Hiring in the EU and EFTA from Switzerland

For a Swiss employer, “hiring in the EU” can describe two different projects. One is sending an existing Swiss employee abroad for a limited assignment. The other is engaging someone who already lives and works in an EU or EFTA state. The first may use the posting exception to keep Swiss social security temporarily. The second normally begins with the rules of the country where the person works.

Quick answer

Step 1: decide whether this is temporary or locally based

The Federal Compensation Office describes a posting as a temporary, time-limited assignment in another state. Its conditions include at least one month of prior Swiss insurance, no replacement of another posted person, an employment contract and salary relationship that continue with the Swiss employer, and an expectation that the employee will keep working for that employer after the assignment.

Regular or indefinite work in more than one state is a different category, often called multi-state activity. A new hire who will work permanently from one foreign country is different again. Record the employee’s nationality, usual work country, all expected work locations, duration, duties, reporting line and who pays salary before selecting a process.

Step 2: handle social security and A1 correctly

Switzerland applies Regulations 883/2004 and 987/2009 with EU states through the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons. The revised EFTA Convention applies the same coordination regulations between Switzerland and Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. The two arrangements are separate, and the FSIO warns that there is no umbrella agreement for a situation involving Switzerland, an EU state and an EFTA state at the same time.

For an eligible posting from Switzerland to an EU or EFTA state, the employer applies through ALPS via the competent AHV/OASI compensation office. If the conditions are met, the office issues an A1 certificate confirming continued application of Swiss social-security legislation.

The ordinary maximum is 24 months. If more time is needed, the FSIO may seek a special agreement with the foreign authority under Article 16 of Regulation 883/2004. Agreement is not guaranteed. The FSIO says current Swiss practice seeks this route only where the total posting does not exceed five to six years. Apply for the actual expected period rather than treating 24 months as an automatic extension point.

Business trips still need a social-security check

Employment-law posting and social-security posting are not identical tests. European Commission guidance says a worker sent to another state without providing a service, for example to attend a conference, meeting, fair or training, is not covered by the posted-worker directives. The same guidance says that social-security regulations contain no general business-trip exception: the employer should notify the competent home institution and obtain A1 where possible in advance for cross-border work activity.

So the safe sequence is:

1. determine whether the person will provide a service or perform productive work in the host country;
2. ask the Swiss compensation office for the correct A1 treatment, even for a short business trip;
3. separately check the host country’s immigration, professional-authorisation and labour notification rules; and
4. retain the itinerary, purpose, host, dates, A1 and any local filing confirmation.

Step 3: check the destination country’s posting rules

An A1 certificate answers which social-security legislation applies. It does not by itself authorise work, complete a labour notification, set pay, or decide which host-country employment conditions apply.

EU sources describe notification, local contact, document and working-condition duties under the posted-worker framework. A Swiss company should still check the destination’s official national portal directly. Directive 96/71/EC is framed for undertakings established in a member state, while third-country undertakings must not receive more favourable treatment. The exact route for a Swiss service provider therefore depends on the destination’s law and the applicable Switzerland-EU arrangements.

Before work starts, verify:

• whether the activity is a cross-border service covered by local posting rules;
• whether a notification, work authorisation or sector registration is required;
• remuneration, working-time, leave, health and safety, accommodation and expense rules;
• documents, translation, retention and local-contact requirements;
• regulated-profession or sector-specific rules; and
• the long-term-posting threshold and consequences in that country.

Use the destination state’s official posted-worker portal or liaison office. Do not use SECO’s posting-to-Switzerland forms for an outbound assignment.

Step 4: choose a model for a new locally based worker

If a person already lives in Germany, France, Poland or another EU/EFTA state and will work there on an ongoing basis, do not force the facts into the temporary-posting route. Compare the actual options.

The ILO’s general guidance says the facts of work performance and remuneration should prevail over the contract label. Control, integration, set hours or place, periodic payment, continuity and financial risk are possible indicators. The binding classification test and consequences come from the worker’s country, so review day-to-day practice as well as the contract.

An EOR can be evaluated when employment is the correct relationship but a local group employer is unavailable. Deel’s dated instructions show that its EOR workflow asks for the work country, EOR employee type, location, title, seniority and job scope, and that some roles are prohibited. This supports checking availability for the exact country and role, not assuming blanket EU/EFTA coverage.

Step 5: review permanent establishment separately

The hiring model does not decide whether the Swiss company creates a taxable presence abroad. Switzerland’s State Secretariat for International Financial Matters explains that a double taxation agreement restricts taxing rights, while domestic law supplies the basis for taxation. Check the live treaty, local law and actual duties.

The OECD’s November 2025 Model Tax Convention update says that home working below 50 percent of total working time over a relevant 12-month period generally does not make the home a place of business of the enterprise, unless other facts indicate otherwise. At 50 percent or more, all facts and circumstances matter, including whether there is a commercial reason for the work to be performed in that jurisdiction. This is model commentary, not a universal safe harbour.

Escalate the analysis when the person negotiates or concludes contracts, plays the principal role leading to contracts, manages local staff, serves customers locally, holds stock or works from a place the company effectively requires or controls. These are review triggers, not a conclusion.

A practical decision file

For each country and worker, retain:

• situation classification: posting, business trip, multi-state activity or local engagement;
• nationality, work locations, assignment dates and expected follow-on work;
• A1 request, decision and expiry date;
• destination-country notification, authorisation and proof;
• locally confirmed pay and working-condition requirements;
• employee-versus-contractor analysis for a new engagement;
• entity or EOR legal-employer details and responsibility matrix;
• permanent-establishment and corporate-tax review owner;
• total cost, renewal, termination and exit assumptions; and
• primary-source links, advice received and next review date.

Example: temporary project and separate local hire

A Basel company sends an existing employee to Germany for a four-month customer project. It tests the Swiss posting conditions, requests A1 and checks Germany’s official portal for the activity, notification and working-condition rules. Separately, it wants to recruit a product designer who already lives and works in Poland. That second case is not treated as the German posting. The company compares a Polish group entity, a genuine contractor relationship based on the actual work, and an EOR with verified Polish role eligibility. Both cases receive their own permanent-establishment review.

Key terms

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 posting, business trip, multi-state work and a new local engagement.
• Ask the Swiss compensation office for the correct A1 route before travel or work begins.
• Use the destination country’s official outbound-posting route, not SECO’s inbound forms.
• Check personal scope and mixed EU/EFTA facts rather than assuming the framework applies.
• For a new engagement, compare entity, contractor and EOR under the worker’s local law.
• Review permanent establishment independently of the hiring model.
• Record sources, decisions, owners, expiry dates and the next review date.
• If employment through an EOR remains appropriate, ask Deel through its consultation page about current country and role requirements (opens in a new tab), then compare the final proposal with an alternative.You can also go to the provider's website directly.