Payroll Services in Switzerland

Already have a Swiss entity, or running payroll across several cantons or countries? We place you with a vetted Swiss payroll partner who keeps income tax, social insurance, and filings exactly right, while you stay the legal employer and we stay on your side.

  • Independent advice
  • Vetted partners
  • Multi-country ready

What running payroll in Switzerland involves

If you already employ people through your own Swiss entity, you stay the legal employer, but you still have to run Swiss payroll correctly every month, across federal, cantonal and communal tax plus the three-pillar social system. The tax authorities and social insurers run tightly integrated reporting (Swissdec/ELM), which means errors are visible and penalties are real. This is where a specialist payroll partner earns its place: you keep the employment relationship, they keep the mechanics right.

01

You stay the employer

You stay the legal employer of your Swiss staff. The payroll partner runs the monthly mechanics; you keep the employment relationship.

02

Accurate every cycle

Income tax and social insurance calculated and withheld correctly, payslips issued, and filings made via Swissdec/ELM on schedule, every month.

03

Multi-country consolidation

Run payroll across several markets under one partner and one process, rather than a different vendor and standard in every country.

How managed Swiss payroll works, step by step

From onboarding your employee data to filing and reconciliation.

01 — Scope & onboard

We map your entity, headcount, and pay structure, place you with the right vetted Swiss payroll partner, and onboard your employee data.

02 — Set up calculations

Income tax bands, AHV and BVG rates, and any statutory benefits configured correctly to current Swiss law, so every payslip is right from the first run.

03 — Run monthly payroll

Salaries calculated, income tax and social insurance withheld, payslips issued, and people paid on schedule, every cycle.

04 — File & reconcile

Filings via Swissdec/ELM made on time, with year-end reconciliation handled for you.

What payroll in Switzerland costs

Your statutory employer costs, plus a payroll partner fee. Switzerland’s social cost is moderate but the BVG pension and cantonal variation make it intricate; the value of the partner is accuracy and time, in a system where mistakes are visible and penalised.

Employer social security

Roughly 6.4% to 12% of salary (AHV/IV/EO, unemployment, family allowance and accident insurance), plus your share of the age-banded BVG occupational pension (7% to 18%), calculated correctly every cycle.

Minimum wage (2026)

No statutory federal minimum wage. Some cantons set their own (Geneva CHF 24.59/hour, others around CHF 22.20), and many sectors set floors through collective agreements.

Income tax (employee)

Levied at federal, cantonal and communal level, so the effective rate varies by canton (broadly 22% to 43%). Withheld at source for foreign employees, calculated and filed correctly each month.

Payroll partner fee

A transparent per-employee or per-payslip fee. We benchmark across our vetted network, typically 15 to 25% below going direct.

Why run it through Bradford Jacobs

One partner, many countries

If you run payroll across several markets, we consolidate it through vetted partners under one point of contact, not a different vendor and a different standard in every country.

  • Independent advice
  • Vetted partners only
  • On your side at renewal

Pricing you can’t get direct

Swiss employer costs vary by canton, industry risk class, and pension age band rather than following one national rate, which makes a clean comparison hard to do alone. That is exactly what we benchmark: the partner’s processing fee across our payroll network, typically 15 to 25% below going direct, renegotiated for you at renewal.

  • 15-25% below direct
  • Network benchmarking
  • Renegotiated for you

Swiss regulations that expose risk

The cantonal tax differences, the withholding-at-source rules, the BVG pension thresholds, the year-end. We place you with partners who get the specifics right, and we stay on your side if anything needs escalating.

  • Direct escalation
  • No support queues
  • Named account contact

20+ years and the local detail

Two decades running compliant payroll across Europe. Five Swiss cantons now set their own statutory minimum wage, from Ticino’s sector-based CHF 20 to 20.50 an hour up to Geneva’s CHF 24.59, and getting the right canton’s floor applied to the right employee is exactly the kind of detail two decades of doing this gets right by default.

  • Two decades of payroll
  • Deadlines & filings
  • Year-end handled

Built to scale across markets

Run payroll in one country or twenty through one partner and one process. As you add markets, the standard does not fragment, you keep a single point of contact and consistent compliance everywhere.

  • One process everywhere
  • Single point of contact
  • Consistent compliance

Where Swiss payroll goes wrong first

These are the ones that catch foreign employers, and the reason a specialist partner pays for itself.

Tax & social insurance bands

Applying the wrong cantonal withholding rate. Misjudging the BVG pension threshold or the age-banded contribution. Missing the source-tax obligation for a foreign employee. Each is easy to get wrong alone and visible to the authorities when you do.

Filings, deadlines & reporting

Late social insurance or source-tax remittance, where penalties and interest apply automatically. None of these are hard for a specialist; all are easy to get wrong alone. That is the whole case for getting your Swiss payroll partner right.

What managed payroll covers

One transparent fee covers the full monthly payroll cycle. No hidden extras.

Tax & social insurance

Compliant Swiss payroll processed monthly, with income tax and social insurance correct every run.

Payroll & filings

Monthly payroll run, with income tax and social insurance calculated, withheld, and filed correctly each month.

Statutory benefits

All statutory benefits administered: AHV/IV/EO, unemployment, BVG pension, accident insurance, and leave.

Compliance & support

Ongoing HR compliance and a single point of contact, for the life of the engagement.

Your questions answered

Straight answers on running compliant payroll in Switzerland.

Do I need a Swiss entity to use payroll services?

Yes. Payroll outsourcing assumes you are the legal employer, which means you have a Swiss entity. If you have no entity and do not want one yet, you need an EOR instead, where the partner is the legal employer. We will confirm which applies to you.

Income tax calculation and remittance (including source tax for foreign employees), employer and employee AHV and BVG, statutory benefits and leave, payslips, and all filings via Swissdec/ELM, with year-end reconciliation. You keep the employment relationship; they keep it compliant and on time.

Each canton sets its own tax rates and some of its own rules, and source-tax tariffs differ by canton and municipality. A good payroll partner is set up for the specific cantons your people sit in, so withholding is right from the first run. Cantonal handling is the most common place foreign employers slip.

It depends on the canton and the employee’s age. Employer social insurance is roughly 6.4% to 12%, plus the age-banded BVG pension (7% to 18%). Add the transparent payroll partner fee and you have your all-in cost.

Yes, and it is one of the main reasons companies come to us. One point of contact and a consistent process across markets, rather than a separate provider and a different standard in every country.

Yes. When you incorporate and become the legal employer, we move your people from the EOR arrangement onto your own compliant Swiss payroll, and manage the handover so nothing is missed.

Need compliant payroll in Switzerland?

Tell us your entity setup and headcount and we will come back with the right partner and pricing you will not get direct, usually within a day. One process, every canton and country you operate in.

Tax and labour data verified June 2026 (ESTV, SECO, OECD). Figures change; we confirm the current position when we scope your payroll.