Working for yourself in Switzerland

If you want to work for yourself here in Switzerland, how do you go about it? There are various rules and regulations that you need to comply with and so to help you understand a bit more about it all below is a short summary of  the process. This is followed by an alternative solution for entrepreneurs written for Living in Nyon by Gina Empson, Director  of Swiss Labour Contractors.  

"Setting up and operating as an “independent” in Switzerland can be a complicated affair. In countries such as England or France, labour leasing is well known and straight forward, but in Switzerland you can have only one work status. You are either an employee or an independent -  there is nothing in between. To get that “independent” status you firstly have to go to the social security office and show that you have at least three clients and that you are carrying the economic risk yourself. This can mean that if the work goes badly you are responsible, unlike an employee where the employer takes the economic risk. You also need to register with the tax authorities and the “Registre du Commerce”. An alternative way of effectively operating as an independent while being technically an employee could be to go through a company such as Swiss Labour Contractors. This arrangement allows people the flexibility of an independent working when they want, while having the administration burden and hassle taken care of. At the same time they are fully legal and can maintain pension and unemployment benefits. An example of this could be if someone has recently arrived in the region having left a job to follow a partner. They want to work but not necessarily full time or all year. They have experience and can find international mandates or local companies who could benefit from their skills, but the individual knows nothing of local legislation, work permits, social security requirements and income tax. In this situation Swiss Labour Contractors can act as their employer and accept the mandate. This is a three way relationship, the individual finds the work, Swiss Labour Contractors invoice the company or person on the individual's behalf and pay them a salary less social deductions and an administration fee. They also offer tax planning and pension advice. This kind of service benefits anyone; IT consultants, marketing, teachers, part-time secretaries, communications, trainers etc. This can help particularly for individuals who want to validate the market or their business plan before spending money on company formation. It also benefits secondary income jobs, ex-UN and NGO staff working for commercial enterprises, and people taking early retirement. It should also be noted how important it is to maintain employee status in the years before retirement in order to continue pension plan (LPP) and social security (AVS) contributions. Swiss Labour Contractors  is a subsidiary of International Corporate Services S.A., a fiduciary accounting company created ten years ago by Gina Empson. The company has authorisations for labour leasing both at Cantonal and Federal Level. For further information see Swiss Labour Contractors or telephone  022 908 02 45