Hourly home help for seniors in Switzerland: costs 2026

Local hourly tariffs: what the price includes

Ask for the tariff for the person's address and circumstances. An income assessment, travel charge or minimum visit can change the bill more than a small difference in the hourly rate. A household tariff does not necessarily buy nursing care or companionship.

These examples cover different local services and subsidies. They are not a ranking of providers. Eligibility for a reduced rate, assessment fees, weekend work and cancellation terms need checking before you compare written quotes. In another municipality, start with its Spitex organisation and cantonal Pro Senectute office.

For a weekly visit, ask what happens on public holidays and when the usual worker is absent. For a short visit, check whether travel and the minimum booking time apply each time. A lower hourly figure can still produce a higher invoice for the schedule you need.

Agree on the work before choosing an arrangement

Household help can include cleaning, laundry, changing bed linen, shopping and preparing meals. Companionship, walks and accompaniment may be available too, but should be agreed explicitly. Write down the priority tasks and what can wait if the visit runs short.

Nursing needs a separate assessment. Wound care, injections, medication management and personal care requiring nursing skills belong with appropriately qualified care providers. Compulsory health insurance can contribute to qualifying assessed care under the legal conditions; it does not cover ordinary cleaning or shopping. Our guide to health insurance and senior home help explains that distinction.

Ask the person receiving help how they want the visit to work. Someone may want to cook together rather than have meals left in the fridge. Another person may want only the heavier cleaning done. Those choices affect the hours, the match and the cost.

Start by asking your parent which tasks they want help with. Then put the hours, responsibilities and full budget on paper before the first visit.

Gilberto de la Fuente, Director at Helpore

Four ways to organise a few hours of help

Spitex household services

A local organisation can assess needs and explain the household service it offers alongside nursing care. Check the household tariff separately from the nursing bill. Ask about available times, minimum visits and whether the same person can usually attend.

Pro Senectute or a local household-help association

The service and conditions depend on the regional organisation. It may offer household work and everyday assistance, with income-related tariffs in some areas. Check eligibility, waiting times and assessment costs.

A private service provider

Ask for a written quote covering the actual tasks and schedule. Establish who employs the worker, who arranges a replacement and what travel, evening or weekend charges apply. Do not assume that an introductory agency and a service provider take on the same responsibilities.

Direct employment

If a household hires a person directly as an employee, the household becomes the employer. This can suit an established relationship with a Helper. It also means arranging registration, insurance, paid leave and payroll. Agree on absences and replacement needs; employing one person does not guarantee uninterrupted attendance.

If an adult child organises the paperwork, identify the employer clearly. A relative helping with administration does not automatically become the employer, and the older person's wishes and authorization still matter.

A Zurich budget for four hours a week

Here is one planning example, not a quote or a national cost benchmark. A Zurich household employs a 30-year-old Helper in the first year of employment at CHF 28 gross per hour before paid holiday. The schedule is four worked hours a week for 48 worked weeks: 192 worked hours a year, or an average of 16 a month. Four weeks of paid holiday are budgeted separately.

The example assumes eligibility for the simplified settlement procedure with occupational accident cover through VAVplus. It uses SVA Zürich's 2026 contribution rates. In this regular arrangement, the wage continues during holidays. The holiday line allocates that annual cost to worked hours; it is not a cash supplement replacing paid leave.

The subtotal excludes public-holiday pay and its contributions, the employer's sickness daily-benefit premium, replacement help, any chosen payroll-administration subscription and other agreed expenses. These need a separate provision before the household treats the budget as complete.

The employer calculation applies 5.3% AHV/IV/EO, 1.1% unemployment insurance, 1.025% family allowances, an administration charge equivalent here to 0.53% of gross wages, and a 0.505% occupational accident premium to the gross amount including paid holiday. Annual gross wages are 4 hours × 52 paid weeks × CHF 28 = CHF 5’824, including CHF 448 for paid holiday. The listed employer costs are CHF 492.7104 before settlement rounding. Figures are calculated before display rounding; multiplying the rounded hourly subtotal will not reproduce the annual figure exactly. Sources: SVA Zürich contributions, administration charges, VAVplus.

The Helper's take-home pay is a different calculation. Employee AHV/IV/EO of 5.3% and unemployment insurance of 1.1% are deducted from gross wages; under the simplified procedure, a further 5% tax is deducted. Any applicable employee share of sickness daily-benefit insurance also needs accounting for. Eligibility involves the annual wage per employee, the household's total annual payroll and the other conditions in AHV leaflet 2.07.

Four hours every week across 52 weeks would instead mean 208 worked hours a year, averaging about 17.33 a month, before resolving paid leave and replacement coverage. Use the schedule you actually intend. The wage calculator and the existing senior home-help budget planner can help you explore a different arrangement; check each tool's stated inclusions and exclusions.

At the published Spitex Zürich hourly tariffs, 16 hours would cost CHF 496 to 704 before any separately applicable items. That invoice and the direct-employment subtotal cover different arrangements. Neither proves a saving for an individual household.

Where financial support may be available

Household work or nursing care?

Keep the two needs separate when asking for coverage. Basic insurance's contribution to qualifying nursing care is not a contribution to ordinary household work. Ask the provider to explain which service each invoice line represents.

Temporary help after illness or a hospital stay

Supplementary health insurance may cover household help under the policy's conditions, which may require a prescription, daily limit or time limit. Obtain written confirmation before relying on reimbursement. Keep the insurer's decision, invoices and any refusal: another funding body may need them.

Supplementary benefits, known as EL or PC

Eligible help, care and support at home may be reimbursed as illness and disability expenses, subject to cantonal rules. A person without ongoing supplementary benefits may still qualify for reimbursement where recognised illness costs exceed the relevant income surplus. The office must assess the individual claim. See AHV leaflet 5.01.

In Zurich, the published ceiling for qualifying private household help is CHF 34 gross an hour and CHF 7’400 a year. Employer contributions and holiday compensation are considered within the hourly ceiling, not reimbursed on top. This is a reimbursement limit, not a recommended wage or an automatic entitlement.

Zurich requires an employment relationship with the insured recipient, as well as evidence of need and the work performed. If a relative organises or pays for the help, clarify the arrangement with the office before starting. The private Helper must not live in the same household or be a direct-line relative. Ask the responsible supplementary-benefits office which assessment it requires before work begins. The transitional acceptance of a medical certificate where no assessment body has yet been designated ends no later than 31 December 2026. Keep monthly records and proof of settled contributions. Sources: Zurich guidance, claim form.

Federal changes to funding for help and support at home take effect in 2028. They do not increase a household's 2026 entitlement. Our guide to the 2028 home-help reform separates the future rules from today's costs.

AHV helplessness allowance

A sustained need for assistance with everyday activities may justify an application for this allowance. Age or needing a cleaner alone does not establish eligibility. The AHV rules include the degree and duration of the need; the allowance is independent of income and assets. The 2026 monthly amounts are CHF 252, CHF 630 and CHF 1’008 for the three degrees, with the mild-degree allowance limited to people living at home. See AHV leaflet 3.01.

Tax relief

Ordinary household expenses are generally private living costs. Qualifying disability-related help can receive different treatment, with evidence of the tasks the person cannot perform because of the disability. Costs covered by another benefit cannot simply be deducted again. Ask the tax office about the applicable tax year, documentation and any flat-rate alternative. Our household-help tax guide explains the distinctions; the Federal Tax Administration guidance is the primary source.

If you employ the Helper: the essentials

Agree in writing on tasks, working time, gross wage, paid leave and absences. Check permission to work and the applicable employment rules. The federal domestic-work minimum wage has a defined scope, generally including an average of at least five hours a week with the same employer. Cantonal or local rules may apply at shorter hours; Geneva has separate rules. The four-hour example above is not an exemption from employment duties. See SECO's domestic-work guidance.

Domestic wages are generally subject to social contributions from the first franc. There are limited age and low-pay exceptions; confirm them with the compensation office rather than assuming a small job is exempt. Occupational accident cover is generally required even at low hours, and non-occupational cover generally becomes compulsory at eight hours a week with the same employer. See AHV leaflet 2.06.

Paid holiday is time off with pay. In a regular weekly job, plan its payment correctly instead of assuming an hourly supplement settles the obligation. Zurich's standard employment contract also contains sickness daily-benefit insurance provisions, with an employer share of the premium. Any lawful contractual departure needs checking separately. The example does not price that premium. Sources: Zurich standard employment contract and our hourly holiday-pay guide.

Keep time records and payslips, settle contributions and retain the relevant year-end documents. The legal hiring checklist covers the steps in more detail.

Already have a Helper? Choose how to manage the paperwork

Still looking for someone? Flex booking is not open yet. You can join the senior home-help waiting list.

Before the first visit, agree on priorities, access to the home, supplies and whom to contact if plans change. Our first-visit plan for an older parent provides a practical starting point.

Sources and calculation

Official texts and provider tariffs checked on 4 October 2026. The source dates and conditions above govern each example. The worked budget is calculated from annual amounts before display rounding. Most linked primary documents are in German.

AHV/AVS 2.06 · AHV/AVS 2.07 · SVA Zürich · SECO · AHV/AVS 5.01 · AHV/AVS 3.01