Special case
Two cantons, one household: register where you live, wage and holidays where the work is done
If your employee works in a different canton from the one you live in, both apply at once: the compensation office of your home canton collects the contributions, while the minimum wage, public holidays and notice periods come from the canton where the cleaning happens.
You register and pay contributions with the compensation office of your home canton, not where the cleaning happens (WKB guidelines margin no. 1061, Art. 119 para. 2 AHVV). Minimum wage, paid public holidays and notice periods follow the canton where the work is done.
- One registration is enough: with the office of your home canton. The family compensation fund follows the same affiliation.
- Wage floor, public holidays, notice periods: the canton where the work happens.
- What many miss: in the ordinary procedure, source tax goes to the canton where the employee lives (Art. 107 DBG).
Official sources
Which canton applies? The 10-second check
Pick residence and place of work - you'll see instantly which fund and which minimum wage apply.
The rule: AHV/IV/EO, ALV and family allowances follow the employer's residence; NAV and cantonal minimum wages follow where the work is performed.
Three places, three rules
Your domicile: the compensation office
For household staff the competent office is, as a rule, the one of the canton where you, the employer, live (guidelines on fund affiliation, WKB margin no. 1061). If you already settle with another office, for example as a self-employed person, you may register your household employee there too (Art. 119 para. 2 AHVV). The FAK contribution rate follows the same affiliation (Art. 12 FamZG).
The place of work: wage and working conditions
The cantonal standard employment contract (NAV) for household work applies to work performed in that canton. It sets working and rest hours, public holidays, probation and notice periods. A cantonal minimum wage (GE, NE, TI, BS; JU under 5 h/week) also applies where the work is done. If your employee cleans your holiday home in Ticino, the Ticino CNL governs those hours, even if you live and settle in Zurich.
Where the employee lives: source tax
In the simplified procedure the compensation office deducts a flat 5 %, so no canton question arises. In the ordinary procedure the tariff and tax office are those of the canton where the employee lives when the wage is paid (Art. 107 DBG), so as a rule neither yours nor the place of work. More in our source tax guide.
Federal law, the same everywhere: AHV rates, accident insurance, the simplified procedure.
When do they diverge?
For most households never: people live and have the cleaning done in the same place. They diverge in four situations:
- You have a second home or a holiday house in another canton and have it cleaned there.
- Your employee looks after your parents' flat or a rented-out flat in another canton.
- You moved, but the employment continues at the old place.
- You live right by a cantonal border and the place of work is on the other side.
What to do in practice
Register with the compensation office of your home canton, only there, not twice.
Take the minimum wage, public holidays and notice period from the canton of the place of work and write the place of work into the written employment contract.
If she regularly works in two cantons, each place of work has its own NAV. If the hours cannot be separated cleanly, use whichever terms are more favourable to the employee.
The federal NAV for household work and its minimum wages applies throughout Switzerland except Geneva, and only from an average of 5 hours per week with the same employer.
The example that makes it visible: Ticino
The Ticino CNL for household staff grants nine paid public holidays in Art. 18. The cantonal labour inspectorate converts this into a supplement of 3.6 % on the base wage for hourly-paid employees. Under federal law only 1 August would be paid, i.e. 0.4 %. If you live in Zurich and have cleaning done in Ticino, you settle with the SVA Zurich and still owe the Ticino public holidays.
And accident insurance?
It is federal law and has no cantonal competence. Occupational accidents must be insured from the first hour, non-occupational accidents from 8 hours per week with the same employer. All 26 compensation offices offer UVG cover through the simplified procedure (VAVplus) with the registration, but only if you tick it.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to register in both cantons?
No. One employment, one compensation office: that of your home canton. A second registration at the place of work would be wrong and leads to double contribution claims.
I have two homes. Which one counts as my domicile?
The place where you live with the intention of staying permanently (Art. 13 ATSG, Art. 23 ZGB), usually where you are registered and pay tax. The second home does not change the compensation office. It only decides which NAV and which minimum wage apply to the hours worked there.
Does only the canton count, or the city too?
For the minimum wage, the municipality of the place of work counts too: a city minimum wage applies only to work in that city, not in the whole canton. In the city of Lucerne a minimum wage of CHF 22.75 per hour has applied since 1 January 2026. The cities of Zurich (CHF 23.90) and Winterthur (CHF 23.00) have adopted one, but it is not yet in force. Until then the NAV applies there as in the rest of the canton: CHF 20.35 per hour for employees without training.
Which FAK rate applies when the cantons diverge?
That of your home canton, because the family compensation fund follows the same affiliation as the AHV (Art. 12 FamZG). The family allowances themselves depend on the employee's situation.
I moved. What happens to the ongoing employment?
Competence moves with your domicile to the compensation office of the new canton. Report the change with the date to both offices so the annual statement is split cleanly. If the place of work stays the same, the NAV does not change.
And if the employee lives abroad?
Then, in the ordinary procedure, source tax is handled by the canton where you, the employer, live (Art. 107 para. 1 let. b DBG). Cross-border commuters are subject to special rules depending on the country. For the NAV and the minimum wage, the place of work still decides.
How do I know which cantonal NAV applies?
Every canton publishes its NAV for household work in the cantonal law collection; the cantonal labour inspectorate gives information. The federal NAV only sets minimum wages, everything else comes from the cantonal one.
Sources
Competent compensation office
Guidelines on fund affiliation of contributors (WKB), margin no. 1061: for household staff the competent office is, as a rule, that of the employer's canton of domicile; an employer who already settles with another office may settle there (Art. 119 para. 2 AHVV). FAK affiliation follows Art. 12 FamZG.
Ticino public holidays
CNL per il personale domestico, Art. 18 (nine public holidays), and the Guida applicazione CNL of the Ufficio dell'ispettorato del lavoro, which derives 3.6 % on the hourly wage from it. Under Art. 1 the CNL applies unless a written agreement departs from it.
Source tax
Art. 107 para. 1 DBG: the competent canton is the one where the employee is domiciled or resident when the wage falls due. In the simplified procedure the flat rate of 5 % applies (Art. 37a DBG). If she lives abroad, the employer's canton is competent (Art. 107 para. 1 let. b DBG).
Clino asks for domicile and place of work separately
Registration with the office of your home canton, wage floor and public holidays from the canton where the work is done. CHF 19.90 a month, 30 days free.
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Salvador Jovells, founder of Clino