Christmas bonus for your cleaner in Switzerland

When a thank you becomes a pay obligation

A Christmas bonus, an agreed gratuity, a thirteenth salary and a gift in kind have different legal consequences. Under Article 322d of the Code of Obligations, an agreed gratuity is payable. Its amount may still depend on the agreement.

Paying a gratuity for at least three consecutive years without reserving its voluntary nature can create an entitlement. A reservation on every payslip helps, but is no guarantee. A reservation that has become an empty formality may be ineffective. A regular payment that is substantial relative to a low wage can also count as salary. Accidentally omitting the reservation once does not alone create an agreement.

Check the cantonal standard employment contract, known as the NAV or CTT. In Ticino, Article 23 provides a thirteenth salary, including a proportional amount when employment ends. The contract covers full time and part time domestic work, subject to permitted written departures. In Bern, the NAV wage guidance uses thirteen monthly payments. For hourly employment, check the applicable NAV, written agreement and calculation basis with the authority. These are examples, not a complete survey of cantons.

The federal domestic standard employment contract sets minimum wages but does not itself introduce a thirteenth salary. A contractual thirteenth salary is a wage component, not a discretionary gift. For hourly pay, one twelfth of the relevant annual wage is 8.33 %. Holiday pay is separate: 8.33 % for four weeks or 10.64 % for five weeks. Clarify the calculation base, including holiday pay, in the contract.

Hourly pay alone does not justify paying holiday entitlement as a supplement throughout employment. A permitted exception for irregular part time work requires the holiday component to be stated separately in the contract and on every payslip.

If employment ends before Christmas, a proportional gratuity is due only if agreed under Article 322d(2). Keep this separate from the proportional thirteenth salary due under the applicable wage arrangement, including the Ticino rule. Check the contract and cantonal rules before the final payslip.

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Cash bonuses belong in payroll

A bonus paid in an envelope or by bank transfer is salary even if you call it a Christmas tip. Include it in the payroll for the payment month. Domestic employment normally attracts AHV, IV and EO contributions from the first franc. The general CHF 2’500 small wage exemption does not apply to domestic work. Unemployment insurance, ALV, also applies before reference age within its contribution limits.

For 2026, people born from 2001 to 2008 have a domestic wage exception up to CHF 750 per employer per calendar year. They can ask for contributions even below that amount. Above CHF 750, the whole wage becomes contributory. CHF 700 of wages plus a CHF 100 cash bonus means contributions on CHF 800, not just the excess. People born in 2009 or later do not yet pay these wage contributions in 2026.

After reference age, the AHV, IV and EO allowance is CHF 1’400 per full or partial month, or CHF 16’800 for a full year with one employer. The employee can waive it. No ALV is due after reference age. Even if a bonus fits within the allowance, it remains salary. In the simplified procedure, the 5 % tax applies to the whole gross wage, including the part covered by that allowance.

The simplified procedure has annual limits of CHF 22’680 per person and CHF 60’480 for the employer’s total payroll. Count a cash bonus and the whole retirement age wage before deducting the allowance. Check the other eligibility conditions too. Declare 2026 wages, including the bonus, to the compensation office by 30 January 2027. Use the contribution rules for the relevant payment year.

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The CHF 600 gift rule

In 2026, usual Christmas, birthday and similar gifts in kind can be excluded from contributory salary up to a combined CHF 600 per year. The salary certificate rule also uses CHF 600 per calendar year. Add the occasions together: a CHF 80 gift basket and CHF 40 birthday flowers total CHF 120. For AHV, value the gift at the employer’s cost.

If the annual threshold is exceeded, the whole relevant value counts, not only the excess. Keep receipts and the annual total. Cash gifts are salary for payroll and salary certificate purposes; whether contributions or withholding tax are actually due depends on the employee and procedure.

The Federal Tax Administration treats vouchers as gifts in kind for salary certificate purposes. The AHV sources cited here do not expressly resolve voucher treatment. Ask your compensation office before assuming that a voucher has the same contribution exemption as a physical gift.

The salary certificate comparison refers to the ordinary procedure. Under the simplified procedure, the compensation office provides a certificate of the tax paid. Check with it if a separate salary certificate is needed for your situation.

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How much should you give?

There is no official Swiss amount or reliable household survey that makes a particular Christmas tip standard. Use an amount that fits your employment relationship and budget. The following figures are illustrations, not a recommendation or a market rate.

The table uses four hours per week at CHF 30 per hour and assumes 52 paid weeks. The half month example uses annual wage divided by 24; the twelfth uses annual wage divided by 12. A real thirteenth salary entitlement follows the applicable agreement and cantonal rules.

Your employer share of AHV, IV, EO and ALV adds CHF 7.68 to a CHF 120 gross bonus in this example. Family allowance contributions, compensation office administration charges and accident insurance come on top. They depend on the canton, office and insurance.

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Christmas and New Year: visits, holidays and leave

Christmas Day, 25 December 2026, and New Year’s Day, 1 January 2027, both fall on a Friday. St Stephen’s Day, 26 December, and 2 January fall on Saturdays. A regular Friday visit can therefore coincide with two successive public holidays. Recognition of 26 December and 2 January varies by canton.

If you cancel an ordinary working day because you are away, the agreed wage generally remains due under Article 324. The Helper does not have to make up those hours. Distinguish that employer cancellation from a day that is already a public holiday. Article 324(2) allows relevant savings or other earnings to be offset; the employer cancellation rule is not an unconditional promise of every amount.

For employees on a monthly salary, public holidays do not reduce the agreed monthly pay. For hourly employees, 1 August is paid under federal law; other public holidays follow the contract and applicable cantonal rules. Ticino provides nine paid holidays, including Christmas and St Stephen’s Day. Geneva expressly protects 1 August pay for hourly work. Zurich and Bern list public holidays, but that alone does not establish hourly holiday pay.

Agree Friday visits, replacement dates and pay well in advance. If a regular visit is cancelled specifically because of a public holiday, clarify the applicable contract and cantonal rule rather than assuming an ordinary employer cancellation or an unpaid day.

You set the timing of annual leave while taking account of the employee’s wishes under Article 329c. Discuss Christmas leave early and record the agreement in writing. A household’s absence does not automatically turn agreed workdays into the Helper’s annual leave. Plan leave with sufficient notice, normally around three months under SECO guidance; do not impose Christmas leave at the last minute.

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Your festive dates at a glance

Public holiday pay for hourly work follows the contract and cantonal rules. Check Friday visits before changing them.

Before the December payslip

1. Read the contract, previous bonus payments and cantonal standard employment contract.
2. Choose cash or a gift in kind and document its value.
3. Put cash, including a tip, on the payroll for the payment month.
4. Record any voluntary reservation each time, while recognising its legal limits.
5. Check youth, retirement age and simplified procedure thresholds, including employee choices.
6. Agree public holiday visits and annual leave early in writing.
7. Declare the full 2026 payroll to the compensation office by 30 January 2027.

Questions households ask

Sources and scope

Primary sources checked for this 2026 guide. Cantonal examples are not a complete survey of all cantons. Your contract and compensation office remain essential for an individual calculation.

1. Code of Obligations, Arts. 322d, 324 and 329c
2. Federal Supreme Court, BGE 129 III 276
3. AHV/IV: wage contributions, 2026
4. AHV/IV: domestic work
5. AHV/IV: simplified procedure
6. AHV/IV: unemployment insurance
7. Federal Tax Administration: salary certificate guide 2026, paragraph 72
8. Federal Tax Administration: salary certificate FAQ 2026, paragraph 72
9. Federal Social Insurance Office: relevant salary, 2026, paragraph 2158
10. Federal Social Insurance Office: withholding tax, paragraph 2003
11. Federal Social Insurance Office: contribution collection 2026, paragraphs 2102 to 2107
12. Ticino: domestic standard employment contract
13. Bern: domestic standard employment contract
14. Geneva: domestic standard employment contract
15. Zurich: domestic standard employment contract
16. SECO: public holidays and time off
17. Federal domestic standard employment contract
18. Bern AWI: official domestic wage guidance