Startup

This essentially depends on the legal form.

In the case of legal entities (SA, SARL, association etc.), anyone on the company payroll is considered an employee, including the managing director. These companies are obliged to take out occupational retirement provision (pension fund) and accident insurance (LAI) for their employees.

Occupational retirement provision is mandatory for all employees who earn at least 21,330 Swiss francs.

Occupational accident cover is always compulsory as soon as employees with salaries subject to AHV contributions are employed. As soon as a salaried employee works more than eight hours per week, cover for non-occupational accidents is also compulsory.

Liability insurance is also mandatory for some activities and professions; for example, lawyers. However, there are other relevant factors.

Our SME-Check shows you which types of insurance are mandatory for your company and gives you recommendations for other important insurance types.

There is generally no compulsory insurance for a self-employed person or a sole proprietor company with no employees.

However, as soon as the company has employees, it is obliged to take out occupational retirement provision and accident insurance (LAI) for these employees (similar to other companies).

Good to know:
Even though there is no compulsory insurance for self-employed persons, the above-mentioned insurance policies are worthwhile, as they maintain the income and current living standards in the event of a short-term and long-term inability to work.

Certain collective labour agreements oblige all companies in this sector to take out insurance for daily sickness benefits.

In other cases, this insurance is strongly recommended but not mandatory. As an employer, your company is legally obliged to continue to pay the wages of employees who are sick for a certain period of time. The duration for which the salary must be paid is regulated in the Swiss Code of Obligations (OR 324a) and is highly dependant on the length of employment.

Attractiveness as an employer is another important factor:
Companies with no insurance for daily sickness benefits are likely to be less attractive for employees because of the lower social benefits.

If, as a self-employed person, you are employed by another employer for more than eight hours per week, you are insured by this employer against occupational and non-occupational accidents (LAI) and do not have to take out additional insurance for the self-employment. It is urgently recommended to do so, however, as the insurance cover provided by the employment relationship only relates to the medical expenses and the insured salary with this employer. There is no cover for the total income earned through self-employment, which can lead to considerable financial bottlenecks.

The same consideration applies to occupational retirement provision:
This is voluntary for self-employed, part-time work, but is nevertheless important because the salary from this work is otherwise not insured.

This depends on various factors, such as operational activity, canton, turnover and inventory. With the SME-Check, you can find out which types of insurance are obligatory or useful for your company by entering a few anonymous details.

Occupational retirement provision and accident insurance are mandatory for legal entities (SA, SARL and association).
Depending on the activity, inventory and canton, additional types of insurance are mandatory.

For an individual, free initial recommendation, please use the Zurich SME-Check.

All sectors are included in the SME-Check. If your sector is not explicitly mentioned, please select "other activities". The results will also be relevant for your company.