin. Assignments that fall under the notification requirement may begin no earlier than eight days after the notification has been submitted.

• Do I need a permit or do I need to submit a notification?

  Based on a few details about your company and the planned assignment in Switzerland, you can find out how to proceed:

  Do I need to notify the assignment, or do I need a work permit?

• Information for companies

  Applications for the issuance of a residence and work permit for postings exceeding 90 days from the EU, or for third-country nationals from the first day, must be submitted to the competent cantonal migration and labour market authority.

  Notifications for short-term employment up to 90 days can be submitted via the EasyGov.swiss portal. Further information can be found under Notification procedure for short-term work in Switzerland.

  The following chart shows in which cases you must notify the assignment in Switzerland or require a work permit. The determining factors are the country in which the sending company is based and the duration of the assignment within a calendar year:

  

  For the following sectors, a notification or permit is required even for assignments of less than 8 days:

  Construction and secondary contract work, gardening and landscaping, hotel, restaurant and catering, cleaning in companies and households, monitoring and security services, itinerant trade (exceptions: trade fairs and circuses), sex industry

• Information for self-employed workers

  Self-employed service providers (nationals of EU/EFTA member states) who are based in an EU/EFTA member state may carry out gainful activity in Switzerland for a maximum of three months or 90 days within a calendar year under the notification procedure. Notifications can be submitted via the EasyGov.swiss portal.

  Non-EU/EFTA nationals generally require a work permit in order to provide services in Switzerland. Applications for a residence and work permit must be submitted to the competent cantonal migration and labour market authority.

Which salary applies?

In Switzerland, a distinction is made between sectors with and sectors without generally binding collective labour agreements and standard employment contracts with mandatory minimum wages:

• Sectors with mandatory minimum wages

  In sectors with binding collective labour agreements, bipartite commissions check the compliance with mandatory minimum wages by domestic and foreign companies. In these sectors different rules apply with regard to remuneration of employees and they can vary depending on the activity or professional experience of the employee.

  Here you can check whether the activity carried out falls within the scope of a generally binding collective labour agreement or a standard employment contract with mandatory minimum wages.

  If this is the case, the provisions applicable to your specific situation, the minimum wages, and the competent contact offices will be displayed:

  Find your industry and calculate minimum wage

• Industries without mandatory minimum wages

  In industries or professions without mandatory minimum wages from generally binding collective labour agreements / standard employment contract, the customary wage for that location, profession or industry must be upheld.

  Cantonal tripartite commissions monitor the Swiss labour market in this respect and can control domestic and foreign companies. If they repeatedly discover abusive undercutting of customary wages in a location, profession or industry, they can propose the adoption of a temporary minimum wage. The determination of customary wages in a location, profession or industry is the sole responsibility of the cantonal tripartite commissions.

  The following wage calculator provides indications on customary wages and working conditions in Switzerland in sectors without generally binding collective labor agreements:

  National wage calculator

  The wage calculator is an interactive web platform which estimates a wage range for an individual profile based on a mathematical model.

  The cantonal tripartite commission is always responsible for the final determination of the customary wages in loction, profession or industry. The wage calculator thus provides indications, which do not necessarily have to be taken into account by the tripartite commissions. For more specific questions related to customary wages, please contact directly the labour market authorities of the cantons in which you work.

  This wage calculator was developed in the context of the flanking measures and therefore differs in several aspects from the wage calculator Salarium of the Federal Statistical Office. Detailed explanations of the differences can be found in the FAQs.

• International wage comparison

  For the procedure used to compare the salary of a domestic employee with that of a posted worker, the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) has issued a directive and provides a calculation example:

  • Directive ‘Procedure for International Salary Comparison’ (available in German, French, and Italian only)

    PDF1.31 MB23 March 2020

  • Example calculation: international salary comparison (available in German, French, and Italian only)

    XLSX142.69 kB7 July 2026

Responsible authorities and contacts

• Links

  • Identify competent authorities in the minimum wage calculator
    In the minimum wage calculator, you can check whether the activity performed falls within the scope of a generally binding collective labour agreement or a standard employment contract with mandatory minimum wages. It also provides the relevant addresses and contacts of the competent joint committees (JC) as well as the cantonal authorities.
  • EasyGov - Notifications and permits under immigration law - Notification procedure for short-term employment up to 90 days
    If you are providing services in Switzerland and are required to submit advance notification, please note that you must wait eight days after submitting notification to begin work. For example, you must wait until 29 July to begin work if notification was submitted on 21 July.
  • Cantonal immigration and employment market authorities
    Cantonal immigration and employment market authorities are responsible for enforcing the law on foreign nationals. This is where you must apply for residence and work permits for postings from the EU lasting more than 90 days. In the case of workers from non-EU countries, permits are required for postings of any length.
  • Cantonal labour inspectorates
    Cantonal labour inspectorates enforce compliance with general regulations on occupational health and safety as well as regulations relating to work and rest periods.
  • The Swiss Accident Insurance Fund, Suva
    The Suva also enforces compliance with health and safety regulations.
  • State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, SECO
    SECO supervises the JCs' and TPCs' enforcement of the Posted Workers Act.
  • State Secretariat for Migration, SEM
    SEM is the competent federal authority for the law on foreign nationals.
  • Federal Tax Administration FTA
    The Value Added Tax (VAT) Main Division of the Federal Tax Administration, FTA, is responsible for collecting VAT.

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