Swiss household employment
Several employers: when your Helper also works for other households
Also written: Mehrere Arbeitgeber · Plusieurs employeurs · Più datori di lavoro
Can you work for two employers at the same time?
Yes. A Helper can work for several households at once, if any permit they need allows it. Each household is a separate employer: it registers with the compensation office, pays AHV on the wage it pays and insures the work done for it against accidents. The occupational pension threshold and the hours for accident cover outside work count per household.
What it means if you employ someone at home
Treat your part as an employment of its own. You register with the compensation office, declare the wage you pay and insure the hours in your home, whatever your Helper earns elsewhere. Another household's registration or policy never replaces yours. Family allowances are the exception: the wages from all employers count towards the minimum income, and the fund of the household that pays the highest wage handles the claim.
You are the employer. With Helpore Admin, Helpore fills in a contract template if you want one and, under your signed power of attorney, files the declarations and produces the payslip in your name; with Admin Light, Helpore prepares the maths and the documents and you file and pay. Both are optional. You stay the employer in every case and can also do all of this yourself.
Common questions
What happens with AHV when a Helper has two jobs?
Each household settles AHV on the wage it pays, under its own registration with the compensation office: it deducts the employee share and pays both shares. From the AHV reference age, each household owes AHV only on the part of its wage above CHF 16’800 a year, unless the Helper waives this allowance.
Who insures a Helper with several households against accidents?
Each household insures the work done for it, with its own policy. Accidents at work are covered whatever the hours. Cover for accidents outside work depends on the hours with each household alone: it is compulsory from 8 hours a week with your household, and hours in other households are never added.
Do the wages from several households add up for the occupational pension?
Not automatically. The entry threshold of the occupational pension applies per employer, so each household counts only the wage it pays, and many part time household jobs stay below it. If the wages together exceed it, the Helper can ask to be insured voluntarily; once told, each household owes half the contributions on the wage it pays.
Which family allowance fund handles the claim when a Helper works for several households?
The fund of the household that pays the highest wage handles the claim. For the minimum income, the wages from all employers count together. Each household still joins its own family allowance fund and pays the contribution to it on the wage it pays.
How does a Helper with several employers take paid holiday?
Each household grants holiday for its own employment and pays it: at least 4 weeks a year, taken as time off with the wage still paid. With an hourly wage and irregular hours, a household may instead add a holiday supplement to each hour, shown in the contract and on every payslip; the Helper still takes the time off.
Which hours count when a Helper has two jobs?
Only the hours with each household: outside Geneva, the federal standard contract binds from an average of 5 hours a week, and accident cover outside work is compulsory from 8 hours. The Labour Act, with its weekly maximum, does not apply to private households. Your canton's standard contract sets working and rest times: check it before agreeing the hours.