What company and employee data is required to manage Swiss Payroll?

Creating your company in Earny

Here is what you will need

1. Your company details

• Name
• Address
• EID number (or UID)
• Logo 

NB: In order to make your company profile as complete as possible, it is important to include as much information as possible. The company identification number (IDE or UID) is the number assigned by the commercial register (https://www.zefix.ch) and is composed as follows CHE-XXX.XXX.XXX. This number is automatically filled in by Earny.  

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2. The IBAN of the account through which you will pay the salaries

When your salaries are ready to be paid, Earny will generate an XML file that can then be imported into your bank's e-banking site. Without this account, you will not be able to process your salaries. 

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3. AHV compensation fund

• Name
• Affiliate number

• You can find this information on an invoice, a letter from the fund or on its portal if you have access. 

• Administrative fee rates applied by your fund

• You can find this information on an invoice or on their website, usually under "Employer's contributions" or "Online calculator". If in doubt, do not hesitate to contact them directly.

NB: The compensation funds are the executive bodies of the old-age and survivors' insurance (AHV). They play an important role in the Swiss social security system. They collect contributions and pay out insurance benefits. When you set up your business, you had to register with an AHV compensation fund. If you are not yet a member and you are a member of a founding association of an occupational compensation fund, this fund is responsible. Otherwise, it is the compensation fund of the canton in which you have your registered office or residence.

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4. Family allowance fund

• Name
• Affiliate number

• You can find this information on an invoice, a letter from the fund or on its portal if you have access. 

• Employer's contribution rate

• You can find this information on an invoice or on their website, usually under "Employer's contributions" or "Online calculator". If in doubt, do not hesitate to contact them directly.

NB: The family allowance fund is usually the same as the AHV fund. 

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5. Tax at source

For each competent canton :

• IPR number
• Collection fee rate

• You can find this information on an invoice or in the guidelines issued by the cantonal tax authorities. As a general rule, if you declare the deductions online, you will get 2%.

NB: As soon as you hire an employee subject to withholding tax, you must register with the competent cantonal tax authority. Competent means "the one in the canton of residence of your employees subject to withholding tax". You will find all the information and forms on their websites. When you register, you will receive a DPI number (debtor of the taxable benefit). You can therefore have several DPI numbers depending on the number of cantons in which you are registered.

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6. Accident insurance

• Name of your insurer
• Customer number
• Contract number
• Insurance rates for occupational and non-occupational accidents. Please note that the rates mentioned on the insurance policies are in %0
• Payment of premiums

• According to the law, the premium for occupational accidents must be paid by the employer. The premium for non-occupational accidents can be deducted in full from the employee's salary. However, you can decide whether to pay the entire premium or half of it (parity distribution).

If you wish to make your annual payroll declaration electronically (Swissdec), please notify your insurer and ask them to provide you with your ELM Insurance Profile. You will find all the necessary information (contract, rates, etc.)

NB: Occupational accident insurance (AAP) is compulsory. Non-occupational accident insurance (NIAI) is compulsory for employees working at least 8 hours a week. Both insurances cover 80% of the annual salary in the form of daily allowances as well as the hospital, medical and pharmaceutical costs of your employees in the event of accidents. The maximum annual salary covered by the UVG is CHF 148,200. There are many different accident insurances offering different rates. If you do not know which insurance to choose, you can also contact an insurance broker who will be able to make comparisons and advise you on your choice. 

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7. Supplementary accident insurance

• Name of your insurer
• Customer number
• Contract number
• Insured wages
• Insurance rates for men and women. Please note that the rates mentioned on the insurance policies are in %0
• Payment of premiums

• By law, if you have chosen to take out supplementary accident insurance, you must pay at least half the premium (parity distribution).

If you wish to make your annual payroll declaration electronically (Swissdec), please notify your insurer and ask them to provide you with your ELM Insurance Profile. You will find all the necessary information (contract, insured wages, insurance codes, rates, etc.)

NB: Supplementary accident insurance (LAAC) is intended to supplement the benefits of the LAA, for example by ensuring a higher salary or coverage of more than 80% of salary. LAAC is not compulsory but is highly recommended if you have employees with a salary of more than CHF 148,200 or if you wish to pay your employees more than 80% of their salary in the event of an accident.

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8. Daily sickness benefit insurance

• Customer number
• Contract number
• Insured salary
• Insurance rates for men and women. Please note that the rates mentioned on the insurance policies are in %0
• Payment of premiums

• By law, if you have chosen to take out daily sickness benefit insurance, you must pay at least half the premium (parity distribution).

If you wish to make your annual payroll declaration electronically (Swissdec), please notify your insurer and ask them to provide you with your ELM Insurance Profile. You will find all the necessary information (contract, insured wages, insurance codes, rates, etc.)

NB: Daily sickness benefit insurance is optional. However, as an employer, you are legally obliged to continue to pay wages if your employees are unable to work due to illness or pregnancy, for a period that varies according to their seniority. If you take out daily sickness benefit insurance, this will cover at least 80% of the salary for at least 720 or 730 days in a period of 900 days. The waiting period (the time you have to wait before being covered by the insurance) will be determined with your insurer according to your needs and/or your choice of contributions. 

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9. Occupational pension provision

It is not mandatory to enter the name of the pension fund in Earny. You can do so for information purposes. The amounts to be entered are those of the total monthly contribution (savings, risk and costs) to be paid by the employer and the employee.

NB: Occupational pension provision (LPP ) is compulsory for employees who are already subject to AVS and who receive the minimum annual income determined by the Confederation (called the "LPP entry threshold"). This income may change every two years. This amount is communicated to you directly by your pension fund. The purpose of the LPP is to allow employees to benefit from a capital sum or a pension in addition to their AVS pension when they retire. This 2^nd pillar is like a "piggy bank" for employees who start contributing from the age of 25. Between the ages of 17 and 25, the contributions will only cover the risks of death and disability. The entire contribution paid by the employee and the employer (at least equally) is paid into the employee's BVG account. In the case of variable salaries (e.g. hourly), the annual salary should be estimated as closely as possible, and adjusted at the end of the year or job as soon as the final salary is known.

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10. Holiday policy

According to article 329a of the Swiss Code of Obligations, the minimum holiday entitlement in Switzerland is 4 weeks (20 days) per year at 100% pay. Young people under the age of 20 are entitled to 5 weeks. The Swiss law obliges the employee to take at least two consecutive weeks of holiday per year in order to guarantee rest. In principle, the holidays must be taken in the year of service concerned. If this is not possible, the entitlement is carried over to the following year. The subject of holidays is vast in terms of rights and obligations. It is therefore necessary to establish, in the personnel regulations or on the contract, the specificities linked to the company (e.g. compulsory holidays during a period decided by the company linked to an annual closure, deadline for holiday requests etc.). ). When you hire an employee with an hourly wage, you should add to his or her salary the part of the holiday entitlement (8.33% for 4 weeks, 10.64% for 5 weeks and 13.04% for 6 weeks). It is established that an employee paid on an hourly basis is not paid when he or she takes holidays. 

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Creating profiles for your employees in Earny

Here is what you will need

INTRODUCTION: It is the employee's responsibility to provide all documents and information required to create a correct profile in Earny. It is recognized that the company is dependent on the information provided by the employee. It is therefore the employee's responsibility to check his or her salary slip and the information provided on it.

In order to provide your future employee with the best possible guidance, we strongly recommend that you create an information form to be given to him or her before preparing the contract. We also advise you to inform them that they are required to inform you of any changes relating to their accommodation, bank details or civil status (e.g. moving house, change of canton, marriage, divorce, birth etc.). All this information can have an impact on the salary, for example in the case of withholding tax. 

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1. Employment data

• Place of work
• Job title
• Start of activity in the company

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2. Salary information

• Type of salary (monthly or hourly)
• Activity rate
• Annual salary (always 100%) - when you enter the annual salary, the monthly salary is calculated directly (over 12 or 13 months depending on whether you have ticked a 13^ème salary, and on the employee's activity rate)
• 13^th salary - If you validate a 13^th salary, you will need to indicate when you wish to pay it.

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3. Banking information

• Employee IBAN - when you enter the IBAN, Earny automatically finds the employee's bank information.

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4. Absence policy

Earny does not currently have the absence management function activated. This information is purely informative and should be checked and if necessary corrected by you on a case by case basis.

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5. Insurance and occupational pensions

• Select the LAA and LAAC insurance policies that you set up when you created your company.
• Select the daily sickness benefit insurance that you set up beforehand when you created your company.
• If you have not already done so when you set up your company, enter the total monthly BVG contribution (employee and employer share) here 

! By law, you must pay at least half of the BVG contribution (parity distribution). 

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6. Personal data

• First name, last name and gender of the employee
• AHV number
• Nationality
• Date of birth
• E-mail address and telephone

NB: With Earny, you can give your employees access to complete the personal data section (as well as the IBAN on the "Position & Salary" tab). Please note that everyone working in a company in Switzerland is required to have an AVS number. If your employee has never worked in Switzerland, it is your responsibility to register him/her with his/her AVS fund so that it can assign an AVS number.

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7. Address

• Street
• Postcode
• City
• Country
• Residence permit (Permit C, B, L, G depending on the application or existing permit)
• Church tax - information provided by the employee

NB: This information is very important. Indeed, depending on the nationality, the residence permit or the canton of residence of the employee, certain deductions may vary, especially with regard to withholding tax. Please note that any employee working in Switzerland who is not a Swiss citizen must be in possession of a work or settlement permit. You will find in the PDF below the main work permits in Switzerland and on the following link, the different cantonal administrations to apply for permits: https://www.sem.admin.ch/sem/fr/home/sem/kontakt/kantonale_behoerden/adressen_kantone_und.html

We advise you to always ask for a copy of the employee's residence permit in order to be able to check the type of permit but also to monitor its validity. 

The religious tax (or church tax) is applied in some cantons for employees belonging to a church. It is in addition to the tax at source.  You should therefore check this information with your new employee in order to apply the correct withholding tax code (see point 10 withholding tax).

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8. Civil status

The marital status of the employee is important in the case of withholding tax. The scale applied differs depending on whether the employee is single, married with or without children. If you indicate that your employee is married, it is also important to complete the information on the spouse. Indeed, still in terms of withholding tax, the status may vary depending on whether the spouse works or not and whether he or she is Swiss or holds a permit. 

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9. Parental status

• Add all your employee's children
• First name, 
• Name
• Date of birth
• Allowance - enter the amount of child benefit according to the statement of entitlement sent to you by your AHV fund after you have applied for benefit.
• If the child lives in the same household as the employee, activate the option "Child living in the household".
• Select the method of payment of the child benefit. If you select Company, the allowances will be paid with the salary, if you select Directly via AHV, this will be taken into account for the calculation of withholding tax but the allowances will not be paid with the salary, and finally, if you select Spouse's company, this means that the spouse is the beneficiary and therefore no amount will be paid to the employee

NB: As with marital status, the parental status of the employee is important in the case of tax at source. Indeed, the scale applied differs according to whether or not the employee has dependent children. 

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10. Tax at source

A search wizard is integrated in Earny. By clicking on "Edit" and then "Search", the scale will be automatically filled in. However, it is your responsibility to check that the code applied is correct according to the information in your possession.

NB: The withholding tax rate is determined according to the employee's canton of residence, marital status, whether or not they have children and the religious tax.

It is composed as follows: 2 letters of the canton of residence (e.g. VD, GE, NE etc.), the letter of the scale according to marital status (e.g. A for single, B for married with one household income, C for married with 2 household incomes, etc.), the number corresponding to the number of children, and finally, the letter Y or N for the religious tax (Y = yes and N = no). 

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11. Absence" tab

This tab contains the information integrated in the absence policy (1^er "Position and Salary" tab). It also allows you to enter the different absences of an employee as well as the reason for the absence. 

NB: Please note that this function is informative and is not reported in the payroll run. When preparing the salaries, you will have to manually enter the salary reductions linked to illness, accidents or other absences. 

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12. Benefits" tab

In this tab you can add any additional and miscellaneous allowances granted to the employee (e.g. car allowance, travel allowance, telephone allowance etc.).

NB: The various amounts entered in this tab will be deducted each month from the salary of the beneficiary employee. The "Cantonal Approval" checkbox will integrate the net amount (i.e. not subject to social security charges). If the checkbox is not activated, the allowance will appear on the gross salary and will be subject to social security contributions.  

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