Employing a nanny in Switzerland: contract, registration and insurance

Four workstreams before the first day

Separate the employment decision, registration and daily working arrangements. Completing one area does not provide the evidence needed in another.

• Responsibility: Who is the employer, and who performs each administrative task?
• Working agreement: Which duties, hours, pay components and arrangements need to be written down?
• Registration and cover: Which confirmations does your case need from the compensation office, authorities and insurer?
• Ongoing operation: How will payroll, absences, handovers and later changes be handled?

First establish who employs the nanny

With direct employment, your family is the employer. A placement agency can help find a candidate without taking that role. In staff leasing, the provider employs the caregiver. SECO explains this distinction; make sure your documents clearly identify the actual arrangement.

Even with an administration service, you need a specific mandate. Rather than asking for comprehensive support, ask who submits forms, checks information, releases payments and answers follow-up questions. Keep access and records in a form that lets your family continue smoothly if you change providers.

• Compare placement, platforms and staff leasing

Sources for this section: SECO

Nanny contract in Switzerland: describe the actual working week

Start with an ordinary Tuesday: when does the nanny arrive, when does responsibility end, what travel is involved and when does handover happen? Separate childcare, child-related housework and any additional duties. A phrase such as everything the family needs leaves too much unresolved.

Record gross pay, agreed hours, payment date, expenses and the treatment of additional hours. Discuss holidays, sickness, short-notice schedule changes, probation and termination, and have the applicable rules checked. Do not copy a broad clause from another country and assume it works here.

SECO changed the domestic-work standard contract’s minimum wages from 1 January 2026. Check whether and how the relevant provisions apply to your role before agreeing pay. A statutory minimum is not a market-pay estimate for an experienced nanny.

• Identify the parties, workplace, start date and intended duration clearly.
• Describe the normal week, handover, travel and procedure for changing hours.
• List duties and boundaries explicitly, including driving or additional housework.
• Separate pay components and expenses; avoid an unexplained promise of net pay.
• Review absences, holidays, termination and the process for changing the agreement with suitable professional support.

• Plan gross pay and the full employer budget

Sources for this section: SECO

Resolve work eligibility before the agreed start

SEM guidance distinguishes situations including nationality and residence arrangements. Check the specific case with the responsible authority. An existing residence document or overseas work experience does not answer every question about the proposed employment.

Set a date for resolving outstanding information. Request only necessary documents, explain their purpose and restrict access. Avoid forwarding sensitive records to several search providers without thinking through the need. For other people involved in planning, a dated confirmation that the point is resolved may be enough.

Sources for this section: Staatssekretariat für Migration SEM

Registering your nanny: AHV and the payroll procedure

AHV leaflet 2.06 covers domestic work, including childcare. Social insurance contributions generally matter even for small wages, with specific exceptions. Do not assume a general low-pay exemption applies to your arrangement.

For Zurich households, SVA Zürich explains employer registration and the choice between standard and simplified accounting. The simplified procedure has eligibility conditions. Ask whether your actual pay and employment arrangement qualify, rather than deciding solely from the number of working days.

Prepare the core information once: employer identity, start date, agreed pay, working hours and necessary personal details. Record what was submitted and when a reply is expected. Sending a registration form does not by itself settle every insurance or tax question.

Sources for this section: AHV/IV · SVA Zürich

Nanny insurance: confirm the cover and its start date

Compulsory accident insurance covers occupational accidents and diseases. At least eight weekly hours with the same employer also triggers non-occupational accident cover. The particular employment relationship matters; Suva explains the distinction.

Ask the insurer to confirm the start date, insured activity and treatment of changing hours. Also clarify whether occupational pension provision needs checking and how salary continuation relates to any sickness daily-benefit arrangement. Accident insurance, health insurance and sickness daily benefits are different things.

Try a practical test of your records: if you were unavailable, could the other responsible adult report an accident and find the policy number? If not, add the contact, reporting route and storage location. Diagnoses and private health details should not sit in a family calendar that several people can access.

Sources for this section: Suva

Prepare the first payroll before the month ends

Clarify with the Zurich tax office whether withholding tax applies to your case. The canton’s guidance explains the employer’s role. Separately confirm the tax treatment of any simplified accounting procedure with the compensation office.

Build a routine with four dates: approve hours, check the calculation, pay wages and file documents. Agree when expense receipts are due and who corrects errors. If you use an administration service, ask it to explain a sample payroll for your case before it processes real payments.

SVA Zürich provides forms and guidance for payroll and annual documents. Add recurring deadlines to your calendar and review changes in hours, pay or status promptly. An initial registration is not a substitute for keeping the arrangement up to date.

Sources for this section: Kanton Zürich · SVA Zürich

Ready to start: give each document and decision a status

Use the table as a working list. Add an owner, completion date and storage location to each item. Pending is useful information when someone knows when to follow up. Avoid one tick marked everything done when several organisations are involved.

Separate administration from settling in. The first day should not require the nanny and your child to solve paperwork gaps. Arrange an unhurried handover covering meals, rest, authorised collection, contact details and what to do when something is unclear.

• Plan the first two weeks of settling in

Check the scope before quoting a 2026 minimum wage

A nanny job title does not establish which minimum-wage provision applies. SECO's 2026 guidance says that the federal domestic-work standard contract generally requires an average of at least five hours a week with the same employer and excludes people mainly responsible for childcare, including childminders and babysitters. Other exceptions also exist. Describe the real mix of childcare and household work before asking an adviser to identify the applicable rules. Calling a mainly childcare role household help does not settle the classification.

For work within that federal contract, the 2026 gross hourly minima are CHF 20.35 for unskilled work, CHF 22.30 for unskilled work with at least four years' relevant experience, CHF 22.30 for the relevant two-year qualification and CHF 24.55 for the relevant three-year qualification. These are conditional statutory floors, not recommended nanny rates. They do not include the applicable holiday and public-holiday additions for hourly pay. Zurich's cantonal standard contract and general employment law require separate attention.

Prepare a short role statement for the review: two children, collection from school, meals for the children, children's laundry and a separately described amount of general cleaning, if any. Record what takes most of the working time. Include hours, qualifications and the workplace canton. Ask for the reasoning behind the classification, not just a number to enter in payroll. A change from childcare to extensive household management may need another review.

Keep this scope note beside the salary agreement. It helps explain why a minimum found on another household's invoice was not simply copied. If an agency or payroll provider quotes a floor, ask which provision, category and factual job description it used. Resolve disagreement before employment begins. Negotiating a fair package remains a separate decision about experience, responsibility and the actual role; a legal floor never proves that a candidate will accept the offer.

Sources for this section: SECO · Kanton Zürich

Make gross salary, take-home pay and employer cost distinct

Use three separate figures in your planning. Gross salary is the contractual wage before employee deductions. Net salary is the amount transferred after applicable deductions and any properly identified adjustments. Employer cost includes gross pay plus the employer's contributions, insurance and other agreed costs. Comparing a net salary request with a gross budget produces an avoidable misunderstanding. Ask the payroll provider to show the three figures on one worked example for your own arrangement.

For an ordinary employee below reference age, the 2026 AHV leaflet lists employee AHV/IV/EO contributions of 5.3% and unemployment contributions of 1.1% within the stated earnings limit. Employer shares are separate. Those two employee deductions alone total 6.4%; they do not establish the final net wage. Pension, non-occupational accident premiums and withholding tax can change the result. Do not describe gross pay minus 6.4% as a universal take-home calculator.

A deliberately simplified arithmetic example uses CHF 3,000 gross: 6.4% is CHF 192, leaving CHF 2,808 before any other applicable deductions or adjustments. This is an illustration, not an offer or completed payslip. Obtain the actual pension and insurance amounts and tax treatment before promising a transfer amount. If the family agrees to bear employee contributions through a net-pay agreement, payroll must convert that promise into an appropriate gross salary.

Discuss expenses separately. A receipt for a child's excursion or a work-related purchase does not become the nanny's wage simply because it is reimbursed on payday. Agree authorisation, receipts and how advances are reconciled. A monthly payslip should make the relationship understandable: wage period, agreed basis, additions, deductions and expenses. Give the nanny a route to ask questions and correct an error. Both sides should understand a change before it appears as an unexplained deduction in the bank transfer.

Sources for this section: AHV/IV

Plan paid holidays before choosing hourly or monthly pay

Hourly pay does not remove the right to paid holidays. Under the general statutory rule, adults have at least four weeks and employees under 20 at least five; an applicable contract can provide more. Part-time employees still take weeks away from their normal work pattern. A person working three days a week does not turn four weeks into four isolated working days. Agree how the entitlement will be recorded for the actual schedule.

With a regular monthly salary, plan continued pay during agreed holidays and budget replacement childcare separately. For hourly arrangements, have the method reviewed. SECO permits separately identified holiday compensation in certain irregular part-time arrangements; an all-inclusive hourly figure without a distinct holiday component is insufficient. Do not automatically attach 8.33% to every nanny agreement. Zurich's standard contract also needs checking together with current general law and the regularity of the working pattern.

Make a holiday calendar with three categories: the nanny's approved holidays, the family's trips, and school closures. These can overlap, but they are not interchangeable. If the family travels while the nanny remains available under agreed hours, do not assume the wage stops or the period becomes holiday by default. Ask your adviser to explain the treatment of work cancelled by the employer and record the arrangement in advance.

Suppose a family in Meilen plans a two-week trip in July while the nanny hopes to travel in September. Discuss both requests before buying tickets. Look for an agreed allocation that respects the employment rules, then arrange the remaining childcare. If the nanny accompanies the family and continues caring for children, describe working hours, travel and expenses; accompanying a family on holiday is not automatically the employee's holiday. Revisit the calendar when school dates or the family's plans change, and keep written approval with payroll records.

Sources for this section: SECO · Kanton Zürich

Record the working week and agree how extra hours are handled

Write the schedule as responsibility windows. An 08:00 arrival, 17:00 departure and ten-minute handover at the end cannot all be treated as an eight-hour day without explanation. Identify when the nanny is responsible for children, when another adult takes over and whether any break is genuinely free from duties. A sleeping child or a parent working upstairs does not, by itself, resolve that question. Review the arrangement under the applicable employment provisions.

Use a simple weekly record with date, start, finish, actual break, agreed changes and approved additional time. Have both sides check it regularly while details are still fresh. The purpose is an accurate payroll and a realistic workload. Avoid collecting continuous location data to answer a question that a clear timesheet can settle. Record expenses separately so that a longer journey and a reimbursed train ticket do not become confused.

Agree a decision rule for delays. If a parent is held up in Zurich, who may authorise another half-hour and who provides an alternative handover? Make the contact route workable while the nanny is supervising children. A short message confirming the revised finish is better than expecting the nanny to negotiate pay at the doorway. Ask a qualified adviser how compensation or time off for additional hours must be agreed and documented.

Check the schedule after the first month. Regular extra hours may mean the contract understates the job. A school collection moved from Küsnacht to another location, a new activity or longer handover can change the day substantially. Discuss the cause and revise the plan; repeatedly calling predictable work an exception leaves both sides uncertain. Keep the previous schedule, the new agreed version and the effective date. That record gives payroll a clear basis and prevents either side from reconstructing months of changes from messages.

Sources for this section: Kanton Zürich

Prepare separate plans for sickness, accidents and cancelled care

An absence procedure should answer who is contacted, by when, and what information is needed. Ask for availability and the expected duration where known; do not ask for a detailed diagnosis in the family group chat. Explain the route for any required medical certificate and restrict access to it. Agree who reports to an insurer or administration service. The family needs a childcare backup plan even when the wage and insurance position is still being assessed.

Illness and accident require different administrative handling. Confirm the applicable salary-continuation rules and any sickness daily-benefit solution with your adviser. Check the policy's start date, waiting period, reporting deadline and what happens before benefits are paid. Ordinary compulsory health insurance is not a substitute for employer wage planning. The existence of an insurance policy does not mean every day of absence is automatically paid by that insurer.

Keep a separate decision tree for the child being ill. Can the nanny undertake the agreed ordinary care? Is the family changing duties or cancelling the shift? Would a different arrangement be required? Discuss these questions without creating a promise to perform medical procedures. A nanny's own statutory care leave, family obligations and other protected absences must be assessed separately. Payroll needs the correct category; a generic absence code can hide materially different rights.

Try a morning scenario: at 06:45 the nanny reports being unwell, care would start at 08:00, and both parents have meetings. One parent acknowledges the message and activates the backup plan; the designated employer contact handles the employment record and required follow-up. Keep these roles clear so that urgent care decisions do not turn into pressure on an unwell employee. After the immediate problem, reconcile the absence record, payroll treatment and any insurer submission. A calm procedure agreed beforehand is more useful than deciding everything during the first difficult morning.

Sources for this section: SECO · Kanton Zürich

Review nanny sharing and several households as a separate arrangement

If two families share a nanny, start with the employer structure rather than dividing an invoice. There may be separate employment relationships, or another model requiring specific review. Each family's hours, wage commitments and instructions should be understandable. Do not assume one family's registration or insurance covers the other household. Ask the compensation office, insurer and an adviser to confirm the arrangement before the nanny begins moving between homes.

For accident cover, the threshold of eight hours concerns work with the same employer. A hypothetical five hours for one employer and five for another cannot simply be added to conclude that each relationship has non-occupational cover. Establish the actual employers and have the insurer assess changing schedules. The occupational-pension position can also need separate review where several employments coexist. Give the reviewer the complete factual arrangement, not a guessed percentage split.

A shared practical plan should identify the workplace each day, which children attend, who authorises outings, which parent receives handover and how costs are allocated. Discuss what happens if one child is absent, one family travels or one employment ends. The remaining family may be unable to fund all previously shared hours. Do not leave the nanny to negotiate conflicting instructions between two parents during a working shift. Name one contact for daily coordination while preserving each employer's actual responsibilities.

Use an example schedule rather than a vague sharing promise: Tuesday at family A's home, Thursday at family B's home, with named handover adults and clearly identified children. Check travel between workplaces, keys, equipment and expense reimbursement. Agree how a schedule amendment reaches both families and payroll. Keep employment records accessible only to those who need them; one family does not need unrestricted access to the other family's private financial documents. If the model becomes too complicated to explain on one page, obtain advice before attempting a casual split.

Sources for this section: AHV/IV · Suva

Manage changes and the end of employment with a written handover

Schedule a short review after the first working month and whenever responsibilities change materially. Discuss actual hours, additional duties, expenses, leave planning and what helps the child feel secure. Record decisions, the effective date and any payroll action. A friendly message thanking the nanny for doing more laundry is not a clear agreement about a lasting expansion of household duties. Both sides need time to understand a proposed change.

An employment end and an agency replacement request are different processes. Check applicable probation, notice, fixed-term provisions and protected periods before giving notice. Ask for advice where illness, pregnancy or another protected circumstance is involved. Do not assume a provider's guarantee allows the family to terminate the employee immediately or stop paying. The agency agreement concerns the provider's service; the employment agreement and mandatory rules govern the nanny's rights.

Prepare an exit checklist covering the final work date, outstanding pay, approved expenses, holiday balance, insurance and pension notifications, annual wage documents and return of keys or equipment. Discuss the employment reference or confirmation and a child-friendly goodbye. Keep the final calculation understandable and give the nanny a chance to ask about discrepancies. Avoid withholding wages as informal leverage for an unresolved question about a household item. Get advice about any genuine claim separately.

For continuity, transfer only what the next caregiver needs: daily routine, authorised collection, practical contacts and current family instructions. Do not circulate the departing nanny's private employment file to new candidates. Revoke household access at the agreed point and keep records under the family's appropriate retention arrangements. If payroll is outsourced, request confirmation that the end date and final submissions have been processed. A completed last payment alone does not show that every administrative step is finished.

Sources for this section: SECO · Kanton Zürich

A practical sequence from accepted offer to first payroll

Treat the following sequence as a planning example, not a statutory timetable. Before confirming an unconditional start, settle the employer model, proposed duties, gross-pay basis and work eligibility. List unresolved questions with a named person and a target date. If an essential confirmation is missing, address that issue explicitly instead of assuming the arrival of the first Monday will make it disappear. Keep the candidate informed about the steps that affect their decision.

Next, have the employment terms and relevant rules reviewed, choose the registration route, arrange insurance and establish payroll. Request a sample calculation using your intended hours and pay components. Check the payer's name, bank details and who may approve a correction. Agree the handling of timesheets and receipts. Store the signed agreement, confirmations and contacts together, with access for the responsible adults. A short contents page is more useful than a folder containing several unexplained versions of the same document.

Before the first day, walk through a normal morning and afternoon with the nanny. Check door access, collection permissions, available equipment, expense arrangements and how to contact a parent. Confirm that the timetable includes handover. Separate the child's settling-in plan from the administrative checklist, while making sure both have been prepared. The aim is a first day spent learning the child's routines with a clear employment framework already in place.

Before the first payday, reconcile hours, approved additions, absences and expenses. Compare the actual payslip with the example and ask about any unexpected line. Pay on the agreed date, issue the statement and file the record. At the end of the first month, review the workflow together: was recording simple, did both adults know their tasks, and did the arrangement match the agreed job? Correct the process early. Then put annual declarations, wage statements and periodic reviews in the calendar so that a successful first month becomes a sustainable employment relationship.

Your next step

A sound hiring arrangement starts with clear responsibilities and verifiable confirmations. Complete the start checklist, take unresolved legal and insurance questions to the appropriate specialist, then prepare your first week together. Our independent planning resources support preparation; they do not replace individual legal or payroll advice.