Continued Pay for Household Staff: Long-Term Path

Sick pay vs KTG vs IV - who pays when?

When a domestic worker is ill long-term, the Swiss social system runs through three phases that should mesh seamlessly - but in practice often leave gaps. The first weeks are covered in detail in our guide to sick pay under the three scales. This article picks up where that one ends: from the moment the statutory sick pay runs out.

Important to understand: sick pay, KTG and IV are not alternatives but staggered in time. While sick pay runs, the employer pays. Where a KTG exists, it takes over after the waiting period and replaces the sick pay obligation. The IV only steps in when incapacity is likely to be lasting - a process that takes at least one year.

Bernese, Basel and Zurich scales - how long you must pay

Art. 324a CO requires sick pay 'for a limited period' without setting a fixed duration. Swiss courts have developed three scales applied depending on the canton. They differ markedly - a domestic worker in Basel gets about a week more of pay in year 1 than one in Zurich or Bern.

In every scale the period runs per year of service - not per illness. Anyone who was ill for 3 weeks in year 1 has no further entitlement that year. A new entitlement only begins with year 2 under the relevant scale. The duration is the maximum total per year of service, combined for all illnesses.

Daily allowance (KTG) - when it kicks in, what it pays

The daily allowance insurance is voluntary for the employer (sometimes shared with the employee). For a private household it typically costs 0.7% to 2.5% of annual payroll - and it pays off twice: it shields the worker from the income gap and frees you, the employer, from continued payment after the waiting period.

• •Waiting period: The time between onset of incapacity and start of insurance benefit. Typical: 30, 60 or 90 days - the longer the waiting period, the cheaper the premium. During this time the employer pays under the scale.
• •Benefit duration: Standard 720 days within 900 calendar days for the same illness. That's two years with short interruptions - enough to bridge the one-year IV waiting period.
• •Benefit level: Usually 80% of AHV-relevant gross salary. Some policies go to 90% or 100% with a higher premium. The missing 20% is either continued by the employer voluntarily or simply lost.
• •Exclusions: Pre-existing conditions at policy inception, self-inflicted injuries, illnesses outside Switzerland (depending on the policy). Not insured: occupational accidents - those are handled under UVG. What if there is an accident without insurance.

For Art. 324b CO to apply and free the employer from the sick pay obligation, the KTG must meet at least three conditions: waiting period not longer than the scale, benefit at least 80%, and minimum duration 720 days. If any one of these fails, you must close the gap yourself.

IV registration & timing - the 30-day rule

The Swiss disability insurance (Invalidenversicherung / Assurance-invalidité, IV/AI) is the second pillar of the Swiss social system. It steps in when a person is permanently or for an extended time unable to work. Unlike KTG, IV does not pay immediately - it follows a strict process with clear deadlines that every domestic worker and employer should understand.

Registration can be filed by the affected person, the employer, a family member or the daily allowance insurer. In practice the KTG often does it - they have an interest in the IV taking over after 720 days. But as the employer, you should act yourself once it becomes clear after 4-6 weeks that the illness will be long. More on what to do when the cleaner is sick.

• •Step 1 - File early detection: Once 30 days of incapacity are reached or a repeat pattern emerges, the cantonal IV office can be informed. This is not yet a formal registration but triggers counselling and support (Art. 3a IVG).
• •Step 2 - Formal registration: At the latest after 6 months of uninterrupted incapacity or a likely permanent restriction. Forms are at ahv-iv.ch or directly at the cantonal IV office.
• •Step 3 - Waiting period: Before any pension can arise, the person must have been at least 40% incapable of work for one year (Art. 28 para. 1 IVG). During this time the IV office examines integration measures in parallel.
• •Step 4 - Pension decision or integration: After the waiting period the IV decides: integration measures, partial pension, full pension or rejection. The decision can be appealed within 30 days to the cantonal social insurance court.

Integration before pension - that is the guiding principle of the Swiss IV. Only when all medical, vocational and social measures are exhausted is a pension actually granted.

Early detection & integration - before any pension

The Swiss IV has been radically reshaped since the 5th IV revision (2008) and its successors: integration clearly comes before pension. Before a person receives a pension, the IV must exhaust every medical, vocational and social means to bring them back into the labour market. The measures are governed by Art. 7-7c IVG.

These measures usually run in parallel with the one-year waiting period. If they succeed, a pension review may even be skipped - the person returns partly or fully to work and receives time-limited support instead of a pension.

Protection periods 30/90/180 days - dismissal shield by years of service

While illness or accident lasts, Art. 336c CO applies: you may not dismiss your domestic worker during this time. A termination issued during the protection period is null and void. The duration of the protection depends directly on years of service and is precisely staggered in the law.

Important: this protection runs per illness, not per year of service. If your domestic worker was ill 180 days in year 7 and falls ill again three weeks after returning, a new 180-day protection period begins. More on a clean termination - even after long illness - is in the guide to terminating a domestic worker, which explains protection periods in detail.

When IV is granted - partial pension, full pension, consequences

If the IV office, after waiting period and integration attempt, grants a pension, the amount depends on the degree of disability. Switzerland uses a tiered system with clear thresholds - and only from 70% disability does a full pension apply.

• •Disability degree 0-39%: No pension. Integration measures or counselling possible. The person is classed as essentially employable, possibly in another profession.
• •Disability degree 40-49%: Quarter pension - 25% of the maximum IV pension. With a maximum around CHF 2,520 monthly (2026), that's about CHF 630.
• •Disability degree 50-59%: Half pension - 50% of the maximum. Usually CHF 1,260 monthly. The person can normally still work at 50%.
• •Disability degree 60-69%: Three-quarter pension - 75% of the maximum. About CHF 1,890 monthly. Residual capacity 30-40%.
• •Disability degree from 70%: Full pension - 100% of the maximum. CHF 2,520 for a single person without children. With child or survivor pensions the total can rise significantly.

With IV approval, occupational pension (BVG) kicks in alongside. The pension fund pays an additional disability benefit once disability exceeds 40% - usually a key part of total income. In private household work many workers fall below the BVG threshold (CHF 22,680 yearly, 2026), so often only the IV pension and possibly supplementary benefits remain.

Frequently asked questions