Relief for a family carer: how to hire a Helper in Switzerland

This guide is for a household that brings in a Helper for a few hours a week, so a family carer, or caregiver, can step back. Your household is the employer. The steps below say what that means, and which ones Helpore can do for you.

Carers' day is on 30 October, and nine cantons announced a joint campaign for it on 20 October.

What can a Helper take on, and what stays with nursing care?

A Helper does the non medical work around the care:

• shopping and cooking;
• cleaning, laundry and keeping the household running;
• company, a walk, a shared meal;
• going along to appointments.

Nursing work stays with approved care providers and qualified nurses. That includes wound care, injections, managing medication and body care that needs nursing training.

Before the first visit, agree with the person who needs care, and with whoever cares for them day to day, what the Helper will do.

Who is the employer?

The employer is the household where the Helper works and that decides what work is done there, when and how. That holds for a few hours a week and for help for an older relative. It also holds when the Helper works for other families, because each household is a separate employer.

If a daughter or son organises and pays for help in a parent's own home, the parent's household is the employer. The Helper works there and for that household. Paying the wage from another account does not by itself make the relative the employer. So the parent's household signs the contract and registers with the compensation office of its own canton. It also takes out the accident insurance and, if the employment qualifies, uses the simplified procedure. The relative may pay the wage on its behalf.

Four things to settle before the first visit

1. Agree the contract and the wage. A household employment contract binds under the Code of Obligations even without a signed document. It is still wise to write down the tasks, hours, hourly wage, holiday and notice. The federal standard contract for domestic work (NAV Hauswirtschaft) sets hourly minimums by qualification, from CHF 20.35 an hour for unskilled work. Geneva has its own binding contract. Some cantons and cities set a higher floor, and that floor then applies.
2. Register with your compensation office. Register with the AHV compensation office of the canton where your household is, and settle the contributions there. AHV is the Swiss old age and survivors' insurance. The deadline depends on your canton, so ask your office what its deadline is. At the start, note your Helper's AHV number, name and date of birth.
3. Take out accident insurance. Your Helper must be insured against accidents with an authorised accident insurer.
4. Check the simplified procedure. If the employment is small, the simplified settlement procedure lets you register once and settle once a year with your compensation office, social contributions and tax together. The guide lists this year's limits.

A household that does not declare its Helper can be prosecuted. The employer check shows which of your duties are in place and which are still to do.

Accident cover when the hours are few

Even for one afternoon or two short visits a week, cover for accidents at work is required from the first day of work. Your household pays that premium. From 8 hours a week with your household, accidents outside work (NBU) must be covered as well. That premium is your Helper's and may be deducted from the wage (federal accident insurance law and its ordinance), unless your canton's standard contract for household work or your own agreement puts some or all of it on you. Below 8 hours a week, cover for accidents at work is enough.

What the hours cost

You pay the agreed gross wage, the holiday pay on top, and the employer contributions and premiums. For hourly work, the holiday supplement is 8.33% of the gross wage for four weeks of holiday, and more when more holiday is owed. It may not be hidden inside the hourly rate. Give your Helper a payslip with every payment. The wage calculator shows the full cost for your canton and hours.

When your Helper is ill

Once the employment has lasted more than 3 months, or was agreed for longer, your household pays the wage for a limited time when your Helper cannot work because of illness. Daily sickness allowance insurance can take that over.

Agree with your Helper how she or he tells you about a day she or he cannot come, so the person you care for is never left waiting for someone who is not coming.

Can a family member be paid instead?

This guide is about a Helper your household employs. Paying a spouse, a partner or an adult child for care is a different question with its own rules. For example, the disability insurance (IV) assistance contribution excludes spouses, registered partners, de facto partners and relatives in direct line from paid assistance.

AHV care credits for the person who cares

If you care for a relative who receives a helplessness allowance from AHV, IV, accident or military insurance, and you live within easy reach of them, you may be entitled to AHV care credits. A helplessness allowance is a cash benefit for a person assessed as needing lasting help from others. Care credits are added to the earnings that build your pension. They are not paid as cash. The reference age is the age at which the AHV old age pension normally starts. Credits stop on 31 December of the year before you reach it, so a carer who has already reached it no longer receives them. You claim them every year from the compensation office of the canton where the relative you care for lives, even if you live in another canton. The person you care for, or their legal representative, also signs the claim (AHVV Art. 52l, AHV/IV leaflet 1.03).

How Helpore fits

With Helpore Flex you search for verified Helpers, compare them and book one off or weekly. Before you book, you see the full price. It includes the Helper's wage, the Swiss employer costs and the Helpore fee of CHF 3.50 per booked hour. A first weekly series with a Helper also carries a one time placement fee, and a payment by card or TWINT carries a card fee. Find a Helper.

If your Helper already works for you, Helpore has two plans. With Helpore Admin Light, the payslips and documents are ready every month, and you register, file and pay yourself. With Helpore Admin, registration, insurance, payroll and payments are done in your name, with one bill a month.

You can book without either plan. Your household stays the employer, and Helpers never pay a fee. Prices for Helpore Admin Light and Helpore Admin are on the pricing page.

“Nursing stays with nurses. A Helper can take on the shopping, the cooking and the cleaning, so the person who cares at home gets a few hours of their own.”

Gilberto de la Fuente, Helpore

Frequently asked questions

Who is the employer when we bring in a Helper to relieve a family carer?

The household where the Helper works and that decides the work is the employer. That holds for a few hours a week, for help for an older relative, and when a relative pays the wage.

Does accident insurance apply for only a few hours a week?

Yes. Cover for accidents at work is required from the first day of work. From 8 hours a week with the same household, accidents outside work must be covered as well (federal accident insurance law and its ordinance).

Can a Helper do nursing care?

No. A Helper does non medical work such as shopping, meals and company. Nursing stays with approved care providers.

Can a family member be paid for the care instead?

Not through the IV assistance contribution if the family member is a spouse, a registered or de facto partner or a relative in direct line. Paying a family member in other ways is a separate question with its own rules.

Does the family carer get anything from AHV?

A carer below the reference age, the age at which the AHV old age pension normally starts, may receive AHV care credits for a relative who receives a helplessness allowance. They raise the future pension and are not paid as cash (AHV/IV leaflet 1.03).

Further reading

• Health insurance and home help for seniors: where the line between nursing and household help runs, and who may pay for what.
• Planning the first visit with an older parent: a short brief you can fill in together.
• How to register household help: the Helpore guide to each employer step.
• Senior care at home: plan a weekly budget.
• The IV assistance contribution: the rules and what Parliament is still discussing.

Official sources

1. Federal Act on Accident Insurance (UVG), Art. 1a and 91 (German, read 23 Oct 2026)
2. Ordinance on Accident Insurance (UVV), Art. 13 (German, read 23 Oct 2026)
3. Swiss Code of Obligations, Art. 324a (German, read 23 Oct 2026)
4. AHV/IV leaflet 2.06, Domestic work (German, read 23 Oct 2026)
5. AHV/IV leaflet 1.03, Care credits, as of 1 January 2021 (German, read 22 Oct 2026)
6. SECO, Information on the NAV Hauswirtschaft (German, read 23 Oct 2026)
7. Canton of Geneva, carers' day campaign, 20 October 2026 (French, read 22 Oct 2026)
8. Ordinance on Old Age and Survivors' Insurance (AHVV), Art. 52l (German, read 23 Oct 2026)