Posting workers to Switzerland: obligations

Sending one of your employees to work in Switzerland for a client or on a site sounds simple, but it is one of the most tightly monitored areas. Switzerland protects its labour market with precise rules on posting (posting of workers), and the penalties for those who ignore them come quickly. Here are the obligations that matter, in order.

What counts as posting

Posting occurs when an employer based abroad sends its employees to perform a service in Switzerland for a limited period, while keeping the employment relationship with them. These are the typical cases: an Italian company carrying out an installation at a Swiss client’s premises, an assembly job, a technical intervention, on-site consultancy.

The guiding principle is clear: during the posting, the worker must be guaranteed Swiss pay and working conditions, not those of the country of origin. The logic is to prevent wage dumping.

The notification obligation (reporting procedure)

The first step is the advance notification through the Confederation’s online reporting procedure. The key points:

• The posting must be reported before work begins, observing the 8-day waiting period generally required before work may start.
• There is a tolerance threshold: short-term services are subject to notification once 8 working days per calendar year are exceeded. Certain sectors considered sensitive (construction, catering, cleaning, security, gardening and others) however require notification from the very first day.
• The notification indicates the posted workers, the location, the duration and the type of activity.

Ignoring the notification or starting before the deadline exposes you to administrative penalties and, in serious cases, to a ban on providing services in Switzerland.

Wages and working conditions to be respected

The core of the obligations is guaranteeing the Swiss minimum conditions. In practice this means respecting:

• the minimum wages applicable in the location and sector, often set by universally binding collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) or by standard employment contracts;
• working and rest hours, minimum holidays;
• occupational safety and health protection in the workplace;
• equal treatment and protections for certain categories.

The reference wage is not the Italian one: if the Swiss sector minimum is higher, that is what must be paid for the posting period. Allowances (travel, meals, accommodation) must also be considered according to Swiss rules, which cannot be improperly counted to lower the base pay.

Social security: the A1 document

On the contributions side, between Switzerland and the EU/EFTA the principle of a single applicable legislation applies. A worker posted for a limited period normally remains insured in the country of origin, avoiding double contributions. The proof is the A1 document (certificate of applicable legislation), which must be requested from the social security body of the country of origin before the posting and kept available for checks in Switzerland.

Without an A1, the risk is that the Swiss authorities will demand liability for Swiss contributions for the period of activity on their territory.

Checks and penalties

Joint committees and cantonal bodies carry out real checks on sites and at places of service. They verify notification, compliance with minimum wages, documentation. Violations lead to:

• administrative fines;
• a ban on offering services in Switzerland from one to several years in serious cases;
• demands for payment of wage and contribution differences.

Documentation counts as much as substance: contract, payslips, proof of the wage paid, A1 and notification must be consistent and available.

Typical mistakes of foreign companies

• Starting before the waiting period or without notification in sectors subject to the obligation from the first day.
• Paying the wage of the country of origin, ignoring the Swiss sector minimum.
• Forgetting the A1, exposing yourself to double contributions.
• Miscounting travel allowances, effectively reducing the wage base.
• Treating the posting as an ordinary service, without any documentary trail.

How to handle it without risk

Posting is manageable, but it must be set up before the worker leaves: verification of the applicable CBA and the sector minimum wage, calculation of the correct pay for the Swiss period, notification within the deadlines, request for the A1, preparation of the documentation for checks.

At SIH ONE we handle the entire posting process for companies operating in Switzerland: we identify the obligations of the sector and location, take care of the notification and documentation, calculate compliant pay and coordinate the contributions side. That way your technician works and you don’t get fined.

Do you need to send staff to work in Switzerland? Let’s set up the posting the right way: the AI assistant answers immediately, a professional gets back to you within a day.