When you hire a nanny, your household becomes the employer. You register the employment with the compensation office of your canton, insure your nanny against accidents and put the main terms in writing. What the employment costs depends on the canton, the hours and the wage; the wage calculator shows every line.
The last section shows what Helpore Admin Light and Helpore Admin do for you.
How much does a nanny cost in Switzerland?
What your household pays each month is more than the gross wage. On top of it come:
- holiday pay and paid public holidays,
- the employer's social contributions through the compensation office,
- the occupational accident insurance premium,
- depending on the canton and the contract, sick pay insurance and, above the BVG entry threshold, occupational pension contributions.
The wage floor depends on the canton where your nanny works and on their hours. The minimum wage of the federal standard employment contract for household work does not apply to people who mainly look after children. A cantonal standard employment contract can still set one: Geneva expressly covers childcare.
Work out the figures with the wage calculator or with the cost estimator in the nanny payroll guide: pick the canton, the weekly hours and the hourly wage and see each line of the month. The study of what legal home help costs in each canton compares the cantons, and every cost tool is listed on the tools page.
If you use Admin Light or Admin, the Helpore fee comes on top. The wage, contributions, premiums and other employment costs are not included in it. The fees are on the pricing page. When you start directly with a nanny you found yourself, there is no placement fee.
Whether you can deduct childcare costs from your taxes is explained in the guide to childcare and tax deductions.
Do I need a written employment contract for my nanny?
An employment contract is valid even when it is only oral (Art. 320 CO). As soon as your nanny works for you regularly for pay, you are the employer, with or without paper. Still, put the employment in writing:
- The duty to inform applies anyway. For an open-ended job, or a job lasting more than one month, you state in writing within one month of the start: the names of the parties, the start date, the role, the wage with supplements and the weekly hours (Art. 330b CO). Changes to these points are confirmed in writing within one month too. If a question about hours, holiday or notice comes up later, a signed document gives both sides the same answer.
- Your canton's standard employment contract fills the gaps. What you do not agree can be governed by the cantonal standard employment contract (NAV) (Art. 360 CO). Terms less favourable to your nanny usually need a written agreement.
Does the NAV apply to a nanny?
It depends on the canton. Geneva expressly covers childcare (Art. 1 para. 2 CTT-EDom). Bern only excludes occasional childminding (Art. 2 NAV BE). Zurich and Basel-Stadt require exclusively or mainly household work (Art. 1 NAV ZH, § 2 NAV BS), and Vaud excludes pure childcare (Art. 1 ACTT-mpr). Check the rules of your canton; the guide to childcare at home sets out your household's duties.
What goes into the contract?
- Duties: childcare and any household work such as cooking or laundry. Within the agreed duties, you give instructions as the employer.
- Start, schedule and weekly hours. The hours also decide the accident cover (see below).
- Hourly or monthly wage. With an hourly wage, holiday pay is a separate line in the contract and on every payslip; a clause saying “holiday included in the wage” is not allowed (AHV leaflet 2.06).
- Holiday, public holidays and pay during sickness, including whether sick pay insurance is in place.
- Probation and notice periods.
- Board and lodging if your nanny lives with you: board and lodging count as wage, for contributions too.
In writing means signed by hand, or with a qualified electronic signature with a qualified time stamp (Art. 14 para. 2bis CO). A click or a simple electronic signature in an app is not enough.
SECO offers annotated model employment contracts for household employees, for an hourly and for a monthly wage, on its page on registration and payroll. The page is in German, and SECO designed the templates for smaller annual wages, so check every clause before you use one for a full-time nanny.
With Admin Light and Admin, if you want one, you sign the household's employment contract, which Helpore prepares from the details the household enters, with your nanny. Helpore is not a party to this contract. Contents, probation and notice periods are explained in the employment contract guide; the minimum wages named there for cleaners do not automatically apply to a nanny. When the employment ends, the guide on giving notice to your Helper shows the periods.
Which insurance and contributions does my nanny need?
Childcare in your home is employment in a private household. The same duties apply as for a cleaner.
- Source tax: if your nanny is not Swiss and has no C permit, in most cases you as the employer withhold source tax from the wage. The post on source tax and simplified payroll shows how the procedures differ.
- Work permit: before the first working day, check that your nanny may work in Switzerland. Swiss citizens need no permit; for everyone else it depends on nationality, residence status and any restrictions, and some routes need a notification from you before work starts. See the work permit guide.
AHV, IV, EO and unemployment insurance: registering with the compensation office
Register the employment with the compensation office of your canton. For a nanny of working age, contributions are due from the first franc of wage, unless your nanny is a young person within the age and yearly wage limits and has not asked for them. You and your nanny each pay half of these contributions. Family allowances also run through the compensation office; the employer pays their contribution, and in Valais the employee pays a small share as well (Valais compensation office, household staff, in French). See the post on family allowances by canton.
If your nanny's annual wage is above the BVG entry threshold, occupational pension cover is added, and for a full-time nanny the ordinary payroll procedure applies. The study of the BVG entry threshold shows the limit for 2026 and 2027.
Accident insurance: at work and in free time
- Occupational accidents: insure your nanny from the first day of work, even for a few hours a week and a small wage. You pay the premium. You take out a policy with an approved accident insurer or, if you meet the conditions, settle it through your compensation office in the simplified procedure.
- Non-occupational accidents: if your nanny works at least 8 hours a week for you, cover against accidents in their free time is added. You may deduct this premium from the wage.
- Under 8 hours a week: an accident on the way to work counts as an occupational accident and is covered by your policy. Your policy does not cover accidents in their free time; if there is no non-occupational cover through another employer, your nanny needs the accident cover of their health insurance.
Health insurance does not replace the required accident insurance. If the hours vary from week to week, the accident insurers apply their own rule for the average. Details and premiums are in the guide to accident insurance for household staff.
Sickness: continued pay and sick pay insurance
Without sick pay insurance, you keep paying the wage for a limited time if your nanny falls ill; how long depends on your canton's NAV and on how long the employment has lasted (Art. 324a CO). Where a cantonal NAV requires sick pay insurance, you can only exclude that duty in writing (SECO on registration and payroll, in German). More in the guide to sick pay.
What do Admin Light and Admin do for you?
For households that employ their own Helper, a nanny included, Helpore offers two plans. You can also run the employment yourself. In both plans, your household remains the employer.
| Task | Admin Light | Admin |
|---|---|---|
| Employment contract | If you want one, the household's employment contract, which Helpore prepares from the details the household enters, is signed by hand by you and your Helper. Helpore is not a party to it. | If you want one, Helpore fills in the employment contract template that you and your Helper sign. |
| Monthly payroll | Helpore calculates the wage and prepares the payslip. | Helpore calculates the wage and prepares the payslip. |
| Registration and declarations | Helpore prepares the documents. You check and file them. | Helpore carries out the agreed steps under your authority. |
| Wage and other payments | You pay your nanny, the relevant offices and the insurer. | Helpore arranges agreed payments in your household's name where this forms part of the actual arrangement. You provide the funds. |
| Annual documents | Helpore prepares the documents. You file them. | Helpore prepares the documents and carries out the agreed steps under your authority. |
| Your task | You check, file and pay. | You provide information, review and make the required funds available. |
Your nanny pays no Helpore fee. Statutory deductions from the wage can still apply; they are not a Helpore fee.
I want to file and pay myself: explore Admin Light
I want to delegate the agreed administration: explore Admin
Frequently asked questions
Am I the employer when I hire a nanny?
Yes. Your household is the employer, with Admin Light and Admin too. You register the employment with the compensation office and insure your nanny against accidents. Your nanny pays no Helpore fee.
Do I need a written employment contract with my nanny?
An employment contract is valid even when it is only oral (Art. 320 CO). For an open-ended job or one lasting more than one month, however, you must state in writing within one month of the start: the parties, the start date, the role, the wage with supplements and the weekly hours (Art. 330b CO). Terms in the cantonal NAV that you change to your nanny's disadvantage usually need written form.
Do I have to register my nanny for just a few hours?
Yes. In a private household, contributions are due from the first franc of wage, unless your nanny is a young person within the age and yearly wage limits and has not asked for them. You insure your nanny against occupational accidents from the first day of work, even for a few hours.
When is my nanny covered for accidents outside work?
Once your nanny works at least 8 hours a week for you. Non-occupational accident insurance is then added, and you may deduct its premium from the wage. Below that, an accident on the way to work counts as an occupational accident; for accidents in their free time, your nanny needs the accident cover of their health insurance if they are not insured through another employer.
Does the minimum wage apply to a nanny?
The minimum wage of the federal standard employment contract for household work does not apply to people who mainly look after children. A cantonal NAV can still apply: Geneva expressly covers childcare, Vaud excludes pure childcare. Check the rules of your canton and work out the wage with the wage calculator.
What does Helpore do with Admin Light and Admin?
With Admin Light, Helpore prepares the wage calculation and the documents; you check, file and pay. With Admin, Helpore carries out the agreed administration in your household's name under signed authority; you provide information, review and make the required funds available. In both, your household remains the employer.
Sources and further information
Official sources: Swiss Code of Obligations, SECO on employment contracts, SECO on registration and payroll, SECO on standard employment contracts, AHV leaflet 2.06 on household work and the Accident Insurance Act (UVG).
Current on 28 October 2026. Product scope and conditions: Admin Light, Admin, pricing and terms.