Hiring in Switzerland from Germany: guide for German firms

A German company that hires someone who works in Switzerland should first fix the person’s real residence and work pattern. A local Swiss hire, a German cross-border commuter (Grenzgänger under Article 15a of the Germany-Switzerland tax treaty), a Swiss resident who teleworks for the German employer and a posted worker with an A1 certificate each follow a different route for social security, permits and tax. Direct foreign employment can be possible, but it brings Swiss registrations. An Employer of Record (EOR) will usually need a Swiss licence, so compare it with the alternatives.

Quick answer

Is this a local hire, commuter, home-office worker or posting?

Record the worker’s residence, nationality, every physical work location, the planned split of days, contract duration and whether the German company already employs the person.

• A Swiss local hire lives and works in Switzerland on an ongoing basis.
• A German cross-border commuter lives in Germany and works at a Swiss workplace. Two tests apply and they differ. For the G permit, SEM says the person must return to the main domicile abroad at least once a week. For the tax treaty, a Grenzgänger returns regularly to the residence and does not exceed 60 non-return days.
• A Swiss-resident teleworker lives in Switzerland and works for the German employer, partly at the German site.
• A posted worker stays in an existing German employment and performs a temporary service in Switzerland.

The Austrian version of this guide covers the same Swiss mechanics for Austrian employers. The German side differs in the treaty, the competent German institutions and the form numbers, which is why this page treats them separately.

How does direct employment work for Swiss social security?

The FSIO states that an EU/EFTA employer without a Swiss establishment, employing a person who is subject to Swiss social-security law, is obliged to pay the contributions under Swiss law and normally settles directly with the competent Swiss institutions. Third-country nationals are excluded from this route, so check nationality first.

Map the registrations before the start date: old-age and survivors’ insurance with invalidity and income-compensation contributions (AHV/IV/EO), unemployment insurance, family allowances in the canton, occupational pension where the employee falls within its scope, and payroll reporting.

The FSIO also describes an agreement under which the employee handles contribution settlement. The employer must then pay its share and administrative costs on top of salary and is not released from liability. Suva says accident insurance is mandatory for such foreign employers too; the task can be delegated, but the employer stays liable for unpaid contributions.

Which Swiss work and residence route applies?

SEM says an EU/EFTA national needs a valid employment contract and must register with the commune within 14 days of arrival and before starting work. A contract of under twelve months leads to an L permit; twelve months or more, or unlimited, leads to a B permit valid for five years. Employment of up to three months is handled by notification.

EU/EFTA cross-border commuters get a G permit. Do not infer a permit result from residence in Germany, because the canton decides, and third-country nationals follow a separate, restricted route.

A long-term hire to work in Switzerland is not a posting. Postings (below) cover only the German company’s own employees performing a temporary service.

How are German cross-border commuters taxed?

Article 15a of the treaty (SR 0.672.913.62) says the wages of a Grenzgänger may be taxed in the state of residence. The work state may levy a tax by deduction of no more than 4.5 percent of gross pay, provided the residence is proved by an official certificate of the competent tax authority. Germany credits the Swiss deduction under section 36 of the Income Tax Act (EStG), and Switzerland reduces the gross wage base by one fifth.

The certificate is the form Gre-1, and the ESTV circular expects the employer to hold one for each calendar year. Check the BMF letter of 7 December 2023 for who applies, how long the certificate is valid and when it is renewed. Do not rely on a “Gre-2”: the current ESTV form list shows Gre-1, Gre-3, Gre-4 and Gre-5 but no Gre-2, although the ESTV circular of 2019 still mentions a Gre-2 as an extension of Gre-1.

The commuter status has a limit. Under Article 15a(2), a person employed for the whole calendar year loses it by not returning home on more than 60 working days because of the work. Protocol No. 5 adds details:

• regular return means travel between home and workplace on at least 20 percent of the agreed working days;
• one-day business trips in either treaty state do not count as non-return days, trips to third states always do;
• a daily return is treated as unreasonable above 100 km road distance or 1.5 hours public transport one way, but such a day counts only if the person actually stayed away;
• in a part-year employment, 5 days per full month and 1 per full week are allowed; and
• the employer certifies non-return days (Gre-3), endorsed by the workplace tax authority.

Beyond the 60 days, the ESTV says ordinary tariffs apply rather than the 4.5 percent cap.

Do home-office days count as non-return days?

Since the consultation agreement of 15/18 July 2022, a working day on which a Grenzgänger works the whole day at home in the residence state does not count as a non-return day. The ESTV listing shows no later home-office agreement on Article 15a as of 2 November 2026, and the COVID-19 agreements ended on 30 June 2022.

The agreement does not set a home-office cap and does not say how full home-office days affect the 20 percent regular-return test. For heavy hybrid patterns, ask the competent tax authorities.

The reverse case is different: a Swiss resident who works at home in Switzerland for the German employer is not a Grenzgänger on those days, because the workplace is in the residence state.

What if the German employer has no Swiss seat?

The ESTV withholding-tax circular says the obligor is the payer who has a seat, administration, establishment or fixed facility in Switzerland. Without such a payer in Switzerland, there is no withholding-tax obligation. A German company with no Swiss seat, branch or fixed establishment is therefore not a Swiss withholding obligor under that circular, and it cannot simply “apply the 4.5 percent”. A Swiss group company or a hire-out arrangement can change this picture.

No official source reviewed for this guide says how Switzerland then taxes a German-resident commuter. Ask the cantonal tax administration before the first payroll. Wage-tax reporting in Germany and the permanent-establishment question are separate reviews.

How does regular telework from Switzerland affect social security?

According to the FSIO and the signatory list kept by the Belgian social-security authority, the telework framework agreement applies to Switzerland and Germany from 1 July 2023. A worker living in Switzerland who spends less than 50 percent of work as telework for a German employer can remain insured in the employer state; below 25 percent, the ordinary rules apply, and the framework covers 25 to 49.9 percent. Regular work in another state, a further employer or self-employment excludes it. It concerns social security, not tax.

According to the DVKA, a German employer applies electronically to the GKV-Spitzenverband, DVKA, as an exception agreement under Article 16(1). Agreements run for at most three years and can be extended on a new application; self-employed people and employees of German public employers are excluded. The DVKA’s worked example allows at most 109 planned telework days for a full-time employee on 220 working days; treat it as an example, not a rule. See the A1 certificate guide for the document itself.

How does a posting to Switzerland work?

The DVKA says the employer submits the A1 application exclusively electronically to the employee’s statutory health insurer. If the person is not statutorily insured, it goes to the pension insurer or, for professional pension schemes, to the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Berufsständischer Versorgungseinrichtungen. For non-EU and non-Swiss nationals, the bilateral social-security agreement can apply with certificate CH1. The DVKA page does not state a maximum posting duration.

On the Swiss side, SEM says services by posted workers from EU/EFTA companies of up to 90 working days per calendar year need only a notification. It must be made at least eight days before work starts, online through EasyGov and not by email. Beyond 90 days a work permit is required. SECO adds that the posting employer must guarantee minimum pay and conditions under federal law and generally binding collective agreements.

Which engagement model fits?

For the general comparison, see hiring employees abroad: employee, contractor or EOR.

Why is contractor status not a contractual choice?

The AHV/IV Information Centre says people are self-employed if they work in their own name and account in an independent position and bear their own economic risk. The compensation office decides case by case, and “the economic circumstances are decisive, not the contractual agreements”. Working for a single client is usually treated as employment. See false self-employment of contractors abroad.

When may an EOR help?

An EOR may help when employment is the right relationship and the company does not want to operate the foreign-employer registrations itself. SECO states that direct and indirect staff hire-out from abroad into Switzerland is not permitted, and Article 12(2) AVG says the same; hire-out within Switzerland needs an operating licence (Article 12(1) AVG). An EOR arrangement that places a worker with a client in Switzerland is therefore likely to be treated as hire-out and to need a Swiss-licensed hirer, not a German one. Confirm the classification with SECO or the cantonal labour office. Employer of Record in Switzerland and the Swiss recruitment licence guide explain the licences.

In Deel’s dated EOR workflow, Deel is selected as legal EOR. The flow asks for country, location, visa needs, title, seniority, job scope, compensation and work arrangement, and it includes role and location restrictions before quote and agreement review. Obtain written confirmation for the exact Swiss location, role, licence and employing entity.

If the model fits after comparison, ask Deel about EOR options in Switzerland (opens in a new tab). Compare the written answer with direct foreign employment and any suitable Swiss entity.

When may an EOR not fit?

An EOR may not fit when the group already has a Swiss entity, when the direct foreign-employer route is manageable for a single hire, when the provider does not accept the role, or when the long-term activity needs the group’s own Swiss presence. A German resident who commutes may also be handled directly if the tax and social-security setup is already clear. An EOR does not establish contractor status, decide the permanent-establishment position or guarantee a permit.

Does a Swiss-based employee create a permanent establishment?

Possibly, and the employment model does not decide it. Whether a Swiss workplace, authority to conclude contracts or a Swiss group company acting as de facto employer creates a Swiss permanent establishment is case-specific and needs a Swiss tax opinion. Read the permanent-establishment guide for remote employees and document the conclusion and the facts it assumes.

Which Swiss employment rules belong in the offer?

SECO identifies Articles 319 to 362 of the Swiss Code of Obligations as the main employment-contract rules, with the Labour Act and collective agreements (Article 356 OR) adding rules on protection, pay and conditions. Obtain a review for the role, canton and applicable collective agreement. Do not copy German contract terms or assume that German notice, leave or working-time rules apply.

What does this mean for your hiring model?

Choose the route by the facts: a lasting Swiss local hire points to a Swiss entity, a direct foreign-employer setup or a Swiss-licensed EOR; a commuter from Germany is mainly a treaty, G permit and social-security exercise; a hybrid worker needs the telework decision; a temporary assignment needs the A1 and notification. Use the employee, contractor or EOR guide for the wider comparison, Employer of Record in Switzerland for the Swiss licences, and hiring outside the EU from Germany for the general non-EU questions. For the opposite direction, see hiring in Germany from Switzerland.

Keep a pre-hire file with the residence and workday plan, the permit or notification evidence, the Gre-1 where relevant, the A1 or telework decision, the Swiss registrations, accident insurance and pension, and the tax instructions of the canton. Review it when canton, residence, work percentage or duties change.

Key terms

Employee

A worker engaged under a local employment contract, with the employer responsible for payroll, social security contributions and compliance with local labour law.

Contractor

A self-employed individual or business engaged for specific services under a commercial contract, without the employment protections or payroll obligations that apply to employees.

Employer of Record (EOR)

A third-party provider that legally employs a worker on behalf of a client company in a country where the client has no local entity, handling local payroll, contracts and compliance.

Permanent establishment

A tax concept describing a fixed place of business or sufficient business activity in a country that can trigger local corporate tax obligations for a foreign company.

Misclassification

Treating a worker as a contractor when, based on the actual working relationship, local law would classify them as an employee, which can create back taxes, penalties and employment claims.

Final checklist

• Separate Swiss local work, German commuting, Swiss-resident telework and posting.
• Keep the G permit test (weekly return) apart from the treaty test (regular return, 60 non-return days).
• Obtain the Gre-1 residence certificate each year and track non-return days for the Gre-3.
• Do not apply the 4.5 percent cap as a payer without a Swiss seat; ask the cantonal tax administration.
• Apply for the A1 or telework exception through the German institutions, ideally before work starts.
• Confirm the Swiss registrations, accident insurance and pension if the company is the direct employer.
• Use only a Swiss-licensed provider as EOR and review permanent establishment separately.
• If an EOR remains appropriate, ask Deel about its Switzerland EOR set-up (opens in a new tab) and compare the written response with an alternative.