Service compliance guide
Senior home help and companionship: employing a Helper legally in Switzerland
Paying someone to work in your home makes your household their employer, with the same core duties as any domestic role: registration, social contributions, accident cover and proper pay. A few points are specific to this kind of help.
The core duties for Senior home help and companionship
Whatever the task, the framework is the same: register with your cantonal AHV compensation office (contributions are due from the first franc), pay AHV/IV/EO at 5.3 % each and ALV at 1.1 % each plus the family allowance contribution your canton sets, arrange UVG accident insurance, check BVG and withholding tax, and hand over a payslip with every wage payment. Part time Senior home help and companionship usually fits the simplified settlement procedure: up to CHF 22’680 a year per employee and CHF 60’480 of total payroll, with tax at a flat 5 % and no Lohnausweis. Above either limit you settle in the ordinary procedure and issue a Lohnausweis every year.
Is your Senior home help and companionship an employee or self-employed?
In a private household, someone you engage to work for you is almost always your employee, even if they also work for other families, because each household is a separate employer. Genuine self-employment is recognised only when the compensation office confirms it: the person works under their own name and account, carries the business risk, and typically serves several clients with their own equipment and invoicing. Until the office has confirmed self-employed status, treat Senior home help and companionship as employment and settle contributions accordingly.
Points specific to Senior home help and companionship
Senior home help ranges from a few hours of companionship to live-in care, and the hours drive the duties: non-occupational accident cover becomes mandatory from 8 hours a week, and a wage above CHF 22,680 a year brings in occupational pension (BVG). For live-in or 24-hour arrangements there are specific working-time rules. When the carer is employed directly by the household, the Labour Act does not apply, but the Code of Obligations and the applicable model contract (NAV) still require a daily rest period of about 11 hours, breaks, and (importantly) that on-call or presence time is paid, not treated as free time. These arrangements are sensitive, so confirm the exact rest and presence-time rules for your situation.
What employing Senior home help and companionship actually costs
On top of the gross wage you pay the employer's share: 5.3 % for AHV/IV/EO and 1.1 % for ALV, plus the family allowance contribution your canton sets and the accident insurance premium. A wage up to CHF 22’680 a year carries no occupational pension (BVG). When each person earns at most CHF 22’680 a year and your household's total payroll stays at most CHF 60’480, the simplified procedure with its flat 5 % tax is open to you. The family allowance rate (by canton) and the accident premium (by insurer) vary; AHV/IV/EO and ALV are set by federal law (Federal Act on Old Age and Survivors' Insurance (AHVG) Art. 5 para. 1; Art. 13; Federal Act on Invalidity Insurance (IVG) Art. 3 para. 1; Federal Act on Compensation for Loss of Earnings (EOG) Art. 27 para. 2; Unemployment Insurance Act (AVIG) Art. 3 para. 2, 3; Family Allowances Act (FamZG) Art. 16; Federal Act on Accident Insurance (UVG) Art. 1a para. 1; Federal Act on Occupational Old Age, Survivors' and Invalidity Pension Provision (BVG) Art. 2 para. 1; Federal Act on Measures to Combat Illegal Employment (BGSA) Art. 2 para. 1; Federal Act on Direct Federal Taxation (DBG) Art. 37a para. 1; Federal Act on the Harmonisation of Direct Taxes of the Cantons and Communes (StHG) Art. 11 para. 4).
How Helpore handles Senior home help and companionship
Helpore matches you with verified Helpers for Senior home help and companionship and enforces the applicable wage floor. Your household is the employer. With Helpore Admin, Helpore runs the registration, payroll, insurance administration and documents in your name, under your power of attorney, so you can focus on the help itself.
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Questions about employing Senior home help and companionship
Do the same rules apply to Senior home help and companionship as to a cleaner?
Yes: the core household-employment duties are identical for Senior home help and companionship. The differences are mostly hours and pay: below CHF 22,680 a year there is no BVG, and non-occupational accident cover applies from 8 hours a week.
Can I use the simplified settlement procedure for Senior home help and companionship?
Yes, when each person earns at most CHF 22’680 a year and your household's total payroll is at most CHF 60’480 a year. Income tax is then settled at a flat 5 % (Federal Act on Measures to Combat Illegal Employment (BGSA) Art. 2 para. 1; Federal Act on Direct Federal Taxation (DBG) Art. 37a para. 1; Federal Act on the Harmonisation of Direct Taxes of the Cantons and Communes (StHG) Art. 11 para. 4).
How are working hours and rest handled for live-in or 24-hour care?
Even though the Labour Act does not apply when a household employs the carer directly, the carer is entitled to a daily rest period of around 11 hours, to breaks, and to payment for on-call or presence time: these cannot be treated as unpaid. The model employment contract (NAV) for your canton sets the detail, so confirm it for a live-in arrangement.
Official sources
Cantonal guides
Let Helpore take on the administration
Your household stays the employer. With Helpore Admin, under your signed power of attorney, Helpore registers the employment and runs payroll, insurance and documents in your name. With Admin Light, Helpore prepares the calculation and the documents, and you file and pay yourself.