Nanny guide
Nanny contract: these 10 clauses settle everyday life too
What belongs in your nanny contract?
6 clauseson top of wage, probation and notice:
Already in the Clino contract: Guaranteed hours · Evenings and overtime.
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All sample clauses ↓
Wage, probation and notice are in every template. The arguments are about other things: the week the family goes away, the evening that runs late, the sick child. Here are 10 clauses for those, each with a sample wording to copy and the article of law behind it.
What every template covers, and what it leaves out
Printed: what every template says, with your canton's figures. Written in blue: the 10 clauses this guide is about.
Employment contract, childcare
Canton Zurich
- § 1
Parties, place of work, start date
- § 2
Gross wage per hour or per month
8. Meals and room
13th salary: only if agreed - § 3
Probation: 1 month, notice during it 3 days
- § 4
Overtime: 25 % supplement; under the NAV only above 43 hours a week for full-time staff, none for part-timers (Art. 5 para. 4, 23, 24 para. 2)
1. Guaranteed hours3. Evenings and overtime6. Hours at school start - § 5
Holidays: 4 weeks a year, 5 weeks up to age 20, 5 weeks from age 50, 6 weeks from age 60, 5 weeks from year 11 of service
2. Holidays: who decides4. Travelling with the family
Paid public holiday: 1 August - § 6
Wage during illness and accident (Art. 324a/324b CO)
5. Sick child - § 7
AHV, accident insurance, BVG too above CHF 22,680 a year
9. Driving - § 8
Notice: 1 month in year 1 of service, 2 months up to year 9, 3 months from year 10, to the end of a month
- § 9
Place, date, signatures of both parties
Zurich: NAV ZH also applies, unless you agree otherwise in writing. This NAV covers work that is mainly housework; whether it also covers pure childcare is not settled.
Figures from the CO and the cantonal standard employment contract (NAV), as of October 2026. Where both set a notice period, the longer one is shown. Minimum and usual wages: nanny salary calculator.
The 10 clauses, each with sample wording
Adjust the values in square brackets. What the law makes mandatory applies even without a clause; in the contract it is visible to both of you.
Guaranteed hours and a fixed weekly schedule
If the family does not need the nanny on an agreed day, the wage is still owed and she does not have to make up the hours (Art. 324 CO). That rules out minus hours or an «hours bank»; the Swiss Nanny Association states that making nannies work such hours off is forbidden.
Sample wording
Working hours are [Monday, Tuesday and Thursday] from [7.30 am to 6 pm]. These hours are guaranteed: if the family does not need the nanny, the wage is still paid, and the hours are neither deducted nor made up later.
Holidays: who sets the dates
The family decides when the nanny takes her holidays but must take her wishes into account, and at least 2 weeks must be taken in one go (Art. 329c CO). Some NAVs (LU, OW, AG, JU) require the dates to be agreed with her unless the contract says otherwise in writing. If the family goes away outside those holidays, the wage keeps running. The Swiss Nanny Association advises nannies to ask for 2 weeks of their own choosing.
Sample wording
The nanny has [4] weeks of paid holiday a year. The family sets [2] weeks and announces them by [31 January]; the nanny chooses the rest in agreement with the family. If the family goes away outside those holidays, the wage keeps running.
Evenings, babysitting and overtime
The nanny must work overtime as far as it is reasonable for her. It is paid with a 25 % supplement unless a written contract or the cantonal NAV says otherwise; under the CO, time off instead of money only works with her consent (Art. 321c CO). The NAVs depart from this both ways: Zurich and Obwalden drop the supplement for part-timers, others require more, for night work for example. The sample clause puts the 25 % in writing.
Sample wording
Evenings and weekends are not part of the agreed working time. Extra shifts are agreed at least [3] days in advance and paid with a [25] % supplement or, if the nanny agrees, compensated within [3] months with the same amount of time off. Hours are recorded in writing every month.
Travelling with the family
If the family takes the nanny along, it pays all necessary expenses, and away from home her board and lodging too (Art. 327a CO). Her wage, the agreed hours and at least 1 day off a week (Art. 329 CO) apply at the seaside as well; some NAVs give more, Zurich for example 2 days off a week.
Sample wording
When the nanny travels with the family, the family pays travel, accommodation and meals. Travel days count as working days. A working day is [8] hours; more hours are overtime. The nanny has at least [1] day fully off a week and a room of her own.
A sick child, in either family
If a child of the family is ill and the parents therefore keep the nanny at home, the wage is owed (Art. 324 CO). If her own child is ill, she is entitled to paid leave: up to 3 days per case and at most 10 days a year (Art. 329h CO).
Sample wording
If a child of the family is ill, the nanny looks after the child as agreed or is released on full pay. If a child of the nanny is ill, she receives paid leave under Art. 329h CO (up to 3 days per case, at most 10 days a year). She lets the family know as early as possible.
More: Sick child, sick nanny
Kindergarten or school: the hours
Fewer hours because the child starts kindergarten is not something the family can simply order: it needs the nanny's consent or a notice of change with the full notice period. If the change is already in the contract, neither is needed. If her hours or wage change, you must tell the nanny in writing within 1 month of the change taking effect (Art. 330b para. 2 CO).
Sample wording
From [August 2027], when [Lina] starts kindergarten, working time is [25] hours a week at the same hourly wage. The parties set the new weekly schedule in writing by [31 March 2027].
Duties: children yes, housework only if agreed
What the contract lists is what is owed. The Swiss Nanny Association stresses that light housekeeping is an additional task that must always be clearly discussed and agreed in advance. Show what you expect on the trial day.
Sample wording
The nanny looks after [2] children (aged [2] and [5]): accompanying, playing, the children's meals, the children's laundry and rooms. Other housework is only included if listed here: [emptying the dishwasher].
Meals and a room
If the nanny lives with you, board and lodging are part of her wage unless agreed otherwise (Art. 322 CO), and the AHV values them at CHF 33 a day (Art. 11 AHVV). The contract should say whether that value is included in the gross wage or comes on top. The board below turns it into francs.
Sample wording
The nanny lives in the family's home in a room of her own and receives full board. This wage in kind is valued at CHF 990 a month (CHF 33 × 30 days, Art. 11 AHVV) and [is included in the gross wage of CHF 4,800].
Driving the children
Whoever drives must secure children under 12 years properly, in a child seat unless they are at least 150 cm tall (Art. 3a VRV). If she drives her own car with your consent, the family pays, in proportion to its use for work, running and upkeep costs, wear, taxes and the liability premium (Art. 327b CO). With a foreign licence she needs a Swiss one after 12 months of living in Switzerland (Art. 42 VZV).
Sample wording
The nanny drives the children in the family car [only to school, activities and the doctor]. The family provides suitable child seats and checks with its insurer that the nanny is covered as a driver. If the car is damaged, the family pays the deductible unless the nanny acted with gross negligence.
Photos, cameras and confidentiality
The family must protect the nanny's privacy and may only process data about her that concern the job (Art. 328 and 328b CO). A camera in the home must be known to her, and its purpose must be clear to her (Art. 6 DSG). In return, photos of the children do not belong on her social media.
Sample wording
The nanny does not post photos or videos of the children and does not pass on information about the family, including after the job ends. Cameras in the home are known to the nanny: [in the living room], never in her room or the bathroom.
Meals and a room: what the AHV counts
What the nanny eats at yours, or where she sleeps, is wage in kind and counts towards the AHV wage, even though no franc changes hands. Put together what she gets.
Board and lodging
CHF 216.65a month count towards the AHV wage
Rates under Art. 11 AHVV, in force since 2007. A month counts days a week × 52 ÷ 12, and 30 days for 7 days a week.
Whether this amount is included in the gross wage or comes on top belongs in the contract: sample clause 8.
For the nanny: 4 questions before you sign
- Are my hours guaranteed, even when the family goes away?
- Who decides when I take my holidays?
- How are evenings and overtime paid?
- Is a gross wage in the contract, and am I registered with the AHV?
The Swiss Nanny Association is a nonprofit association supporting nannies and Au Pairs with information, resources, training and guidance on fair working conditions in Switzerland. By its own account it receives requests for advice every day, from non-members too. For information and resources, visit swissnanny.org
Frequently asked questions
Does a nanny contract have to be in writing?
No, an employment contract is also valid when made orally (Art. 320 CO). But within 1 month of the start you must give the nanny in writing: the parties, start date, role, wage with supplements and weekly hours (Art. 330b CO). For some deviations the law requires writing, such as the overtime supplement or a longer probation (Art. 321c para. 3, 335b para. 2 CO); most NAVs require it for departures from their rules. The Swiss Nanny Association advises families to use a written contract.
Is there a template for a nanny contract?
Yes. The nanny employment contract template is free, has 14 sections in German and already includes guaranteed hours without an hours bank. In a Clino account you create the contract in 6 languages, bilingual if you wish, with your canton's rules.
Can the family decide when the nanny takes her holidays?
As a rule, yes. The employer sets the dates but must take her wishes into account, and at least 2 weeks must be consecutive (Art. 329c CO). Some NAVs (LU, OW, AG, JU) require the dates to be agreed with her unless the contract says otherwise in writing. Announce the holidays early. A fair middle way: the family sets 2 weeks and the nanny chooses the rest (sample clause 2).
What applies if we don't need the nanny for a week?
The wage is still owed and the nanny does not have to make up the hours (Art. 324 CO), unless you set that week as her holiday in good time. She only has to accept a deduction for what she saves as a result, earns elsewhere in that time or deliberately fails to earn.
Does this also apply to an au pair or the grandparents?
An au pair has rules of their own, such as limited hours and a language course: Hosting an au pair in Switzerland, and for a year in French-speaking Switzerland: An au pair year in Romandy. If you pay the grandparents for childcare, that can become an employment relationship; what then applies is in Paying grandparents for childcare.
Does the state help with the cost of a nanny?
Through taxes: childcare costs are deductible from the direct federal tax up to CHF 25,800 per child (2026), and the cantons have their own limits (nanny tax deduction calculator). Whether childcare vouchers also cover a nanny depends on where you live: Childcare vouchers and nannies.
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