Useful information

Labour Act (LTr / ArG)

The Federal Act on Work in Industry, Trade and Commerce protects workers’ health: working hours, breaks, rest periods, night and Sunday work.

• Maximum working week: 45 hours in industry and for office and technical staff; 50 hours for all other workers (art. 9).
• Overtime: capped at 170 hours a year (45-hour week) or 140 hours (50-hour week), paid with a supplement of at least 25 % unless offset by time off of equal length (arts. 12 and 13).
• Minimum breaks: 15 minutes for more than 5.5 hours of work, 30 minutes for more than 7 hours, 1 hour for more than 9 hours (art. 15).
• Daily rest: at least 11 consecutive hours (art. 15a).
• Night and Sunday work: prohibited without a permit; temporary night work entitles you to a wage supplement of at least 25 % (arts. 16 to 20).

Source: Fedlex, Classified Compilation of Federal Legislation, SR 822.11 (as at 1 September 2023).

Code of Obligations: the employment contract (CO)

Articles 319 to 362 of the Code of Obligations govern the relationship between you and your employer: pay, holidays, illness, end of the contract.

• Pay: paid at the end of each month, unless otherwise agreed or customary (art. 323).
• Overtime: offset by time off of equal length with your consent, otherwise paid with a supplement of at least 25 %, unless agreed otherwise in writing (art. 321c).
• Holidays: at least 4 weeks a year, 5 weeks up to the age of 20; they cannot be replaced by money while the contract lasts (arts. 329a and 329d).
• Illness or accident: the employer continues to pay wages for a limited time if the employment has lasted, or was agreed for, more than 3 months (art. 324a).
• Probation period: the first month, with 7 days’ notice; it can be extended in writing to 3 months at most (art. 335b).
• Notice period afterwards: 1 month in the first year, 2 months from the 2nd to the 9th year, then 3 months, to the end of a month (art. 335c).
• Protection: no dismissal during illness or accident, for 30, 90 or 180 days depending on length of service (art. 336c).
• Employment reference: you may request one at any time (art. 330a).

Source: Fedlex, Classified Compilation of Federal Legislation, SR 220, Title Ten (as at 1 January 2026).

Accident Insurance Act (LAA / UVG)

Anyone who works in Switzerland is compulsorily insured against accidents through their employer.

• Insured persons include all employees working in Switzerland, including apprentices and trainees (art. 1a).
• Occupational accidents: premium paid entirely by the employer. Non-occupational accidents: premium paid by the employee, deducted from wages (art. 91).
• Part-time work: below a minimum number of working hours set by the Federal Council, you are not insured against non-occupational accidents, but the commute to work is covered as an occupational accident (arts. 7 and 8).
• Daily allowance: 80 % of insured earnings in case of total incapacity for work, from the third day after the accident (arts. 16 and 17).

Source: Fedlex, Classified Compilation of Federal Legislation, SR 832.20 (as at 1 January 2026).

Social insurance and family allowances

In Switzerland, social insurance contributions (AVS/AI/APG, unemployment insurance, occupational pension) are deducted directly from your salary and shown on your payslip. If you have children, you may be entitled to family allowances, paid with your salary.

Fill in and sign the forms below, then hand them in at your Place to Work agency: we complete the employer section and forward them to the fund. Our team is happy to help you fill them in.

Applying for family allowances

Family allowances for Place to Work employees are paid by the CVCI family allowance fund. Attach copies of the supporting documents to your application; the full list is on the last page of the form. Main documents:

• Family record book or full family certificate (otherwise: marriage certificate and children’s birth certificates)
• For foreign nationals, except C permit holders: foreign national permits or a recent certificate from the residents’ registration office for the whole family
• For children living abroad: certificate from the allowance fund of the country of residence stating that no allowances are paid
• For children aged 16 to 25 in education: certificate of studies or apprenticeship contract

Differential supplement

If the other parent already receives family allowances, in another canton or country, and the amount you would be entitled to is higher, the fund may pay you the difference: this is the differential supplement. Apply with this form, together with the same supporting documents.

Other parent’s leave (paternity)

The father, or the mother’s wife, is entitled to two weeks of leave (10 working days), to be taken within six months of the birth. During this leave, an allowance replaces the salary.

Submit the application once you have taken all your days of leave, or at the end of the six-month period. Fill in part A and attach a copy of the birth certificate (or family certificate).

Health insurance: LAMal or CMU, the right of option

As a cross-border worker, you choose between Swiss health insurance (LAMal) and French health insurance (CPAM, often called “CMU”). You have 3 months from starting work in Switzerland or settling in France to make this choice. It is irrevocable. If you do not choose within this period, you are automatically enrolled in Swiss health insurance.

Whatever you choose, occupational accidents, occupational diseases, disability and loss of earnings always fall under Swiss social security.

• Step 1: fill in the “Choice of health insurance system” form (downloadable below).
• Step 2: have the CPAM section completed by the CPAM office where you live in France, whatever your choice. If you choose LAMal, attach the certificate from your Swiss insurer or the S1 form.
• Step 3: submit the completed form within 3 months to the authority of the canton where you work.
• Geneva: Service de l’assurance-maladie (SAM), route de Frontenex 62, 1207 Genève, tel. 022 546 19 19.
• Vaud: Office vaudois de l’assurance-maladie (OVAM), chemin de Mornex 40, 1014 Lausanne, tel. 021 557 47 47.

Sources: ameli.fr, l’Assurance Maladie (“Travailleur frontalier suisse : droits et prise en charge”, April 2026); urssaf.fr (“Choisir entre l’assurance maladie française ou suisse”); Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH).

French health insurance: how the contribution is calculated

If you opt for French health insurance, the CPAM forwards your file to Urssaf (cross-border workers in Switzerland service), which calculates your contribution and sends you a payment schedule. You pay this contribution for as long as you are insured.

• Basis: all your income from two years earlier. Example: the 2027 contribution is calculated on 2025 income as shown on the 2026 tax notice.
• Calculation: an allowance of 25 % of the annual French social security ceiling is deducted, then the 8 % rate is applied (2026 rate).
• Year of arrival or departure: the contribution is prorated to the days worked in Switzerland: (income taken into account − allowance) × 8 % × number of days ÷ 365.
• Newly insured: declare your income within 20 days of registration. Without a declaration, the contribution is set automatically on a high flat-rate basis, and a late declaration adds 10 % to the basis.
• Questions: Urssaf, cross-border workers in Switzerland service, 0806 807 713; Assurance Maladie, 36 46 (from France).

Source: urssaf.fr (“Travailleur frontalier en Suisse : déclarer vos revenus”, September 2026).

Withholding tax: the essentials (canton of Geneva)

If you are taxed at source, your employer deducts the tax directly from your salary each month. The rate depends on your salary and on your tax scale, which is set according to your family situation.

• You live abroad (cross-border worker) and work in Geneva: you are taxed at source, whatever your nationality.
• You live in Switzerland: you are taxed at source if you are a foreign national without a C permit, or a minor.
• You are not taxed at source if you are a Swiss national, hold a C permit, or are married to a person living in Switzerland who is Swiss or holds a C permit.
• At the start of the year, your employer gives you a certificate showing taxable income, the scale applied and the tax withheld the previous year.
• From 1 January to 31 March: you can request a correction (DRIS) if a change in your situation was not taken into account, or a subsequent ordinary assessment (TOU) to claim additional deductions.
• At the end of the year: your employer recalculates the tax for the year and corrects the difference on your December salary.

Source: ge.ch, Geneva cantonal tax administration (“L’impôt à la source”, “Qui est soumis à l’impôt à la source ?”, “L’agenda de l’impôt à la source”, 2026).

Withholding declaration and tax scales

The withholding declaration tells your employer which tax scale to apply. Hand it in at the start of the year or of your employment, then within 14 days of any change (marriage, birth, separation, spouse starting or stopping work…). The new scale applies from the following month. Without a correct declaration or supporting documents (family record book, birth certificate…), the employer applies scale A0, “single person”.

• Scale A0: single, divorced, separated or widowed with no dependent children, or cohabiting (including the French Pacs).
• Scales B0 to B5: married or in a registered partnership, spouse with no income. The number shows how many dependent children you have.
• Scales C0 to C5: married or in a registered partnership, spouse with income. The employer adds a theoretical income for the spouse equal to your salary, up to 70,500 francs in 2026.
• Scales H1 to H5: single parents living alone with their dependent children.
• Adjusted scale C: if your spouse’s actual income differs greatly from this theoretical income, you can request an adjusted scale at any time, only through the online form (see below). Give page 1 to your employer and send page 2 to Administration fiscale cantonale, Service de l’impôt à la source, case postale 3937, 1211 Genève 3.
• Dependent children under 25: taken into account if their gross annual income does not exceed 16,391 francs and their net assets 93,537 francs (2026 figures).

Source: ge.ch, Geneva cantonal tax administration (“La déclaration pour le prélèvement de l’impôt à la source”, “La calculette et barèmes de perception”, “Demander le barème C de perception ajusté”, 2026).

Temptraining: further training for temporary workers

If you work as a temporary worker, you are covered by the “Staff leasing” collective labour agreement (CLA), which funds a training fund. You can therefore receive support for further training.

• Condition: you have worked at least 88 hours as a temporary worker in the last 12 months.
• You are covered by the CLA if the 0.4 % CLA contribution appears on your payslip.
• Since 1 July 2026, each hour worked earns CHF 5 of training credit, calculated over the last 12 months; older hours no longer count. Your payslips are authoritative.
• Cap: CHF 5,000 of subsidies over 12 months.
• The training must be recognised by temptraining, have started in the last 12 months or start in the next 12, and help you stay attractive on the labour market or progress professionally.

Source: tempservice.ch, temptraining (“Vérifiez vos droits”, 2026); regulations of the joint fund for staff leasing, articles 18 to 21.