Senior Care Guide
Hiring a home caregiver in Switzerland: your duties and the real monthly cost
What does a carer cost per month, all in?
CHF 1'519a month for you: wage, holidays and social contributions
At CHF 30/h, canton of Zurich
30 days free, then CHF 19.90/month · cancel anytime
Wage, age and canton in the calculator ↓
You become an employer: AHV from the first franc, accident insurance, a written contract. A live-in caregiver on a CHF 4,200 cash wage costs you about CHF 5,853 a month in the canton of Zurich (without a 13th-month salary), because board and lodging count as CHF 990 of wages and employer contributions, the compensation office's admin fee and the pension fund come on top. The calculator right below works it out for your canton and hours.
As of October 2026. Sources: AHV leaflet 2.06 (contribution rates, payment in kind CHF 990) and BVG Art. 7 (pension fund above CHF 22,680 a year). Example at 42 hours a week.
⏳ 8 min read · 🔄 Updated for 2026
Key Takeaways
- 1Privately hiring a caregiver makes you an employer. AHV registration applies from the first franc of wages, with no de-minimis threshold in private households.
- 2A privately employed caregiver may provide care, companionship and housekeeping. Medical nursing remains the domain of Spitex and licensed nurses.
- 3Board and lodging count as wages, CHF 990 a month, even though you pay nothing out for them. That puts practically every live-in above CHF 22'680 a year: no simplified procedure, and the pension fund is mandatory: from 18 for death and disability, from 25 for retirement savings too.
- 4At night, active work counts as working time, with a 25% supplement in the canton of Zurich. Pure presence time must be compensated too: set the rate in the contract.
What a Private Caregiver Really Costs
Hourly or live-in, with your canton and the caregiver's age. The calculator shows her net pay, your employer contributions and whether the pension fund is mandatory:
What your caregiver really costs
Hourly care or live-in with board & lodging? This calculator shows the honest employer cost - including payment in kind (CHF 990/month) and BVG where mandatory.
Caregiver details
Caregiver takes home (cash)
2026CHF 1'297
per month • AHV-relevant gross wage: CHF 1'407 (incl. 8.33% holiday supplement)
Caregiver's deductions
Your employer costs
Gross wage (incl. in kind) + all employer contributions
Below the BVG threshold
Annual wage not above CHF 22'680 - BVG is not mandatory. With live-in care the threshold is virtually always exceeded.
Indicative figure excluding withholding tax. Effective amounts depend on canton, pension plan and personal situation - Clino handles the exact payroll.
Clino prepares AHV, UVG, in-kind settlement and the salary certificate - for CHF 19.90/month.
Register your caregiver with ClinoThe Fundamental Choice: Spitex, Care Agency or Private Employment?
Before hiring a caregiver, an honest comparison of the three routes is worth it. All three have their place. Often the best solution is a combination: a privately employed caregiver for daily life and companionship, plus Spitex for medical nursing.
Here is how the three models differ:
Spitex vs. Agency vs. Private Employment
| Criterion | Spitex | Care Agency | Private Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost level | Hourly tariffs; nursing services partly covered by health insurance, pure companionship care usually not | High - full service with margin and administration, significantly more expensive than private employment | Wages + social contributions; usually the most economical for the same workload |
| Who is the employer? | The Spitex organisation | Depending on the model, the agency (staff leasing) - with pure placement it is you | You - with all employer obligations |
| Continuity & key person | Changing staff, short visits | Usually a fixed caregiver, with rotation | One fixed person of trust, chosen by you |
| Control & flexibility | Fixed schedule set by the organisation | Medium - arrangements run through the agency | Maximum - you choose the person, hours and tasks |
| Medical nursing | Yes - core competence, billable via health insurance when prescribed | Only if qualified nursing staff is provided | No - care and household; nursing complemented via Spitex |
Agency all-in packages: significantly more expensive
The middle way: placement only
Some agencies offer two routes: an all-in package where the agency is the employer, and placement only. With placement, the agency finds and screens the caregiver, you choose and employ her yourself. That costs far less. The employer duties then sit with you: AHV registration, employment contract, payslips. That is exactly the part Clino takes care of.
Sandra's Huusengel GmbHPlaces domestic helpers and senior carers across Switzerland from its base in Schinznach-Bad, by the hour or as 24h live-in care, with a licence for private employment placement. In the «Smaragd» placement package you choose from three candidates and employ the carer yourself.
Visit huusengel.ch →Who signs when your mother or father no longer can?
It is simplest if your parent is the employer, not you: the work happens in their household, the wage comes from their account, and helplessness allowance and supplementary benefits are paid to them and cover their costs (Art. 14 ELG). You organise everything, but you sign in your parent's name. For that you need a different legal basis depending on the situation:
Your parent can still decide
Then your parent signs the contract and the AHV registration, and you handle the rest with a written power of attorney. Note: an ordinary power of attorney generally lapses once your parent loses capacity (Art. 35 OR). Use this time for a lasting power of attorney (Vorsorgeauftrag): handwritten from start to finish, dated and signed, or notarised (Art. 361 ZGB).
There is a Vorsorgeauftrag
If your parent loses capacity, the KESB (child and adult protection authority) checks the Vorsorgeauftrag and gives you a document stating your powers (Art. 363 ZGB). If it covers financial affairs, you use it to sign the employment contract in your parent's name and register the carer with the compensation office.
No Vorsorgeauftrag, and your parent lacks capacity
Children have no statutory right to represent a parent in contracts and money matters, unlike for medical decisions (Art. 378 ZGB). A spouse who shares the household or regularly looks after your parent can handle day-to-day affairs (Art. 374 ZGB). Otherwise the KESB sets up a deputyship (Beistandschaft), and you can propose yourself as deputy. This can take weeks: contact the KESB early.
Care vs. Nursing - What a Private Caregiver May Do
The most important professional boundary: care is not nursing. A privately employed caregiver without a nursing licence may ease daily life, provide companionship and run the household. Medical and nursing services in the strict sense require a licence and belong in the hands of Spitex or qualified nurses.
Drawing this line honestly protects everyone involved, the person being cared for, the caregiver and you as the employer:
Requires Spitex / licensed nurse
- •Medical nursing: wound care, injections, preparing and administering medication
- •Treatment care on doctor's orders
- •Basic nursing care for dependent persons (e.g. body care) - licence requirements vary by canton
- •Anything that is to be billed through health insurance
The private caregiver may do
- •Care & companionship: conversation, walks, activation, daily structure
- •Household: cooking, shopping, laundry, cleaning
- •Accompaniment: doctor's appointments, authorities, visits, errands
- •Everyday help: medication reminders, simple assistance in daily life
The combined model is everyday practice
Step by Step: How to Hire a Caregiver Correctly
The path from search to first payslip - in seven steps:
Find the right person
Recommendations, ads or platforms. For a larger workload a free ad on operi.ch works well, for a few hours a week tili.ch or petitboulot.ch (home help, accompaniment, meals). Check references, arrange a trial day and involve the person being cared for: the chemistry has to work for them.
Sign an employment contract
In writing, covering tasks, workload, salary, probation and holidays. For live-in arrangements, mandatory clauses on on-call time and board & lodging.
Register with AHV - from the first franc
There is no de-minimis threshold in private households: in principle, every wage is subject to AHV and must be settled with the compensation office of your canton of residence.
Take out accident insurance (UVG)
Occupational accident cover (BU) is always mandatory. From 8 hours per week, non-occupational cover (NBU) as well - virtually always the case with a caregiver.
Monthly payroll + salary certificate
Settle AHV/IV/EO 5.3%, ALV 1.1% (each for employer and employee side), UVG-BU 0.505% and FAK (cantonal) correctly. At year-end the caregiver needs a salary certificate (Lohnausweis) or, in the simplified procedure, the compensation office's confirmation of the withholding tax deduction instead.
Check withholding tax
Caregivers without a C permit and without a Swiss passport are subject to withholding tax. You deduct it from the wage and remit it to the canton. Under the simplified procedure, a flat 5% applies to everyone instead, Swiss nationals included, settled through the compensation office.
Check BVG (pension fund)
Mandatory above CHF 22,680 annual salary: from 18 for death and disability, from 25 for retirement savings too. With a live-in caregiver the threshold is virtually always exceeded.
Simplified procedure? Usually not.
Create a caregiver employment contract
First message to a carer
Hofer
online
Hello Mrs Hofer, I saw your ad. For my mother (82, still mobile on her own, but needs companionship and help with daily life) we're looking for a caregiver for about 20 hours a week. Everything will be properly registered with AHV. Would you have time to meet?
09:12Hello! Yes, gladly. I already have experience in senior care. Would Wednesday afternoon work?
09:40Wednesday at 3pm would be perfect. I'll send you the address. Thank you very much!
09:4424h Live-in Care: On-call Time, Board & Lodging and the Rotation Model
When the caregiver lives with the person being cared for (live-in), special rules apply. SECO provides a model standard employment contract (Modell-NAV) for 24-hour care in private households. It covers working and on-call time in particular. The cantonal standard employment contracts (NAV) for domestic work with their minimum wages remain binding alongside it.
Board and lodging count as wages
Anyone who eats or lives at your home receives part of their wage in kind. These are the values for AHV.
- CHF 3.50Breakfast
- CHF 10.00Lunch
- CHF 8.00Dinner
- CHF 11.50Lodging
All together: CHF 33 per dayor CHF 990 per month
Payment in kind is added to the cash wage: you and your employee pay social insurance contributions on the total, and it goes on the salary certificate.
"24h care" does not mean one person works 24 hours
Example: A live-in caregiver's daily schedule
| 07:00 - 12:00 | Active care: getting up, breakfast, personal care, household tasks |
| 12:00 - 14:00 | Caregiver's midday break (rest time, no duty to work) |
| 14:00 - 19:00 | Active care: walk, appointments, preparing dinner |
| 19:00 - 22:00 | On-call presence: caregiver is in the home but not continuously required |
| 22:00 - 07:00 | Night presence on call: caregiver's rest time, with availability for emergencies - this time must be compensated separately |
Illustrative example. The actual split is set individually in the employment contract and must comply with the rest-time and on-call-time rules of the SECO model contract.
On-call time must be compensated
Time during which the caregiver must be available on call (e.g. at night) is not free time. It must be compensated, at a rate agreed in the contract or as a lump sum, as outlined by the SECO model contract.
Cantonal minimum wages apply
The NAV for domestic work prescribes binding minimum wages depending on the canton (from CHF 20.35/h for unskilled workers). Even in live-in models, pay - including payment in kind - must not fall below them.
Rest time and days off
A live-in caregiver also needs daily rest periods, days off each week and holidays. Promising uninterrupted round-the-clock care cannot legally be covered by a single person.
The rotation model (2 caregivers)
In practice, two caregivers often alternate in shifts (e.g. every 2-4 weeks). Important: both are your employees - both need a contract, AHV registration and payroll. And a right to stay: for EU/EFTA citizens in a job of at most three months per calendar year, the online notification procedure is enough, and you file it at the latest the day before; it does not replace the AHV registration. In the usual rotation both go over that and need an L or B permit.
Financing: The Support That Is Available
Private care is a significant financial burden - three instruments can ease it noticeably:
AHV helplessness allowance
Anyone who permanently depends on help with everyday activities is entitled to a helplessness allowance (Hilflosenentschädigung), regardless of income and assets. Apply to the IV office of your canton of residence, the compensation office pays it out; the amount depends on the degree of helplessness.
Supplementary benefits (EL)
If pension and income are insufficient, supplementary benefits may apply. Illness and disability costs - which can include care costs - are partly reimbursed in addition. The details are regulated by canton.
What your canton pays for a carer →Tax deduction for care costs
Disability-related costs and, depending on the canton, further care and illness costs can be deducted in the tax return. Proper payslips and the salary certificate serve as evidence.
How much the helplessness allowance is in your case and how to apply: Helplessness allowance: who gets it and how much. What health insurance and supplementary benefits pay towards the Spitex or your own employee: Spitex or private care: costs and who pays.
Hiring a Caregiver: The Complete Checklist
20 items, 4 categories - tick off what you have already completed.
Caregiver Hiring Checklist
20 items in 4 categories
Hire a Caregiver - Without Paperwork
Clino prepares AHV registration, employment contract, monthly payroll, salary certificate and accident insurance. You look after your relative, we handle the bureaucracy. CHF 19.90/month, everything included.
Register Your Caregiver NowFree Checklist: Hire Household Help Correctly
AHV, accident insurance, contract. All on one page, by email in 30 seconds.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to register a private caregiver with AHV?
What may a caregiver without nursing training do?
What does private 24h care cost?
How are board and lodging settled?
Does on-call time have to be paid?
Can I use the simplified settlement procedure?
What about withholding tax for foreign caregivers?
Does the pension fund (BVG) also apply to caregivers?
What do I risk if I do not register the caregiver?
My mother has dementia and can no longer decide for herself. Who is the carer's employer?
Sources & Legal References
- Swiss Code of Obligations (OR), Art. 319-362
- SECO - Model standard employment contract for 24-hour elderly care in private households
- NAV Domestic Work - cantonal standard employment contracts with minimum wages
- AHV/IV leaflets (ahv-iv.ch): domestic work, rates for payment in kind, helplessness allowance, supplementary benefits
- AHVG Art. 87 - penal provisions for violations of the contribution obligation
- ZGB Art. 360-369 (Vorsorgeauftrag), Art. 374 (representation by the spouse), Art. 390 ff. (deputyship); OR Art. 35 (end of a power of attorney); ELG Art. 14
