Thalent will be at Salon RH the 11th and 12th of October in Beaulieu, Lausanne at stand E.05 in Hall 36. Come and join us and ask all your questions!
Thalent.com, based in Geneva, Switzerland, has been offering freelance administration solutions for over 20 years.
Our solutions are aimed at:
Freelance consultants
Swiss or foreign companies without a branch in Switzerland
HR managers, HR departments
Some of our strengths:
We work in multiple currencies: EUR, CHF, GPB, USD
National and international contracts
A company run by consultants
Premium service
Meet our team at stand E.05 in Hall 36 and take the opportunity to ask any questions you may have.
You can also make an appointment in advance with one of our advisers on our website or call us directly on +41 22 341 24 28.
Meet-up : We are organising two meet-ups on our stand: “Digital but human”.
With the help of use cases we will show how we offer our customers and consultants “Lean and Digital” processes without them ever losing direct contact with our HR experts.
Besure to regularly check our homepage and follow us on our social networks for more information regarding payrolling and becoming an independent consultant. If you like our posts we would be thankful if you could give us a like onLinkedinor Facebook!
In line with many countries, Switzerland operates a system of family allowances intended to partially offset the costs that parents incur in supporting their children. They include child and education allowances, as well as birth and adoption allowances introduced by individual cantons.
The notion that the state could and should help families raise and educate their children dates to the early 20th century, but we can find that such assistance began even in the 19th century in some European countries as a way to alleviate childhood poverty. Since their introduction, family allowance payments have undergone various changes and reforms in different countries, including changes to eligibility criteria, the level of payments, and the conditions attached to receiving them. These allowances still represent an essential means of backing up families and ensuring the well-being of children in numerous countries worldwide.
In Switzerland, debates regarding family protection support and allowances started around 1945, yet the implementation of such measures was a long process. Maternity insurance, for example, was not introduced until 2004.
How much is the allowance?
The Federal Law on Family Allowances (FamZG), or LaFAM in French-speaking Switzerland, stipulates the following allowances per child and month to be paid in all cantons:
A child allowance of at least 200 Swiss francs for children up to 16 years of age or until the entitlement to education allowance arises. The amount varies by canton, and by the number of children in the household.
An education allowance of a minimum of 250 Swiss francs for young people who are undergoing post-compulsory education, from the age of 15 at the earliest, up to the age of 25. The amount varies by canton and each defines what is intended by the education to be supported.
A birth and adoption allowance is paid to help with costs of children born or adopted in Switzerland. The sum varies by cantons, some of which do not pay this sum.
Payment:
Child benefits are paid monthly to the parent or legal guardian by their employer, at the same time as their salary. Eligible families can claim a supplemental payment at the birth of their 3rd child and any subsequent children.
Self-employed individuals in Switzerland are required to adhere to the FamZG, entitling them to benefits while also obliging them to contribute financially. These individuals must be affiliated with a family compensation office in the canton where their business is located, and it is this entity that pays the allowance.
Who is eligible?
Family allowance is paid to parents or legal guardians who reside in Switzerland and have at least one child under the age of 16. Some cantons may have different age limits or additional eligibility criteria
Employees and self-employed individuals who do not work in agriculture (the latter category of workers benefit from a system governed at federal level).
Unemployed people or people with a low income are also entitled to the allowance
Cross-border (frontalier) workers: this category of workers is entitled to family allowances in Switzerland. However, if the frontalier’s spouse works in the border country, e.g. France, and their children reside there, then the country of residence of the cross-border worker, i.e. France, will be responsible for the payment of the family allowances. Swiss allowances will no longer be paid in this case, except as a differential supplement if the Swiss allowance amount is higher than the French allowance
Important to know:
Funding: Child benefits are funded by the cantons and are not means-tested. All eligible families receive the same amount regardless of their income level.
Tax implications: benefit payments count towards an individual’s taxable income and need to be declared as such.
Application process: To receive family allowance benefits, parents or legal guardians must apply through their employer or appropriate cantonal office. The application process requires proof of residency, income, and family composition.
Freelancers and consultants: if you are working through a salary portal company such as The Business Harbour, you will be able to request and receive family allowances in the same way as a full-time employee. The salary portal handles the administration for you and pays the benefit amount with your salary.
Whilst subject to different claiming and eligibility criteria, Switzerland’s cantons offer additional financial aid programs for education, such as grants and scholarships and financial support to companies that hire apprentices, which in turn helps applicants become skilled workers.
Want to know more?
the Federal Social Insurance Office FSIO, OFAS is in charge of all social welfare policies in Switzerland :
The AVS website covers all aspects of the allowance, with comparisons between cantons and case examples to help understand what you may be able to claim and in which circumstances. :
Besure to regularly check our homepage and follow us on our social networks for more information regarding payrolling and becoming a freelance consultant. If you like our posts we would be thankful if you could give us a like onLinkedInor Facebook!
International organisations, government agencies, or companies regularly contact us when they are in the process of hiring several people for task forces or projects and seeking consultants or freelancers.
Task Forces, originally created by the United States Navy, are now used by many state and non-governmental organisations, associations and companies to carry out specific temporary ad-hoc assignments.
Employing external consultants, including both experts in their fields and junior staff on fixed-term assignments, is effective for this type of project.
Characteristics of a Task Force
Task Force working groups can be created in various situations to implement different strategies, but often in the case of
Large projects
High complexity projects
Projects involving a significant amount of external resources
As a general rule:
There is a chief project manager who has responsibility for the project
The project becomes an independent structure
Each participant works full time on the project
The project is concise, with a specific number of members and consultants
The group is agile, task-oriented, responsive and productive
The group brings together talents from different backgrounds, departments, or sectors to bring innovation, better solutions but also to remove risks and poor results
The group wants to accomplish a specific task in a specific time frame
The participants are transferred from their original department or assignment or recruited ad hoc for the project under the guidance of the project leader. There may be a mix of people from within the organisation and with external people
External consultants are usually highly qualified and experts in their field
Junior consultants and even students on secondment may also be used
What types of organisations and departments use Task Forces?
In a state organisation, all departments and adjacent organisations can be involved:
Health, sports, scientific research
Interior, economy, finance, international cooperation
Human resources, training, education
Agriculture, environment, spatial planning
Security, territorial protection, police
Education, universities
Universities, research institutes
All international governmental and non-governmental organisations, such as the UN, regularly use task forces:
Economic Commission for Europe
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
WHO (World Health Organisation)
UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund)
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees)
UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization)
FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations)
UNDP (United Nations Development Programme)
UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme)
In a company, the departments that may be involved are:
Human Resources
Marketing
Sales
Public relations
Accounting, finance
Legal department
Research & Development
Manufacturing, fabrication
Quality control
IT
Examples of Task Forces created for a state, an international organisation or a company
State, State Council, Department of Economics
Issue: Like other professional organizations, a state council or canton aims to boost employment in particular sectors and employee categories by assisting companies in transforming their business models.
Solution: It sets up a dedicated task force to carry out this task. It must present to the state
a whole range of analyses and measures, but also develop training.
Solution: The task force is made up of representatives from various government departments, representatives of employers’ associations and trade unions, as well as freelance consultants who are experts in their fields and who have been commissioned to advise on specific elements of the state council’s mission.
International Health Organisation
Issue: A global international organisation is tasked by EU and EFTA countries with coordinating a European environment-related health process. Progress towards the goal is steered by a series of conferences held every 5 years.
A new priority has arisen in the area of nuclear waste storage related to electricity generation.
Solution: The Task Force is composed of officials from WHO states, intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations (IGOs/NGOs) as well as scientific experts from several countries who will work for the Task Force on a fee-for-service basis as scientific consultants.
Human ressources
Issue: The human resources department is responsible for the general function of recruiting new staff. But the organisation needs a specific study: “Hiring needs and challenges for the next decade”.
Solution: It decided to set up a task force to prepare this specific report, which included people from various internal departments but also external consultants specialising in freelance work with a mandate for the duration of the project.
Crisis management: product safety, product recalls, public relations
Issue: A well-known food company is confronted with a food poisoning incident, such as salmonella or E. coli. This is a major crisis because it can lead to a drop in sales and legal action.
Solution: The CEO of the company orders a recall of all contaminated products and sets up a task force to execute the recall within 48 hours. Internal scientists are assigned to investigate the source of the poisoning.
External PR and communications consultants are commissioned to advise and manage the company’s representatives and also to set up a dedicated website.
Do you need to hire consultants with different levels of expertise for a Task Force?
You can assign several people from your organisation to work exclusively on the project but also work with external consultants on a freelance basis through Thalent.
Organisations and companies can benefit from the following special features and advantages:
You can very quickly start working with the consultants of your choice: our team is very reactive
We have standard pre-established contracts for a wide range of situations between organisations and Thalent and between consultants and an organisation
Freelance consultants can be hired as part of the Task Force for short or medium term assignments or even on a per job basis
We take care of payroll and personnel management so that you can focus on other important tasks
You reduce the tax costs of your task force operation
The freelance consultant is employed by Thalent and performs a service for you, he or she does not have the status of a freelancer and you do not need to hire them
The consultant does not need to have a self-employed status
Thalent sends an invoice at the end of each month for the services performed by the consultant, the expert, which you pay as you would for any other supplier
Consultants can work with hourly, daily, weekly or monthly rates
We pay all social charges, taxes, insurance and take care of work permits if necessary
Besure to regularly check our homepage and follow us on our social networks for more information regarding payrolling and becoming a freelance consultant. If you like our posts we would be thankful if you could give us a like onLinkedinor Facebook!
Do any of the following scenarios correspond to your situation?
You are seeking to work as a consultant for an NGO or a non-profit organisation:
You are a Swiss, EU or EFTA citizen, or a citizen of another country with a work permit for Switzerland
You can have the possibility to access a work permit in Switzerland for other reasons
You already have or could have access to a Ci permit because you live with a holder of a FDFA legitimation card
You are an NGO or a non-profit organisation looking to work with freelance consultants
Then you can use our payroll services to carry out the mandate.
Non-governmental and non-profit organisations in Switzerland
There are many non-governmental and non-profit organisations in Switzerland.
Many international or foreign NGOs are also located here because of the presence of the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva.
The most important of these are the United Nations (UN), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the World Health Organisation (WHO), the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and many other charitable, cultural and educational organisations.
In addition there are many associations and foundations in Switzerland. The exat number is not known as there is no legal obligation in Switzerland to register a non-profit organisation. They enjoy a high level of credibility.
These organisations play an important role in the promotion of:
Environmental preservation and sustainable development
Consultant profiles:
Non-governmental and non-profit organisations in Switzerland regularly recruit freelance consultants and they are in demand of many types of roles, including :
Organisational Development Consultant
Programme evaluation consultant
Project Management Consultant
Talent acquisition consultant
Communication and marketing consultant
Financial Management Consultant
Recruitment and Talent Management Consultant
HR systems and processes consultant
HR and Governance Consultant
Training and Development Consultant
Diversity, equity and inclusion consultant
NGOs, Foundations, Associations, some figures
In Switzerland there are 45 international organisations, 42 of which are located in the lake Léman area and 39 in the Canton of Geneva. There are also 314 international non-governmental organisations (INGOs), of which 276 are in Geneva. Geneva also has 750 non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
More than 30 international sports federations have their headquarters in the canton of Vaud.
In Switzerland as a whole, there are more than 12,000 foundations and many more associations.
As of March 2022, 28,740 people work in the canton of Geneva’s 39 international organisations. Taking into account the 4,183 people employed in the permanent missions accredited to the UN or other international organisations and the consulates, the international public sector numbers 32,923 people.
More than 4,700 visits per year by heads of state and government, ministers and other dignitaries
More than 4,000 conferences per year, organised in person, by teleconference or in hybrid mode and attended by approximately 366,000 delegates from all over the world
Advantages for NGO or non-profit organisations of using a payroll company like Thalent
Organisations can face multiple obstacles when seeking to work with consultants. The most important of these are usually legal issues relating to contracts, work permits and even taxation.
The advantages for organisations:
Quick start without the need for a branch office: by working with a payrolling company like ours an NGO can hire consultants based in Switzerland or in border areas within 48-72 hours
Experts in payrolling, off payroll work for NGOs: you will be advised by our experts who have been working for many years with non-governmental, international and non-profit organisations
International contracts: we can work and set up all types of contracts between you and us for your consultants: mandates, task forces, fixed or indefinite missions, international mandates. All social charges and taxes are paid
Compliant with Swiss law: our contracts comply with Swiss law and guarantee you complete legality throughout their duration. We take care of the relations with the tax authorities or the population office for work permits
Offices in Geneva and Zurich: our offices are located in Geneva, headquarters of many international organisations, but also in Zurich. We also offer coworking and office sharing
Advantages for consultants of working for an NGO using our payroll solutions
Consultants who wish to work with an NGO, INGO, association or foundation without being employed by them can do so via our payroll company.
The advantages for consultants:
You work for the organisation in a perfectly legal and autonomous manner
You become an employee of Thalent andbenefit from full social security coverage:
Elisabeth is a freelance communications consultant with a passion for independent and international media.
She is single, Canadian, with a C permit and grew up in Geneva, Switzerland. She is fluent in French, English and Spanish, and studied Italian for a few years.
After graduating from university with a degree in communication and international relations, Elizabeth started working for an NGO that supported independent media in developing countries. She has worked on many exciting projects that have contributed to strengthening press freedom and democracy.
Because of her experience and expertise in the field of international communication, Elizabeth was recruited to work as a freelance consultant for a Geneva-based NGO that supports social justice in African countries. In this role, she works with journalists, media organisations and NGOs around the world to promote press freedom and access to information.
As a single woman in her thirties with no children, Elizabeth is, thanks to payrolling, able to focus completely on her mission whilst managing her time flexibly. She travels for her work and outside of it enjoys exploring new places, discovering new cultures and meeting people involved in the press. She also enjoys spending time with friends and family, and is very active in her local community.
Salah, organisational development consultant
Salah is an organisational development consultant working as a freelance consultant for a large UN agency.
Moroccan-Swiss, Salah grew up in Switzerland. He studied political science and business management at university in Paris and then started his career in the international field.
Salah worked for many years for a company specialising in financial services, before joining a UN agency as an organisational development consultant. In this role, he helps organisations to improve their effectiveness, sustainability and social impact.
He is married and has two children. His family is very important to him and he spends a lot of his free time with them. Thanks to his parents he has been able to keep a strong link with his culture and roots.
As a Moroccan-Swiss, Salah is passionate about diversity and inclusion issues and works actively to promote these values within the organisation he works for. He is proud of his multicultural identity and feels that this is an asset in his work as an organisational development consultant.
Salah is an experienced and respected professional in his field. He chose to become a consultant four years ago in order to be able to work on a variety of projects and take on new challenges. He is convinced that organisational development is a key tool for building a more just and sustainable world.
Contact us for a free consultation!
Are you a consultant who wants to work with a non-governmental organisation (NGO) or a non-profit organisation, or such an organisation that wants to work with a freelance consultant?
Besure to regularly check our homepage and follow us on our social networks for more information regarding payrolling and becoming an independent consultant. If you like our posts we would be thankful if you could give us a like onLinkedinor Facebook!
On behalf of the entire Thalent team, we wish you and your loved ones a happy holiday season and much success for the year 2023.
We thank you for your trust and loyalty and we look forward to working with you in 2023.
We wish you all the best
The Thalent.com team
Besure to regularly check our homepage and follow us on our social networks for more information regarding payrolling and becoming an independent consultant. If you like our posts we would be thankful if you could give us a like on Linkedinor Facebook!
Conference on Thursday 06.10 from 9h20 to 9h50 am: Off-Payroll Working and the future of work in a changing world
Presented in French by Michael Bender and Wanda Swetzer Bender, Managing Partners of Thalent Don’t miss this conference which addresses the need for new contract models for the increasingly popular part-time jobs. Increasingly, companies need to find external recruitment solutions for flexible and hybrid working environments.
During the conference, use cases will be discussed on how our customers and consultants benefit from our solutions:
Complex international and multi-currency situations
Several parallel missions in Switzerland and abroad on a digital platform
Advice for the « Future of Work » and « Smart Office »
“Organisational resilience through professional risk management and business continuity”
Continuation of the conference with Jérémie Agboklu, Thalent consultant and the solution Siris+
In the second part of the conference, Jérémie Agboklu, Quality Safety Environment & IT Senior Consultant, will explain how he works with Thalent SA and describe the QSE Software service with the solution Siris+ that digitalises quality, safety and environment in your organisation.
Besure to regularly check our homepage and follow us on our social networks for more information regarding payrolling and becoming an independent consultant. If you like our posts we would be thankful if you could give us a like onLinkedinor Facebook!
To understand in which economic sectors and for which professions the need for qualified personnel is increasing, we can rely on several reliable sources.
SECO’s monthly labour market report
SECO’s monthly labour market report is a very good indicator of the demand for qualified personnel in the various sectors of the economy.
For the year 2021, the national unemployment rate, seasonally adjusted, has decreased from 3.3% to 2.4%.
If we compare December 2021 and December 2020, it fell by 25.6%. In the same period, the number of unemployed persons aged 50-64 fell by 17.1% to 7’776 and the number of advertised vacancies rose by 88.4% to 47’531, of which 33’503 are subject to the obligation to advertise.
The instrument of compensation for reduced working hours (RHT) has done much to mitigate the negative effects of the crisis on companies and workers, but hiring intentions are at a historically high level for this first quarter of 2022.
According to the SECO report, between December 2021 and December 2020, the sectors that saw the largest absolute positive changes excluding hotels, restaurants, trade and maintenance or repair of motor vehicles are:
These are economic sectors for which companies will need employees but also freelance consultants.
Manpower’s Employment Outlook Survey
A very good indicator of the demand for qualified personnel is also the Swiss Employment Outlook Survey published by Manpower.
According to the latest survey, employers expect to increase their headcount in the first quarter of 2022 with net employment hires of +30%.
Hiring intentions are strong across the country, with Central Switzerland reporting that 50% of employers surveyed will hire, Mittelland 33%, Eastern Switzerland 38%, Zurich 33% and the Lake Geneva region 28%.
The growth sectors with the highest demand for qualified personnel are:
IT
Technology
Telecommunications
Computer Sciences
Communications and Media
Education, Health, Social and Government
Industry
Non-profit organisations
The Swiss Skills Shortage Index of the University of Zürich
According to the University of Zürich, the shortage of qualified personnel has increased significantly in the year 2021. The reason for this is the increase in the supply of employment contracts and the fall in the unemployment rate. The easing of the pressure on the skilled labour shortage due to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 is almost not felt anymore.
The following occupations are particularly affected:
Engineering
IT and technology
Human medicine
Pharmacy
Engineering, IT, Information, Communication, Computing, Technology: these sectors need qualified Consultants
Here are some more details and figures on these sectors which are the most promising and which lend themselves well to off-payroll working, payrolling in Switzerland.
According to the latest Unesco report, “Engineering for Sustainable Development”, Switzerland, which is already facing a shortage of engineers, will see this shortage increase. According to the report, there will be a shortage of at least 25’000 engineers in Switzerland in the upcoming years in this field.
Following several EPFL studies, there is a strong demand for engineers in the following fields:
Cybersecurity
Data science
Digitalisation, digital transformation
Artificial intelligence
Cryptocurrencies
Digitalisation of construction (BIM)
According to the ICT journal, ICT for information and communication technologies, the IT market, which has already rebounded in 2021, stimulated by strong trends and those related to the pandemic, will continue to grow.
Switzerland will need some 117’900 additional ICT specialists by 2028. New graduates and foreign skilled personnel will not be enough to fill the gap and if training capacities are not increased, there will be a shortfall of 35’800 professionals.
Online businesses also need staff and consultants with demand increasing by 55% in 2020 and online logistics and online marketing roles being the most sought after.
A Capgemini study on IT budgets in 2022 for the DACH region (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) confirms that most companies and administrations are expected to invest a larger share of their IT budget in systems modernisation, while the share of spending on maintenance is decreasing.
The opportunity of off-payroll working, working with freelance consultants using our Umbrella Company
Payrolling, off-payroll working allows a company to work with people without having to formally recruit them. It allows consultants to find and work on mandates, while receiving a salary and being assured that all social charges, insurance and insurance cover is paid.
For the company seeking to work with one or more consultants for a short or medium term mission, payrolling allows:
Avoid hiring permanent staff by not tapping in the payroll budget
To establish contracts with highly qualified consultants
Free yourself from the tasks of managing salaries and personnel
Work with consultants based in Switzerland or across the border
Reduce the tax costs of your operations
The consultant is hired by Thalent who sends an invoice at the end of each month for the services provided, which you pay as you would when paying any other service company or supplier.
By using external service providers on a freelance basis, your company avoids numerous restrictive and time-consuming administrative procedures and can optimise its project outsourcing strategy.
The opportunity of payrolling, off-payroll working, for the Consultant
Thalent SA establishes, takes charge of, manages or offers :
A salaried employment contract (fixed-term, open-ended or hourly)
Contract with your client(s)
Invoicing, reminders, VAT management
Reimbursement of travel and related expenses
Free advice for customer contracts
Relations with the tax administration, the Cantonal Office of Population and Migration (OCPM) which also gives out the work permits in Switzerland
Paid holidays, the payment of the withholding tax
Full social security cover with a choice of options for the LPP pension fund, 2nd pillar :
AHV: Old-age and survivors’ insurance
AI: Disability insurance and income compensation benefits
AAP: Occupational Accident Insurance with SUVA and supplementary insurance
AANP: Non-occupational accident insurance at SUVA and supplementary insurance
RC: Adapted professional liability insurance
MUV/AMat/MUV: Maternity allowance
ALV, AC, ALV:Unemployment Insurance
OP/LPP/BVG: Pillar 2 pension fund with a full choice of options among the plans available from the CIEPP Fund of the Fédération des Entreprises Romandes (FER)
You already have, or would like to have, or are about to sign a contract with a client? Then contact us now for more information and execute the mandate as a Freelance Consultant at Thalent.com.
Besure to regularly check our homepage and follow us on our social networks for more information regarding payrolling and becoming a freelance consultant. If you like our posts we would be thankful if you could give us a like onLinkedinor Facebook!
Who can benefit from payrolling, off- payroll working in Switzerland?
You are an individual or a consultant living in a country bordering France, Germany, Italy, Austria or any other EU/EFTA state:
Payrolling, off payroll working with the Swiss cross-border commuter status is the ideal solution to develop your activity, if you are in the following situations:
You have proposals for mandates in Switzerland or would like to find clients there to develop your business while being or becoming a Swiss border worker
You have already obtained a consulting mandate, a contract as a consultant
You wish to evaluate a business creation project, a start-up projetc before creating your own entity
You are prepared to return home at least once a week
You are a company based in Switzerland or abroad and you want to develop your business or engage freelance
Consultants:
For a company in Switzerland or abroad, to use a payroll or umbrella company is the ideal solution to get people with Swiss cross-border commuter status to work on a mandate or a mission they have just obtained or to develop their business quickly, without having to hire them themselves.
What is payrolling, also called off-payroll working or “wage portage” in a few words?
Payrolling is a hybrid form of work.
It allows an individual to carry out a mandate for a company in an autonomous way while benefiting from the social coverage provided by the status of employee.
Thalent SA signs a service contract with the client company that needs to work with the individual also called the consultant, and with the latter a Swiss employment contract.
At the end of each month, Thalent invoices the client company and pays a salary to the individual minus commission and employer and employee obligatory social charges.
As a consultant with Swiss cross-border commuter status working for one or more clients, the individual benefits from the full social security coverage available to all employees in Switzerland, including unemployment and full accident insurance to prevent any risks associated with business travel.
From a commercial point of view, they manage and prospect their clients in Switzerland themselves. They negotiate alone or with the help of Thalent their rates and the terms of the mandate with the client company.
On the contractual level, the person is autonomous. They manage and prospect their clients in Switzerland theömselves. They negotiate alone or with the help of Thalent their rates and the terms of the mandate with the client company.
Swiss cross-border commuter work permits, Swiss employment contracts, social security coverage and other administrative services
Thalent.com takes care of the following tasks:
Arrangements for a Swiss cross-border commuter work permit G
Employee working contract (definite, non definite period or hourly contract)
Drawing up of service contract with the client company
Invoicing, management of collections or reminders
Managing VAT, if you are concerned
Management and payment of employer and employee social security contributions and all accident insurance
Reimbursement of travel and other business expenses
Tax optimisation and advice
The status of cross-border commuters has changed
EU/EFTA nationals are no longer subject to border zones. They can live in any EU/EFTA state and work anywhere in Switzerland.
Citizens who live in an EU/EFTA country and work in Switzerland (employees or self-employed persons with their company headquarters in Switzerland) are considered to be border residents. The only rule is that these workers are required to return to their main residence (abroad) at least once a week.
The largest number, 90’000 people, work in the Canton of Geneva.
Residence:
Most of them come from neighbouring countries and work in a neighbouring canton, in the border regions where they make up a significant proportion of the workforce.
More than half of them live in France (55%), almost a quarter in Italy (23%) and almost a fifth in Germany (18%). Less than 3% of cross-border commuters come to work in Switzerland from Austria or Liechtenstein, while those from other countries accounted for 0.7% of the employed population.
% of active, working population:
Cross-border commuters account for 6.7% of the employed population, and their share of total employment was 29% in the canton of Ticino and 24% in the canton of Geneva. The proportion of cross-border commuters is also high in the cantons of Jura (19%), Basel-Stadt (18%), Basel-Land (14%) and Neuchâtel (12%).
Occupation of cross-border commuters by sector:
The majority of cross-border commuters, like the resident workforce, work in the service sector. 77% of the resident workforce and 67% of cross-border commuters work in the services sector.
Many consultants using off-payroll working are Swiss cross-border commuters
Would you like to become a Swiss cross-border payrolling consultant or are you a company that needs to hire external consultants using our umbrella company?
Besure to regularly check our homepage and follow us on our social networks for more information regarding payrolling and becoming a freelance consultant. If you like our posts we would be thankful if you could give us a like on Linkedinor Facebook!
Develop the activity of your foreign company in Switzerland
A certain number of American, French, English, Chinese or even companies from other countries aim to develop their activity in Europe or in Switzerland in order to expand their market. However, many of these companies do not yet have a base in Europe or Switzerland.
Switzerland for information technology, life sciences or medtech
Switzerland attracts many foreign companies in the fields of information and communication technologies, life sciences or medtech for image reasons.
According to the Conference of Cantonal Heads of Economic Affairs (CDEP), 220 foreign companies have chosen to establish themselves in Switzerland in 2020. The majority of the companies concerned come from France, the United States and China.
Setting up a company involves risks and takes time
Setting up a company such as a Joint stock company or a Limited liability company involves significant costs. There are the costs of setting up the company, the notary’s fees, the lawyer’s fees, the costs of registering patents, the costs of renting business premises, and all the other administrative costs. It is therefore a significant financial risk and the set-up process takes some time.
Use Thalent for the work with your specialists team or development officer
Foreign companies usually have identified competent people they would like to work with in their network or among specialists in order to develop their business.These people have European or Swiss nationality, live in Switzerland or in the neighbouring area or can come and live there.
Obligations for foreign companies from America, France, UK or China
These foreign companies, not having a company yet, are obliged to employ these people through another European or Swiss company.
You are such a foreign company. Why not call on us for your start-up in Europe or Switzerland?
Fast service set-up
Setting up the service is very quick and simple for Thalent: the person chosen by the company must be Swiss or of European nationality and must be domiciled in Switzerland or in the neighbouring regions. Thalent then makes a proposal for a permanent employment contract. Thalent then also signs a service contract with the foreign company.
To increase the credibility of this person, he or she can work with the contact details of Thalent.com This is left to the foreign company’s choice.
Compliance with the law
By proceeding in this way, the foreign company, whether American, French, English or Chinese, is certain to have an employee in full compliance with Swiss law.
From an administrative point of view, it is also extremely simple because Thalent sends an invoice to the foreign company.
The consultant then receives a salary at the end of each month which includes all social charges and covers also all compulsory insurances, such as accident insurance for example.
Many companies have used our service
We have set up this service for a large number of companies. When their business has developed effectively, the company may decide to set up a branch office and thanks to our network, Thalent can help the company with all the formalities.
The advantages in brief:
We hire your employee(s) for the Swiss market with a Swiss permanent employment contract
We take care of the work permit formalities if necessary
The employee works for your company
At the end of the month we send you an invoice
The employee receives a salary like any other employee
Besure to regularly check our homepage and follow us on our social networks for more information regarding payrolling and becoming an freelance consultant. If you like our posts we would be thankful if you could give us a like on Linkedinor Facebook!
Payrolling or the status of an Independent/Self-Employed. What is better and why?
When someone chooses to become self-employed, the question of the legal status arises as one has to start invoicing one or more clients. Is it better to become self-employed or to work using a payroll or umbrella company?
In order to choose between payrolling and self-employed status, it is essential to be familiar with the specific characteristics of both statuses. In this article we summarise their main characteristics and provide an advanced comparison table which is also available in .pdf.
1. Independent or self-employed status in Switzerland
In Switzerland a person is obliged to have his status recognised by the cantonal compensation office.
The compensation office checks whether the status of self-employed person can be granted according to the criteria of the Federal Law on Old Age and Survivors’ Insurance (OASI), the directives of the Federal Social Insurance Office (FSIO) and the case law of the Federal Court (FC).
The particularities and difficulties are as follows:
To obtain the status, you have to provide a whole set of documents and prove that you have at least 3 clients
One of the particularities in Switzerland is that you must have already started your activity
The process takes several weeks and the status is not necessarily granted
You cannot be insured for unemployment
If you are granted the status, you have to contract by yourself:
An accident insurance covering occupational and non-occupational accidents and occupational diseases
A loss of earnings insurance which allows you to receive your salary in the event of illness
A professional liability insurance, which covers material and physical damage caused to third parties in the course of professional activity
Depending on the activity carried out, some insurance policies are compulsory (civil liability, fire insurance), others optional (legal protection, theft, etc.)
You can use your 2nd pillar and withdraw it, but you must withdraw it in its entirety. If you are married, your spouse must approve the withdrawal
You must keep accounts for the annual tax return and are subject to VAT on sales over CHF 100,000
2. Payrolling over an umbrella company in Switzerland
The particularities and advantages are as follows:
Payrolling involves a three-way contractual relationship:
You, the Consultant
Your client company
The payroll or umbrella company, such as Thalent SA
2 contracts are established:
A permanent employment contract between you, the employee and the payroll company
A service contract between the client company and the payroll company
The big advantage of Thalent is that you receive a permanent contract, as opposed to other companies that establish payrolling contracts. Contact us to find out more.
You are fully covered by social security: unemployment, AVS pension, 2nd pillar LPP
All accident insurance, maternity allowance are included
You benefit from paid holidays
You can start your activity directly if you have only one client, for example, once you have signed the 2 contracts mentioned above
You do not have to worry about administrative tasks such as invoicing, reminders, work permits
You don’t have to do any accounting
A company like Thalent will help you to optimise your tax returns
The payroll company charges you of course a fee for these services
Our opinion and our comparison table
If you don’t know how to go about it and how the independent status works, payrolling is undoubtedly the most effective solution. Moreover, you can start directly and if you work with Thalent without any start-up costs.
In our opinion, it is better to start your activity as an independent, self-employed only once you have the necessary know-how and number of clients, to become so.
The fact that you cannot benefit from unemployment insurance will not change if you are self employed in Switzerland.
Our experience :
At Thalent some of our consultants who started out as payroll Consultants have gone on to become self-employed or have set up a company, only to return later again to payrolling because it was not worth it for them. It all depends on your situation, your needs, the way you work, the type and number of your clients and whether you want to take care of the administration or not.
Still want to become an independent ?
In this case, we recommend our partner karpeo.ch and their chartered accountants who can help you with the administrative procedures to obtain your self-employed status.
Besure to regularly check our homepage and follow us on our social networks for more information regarding payrolling and becoming a freelance consultant. If you like our posts we would be thankful if you could give us a like on Linkedinor Facebook!
1. Pierre, you are a multi-entrepreneur and President of the Foundation Board of the Fondation Genevoise pour l’Innovation Technologique – Fongit which is Switzerland’s premier innovation incubator supporting innovative tech ventures in Geneva. Can you tell us a bit more about your career path?
I am married, with 4 children. I hold an engineering degree from the EPFL, have additional training in finance and also hold an MBA.
I worked in industrial companies such as Sécheron-ABB, LEME and an international organisation. Then I was appointed director of Fongit and created the company Thalent.com in 2001. Thalent is therefore 20 years old in 2021.
The company was created to respond to the demand of experienced consultants who had mandates but no company capable of managing the administrative part of the work, like client offers, client invoicing, payment of salaries and social charges.
2. Is payrolling aimed at senior executives?
We have to admit that most of our consultants are experienced people with the ability to execute mandates and who are considered by clients as experts.
It is true that they are often seniors, but we also have very competent people in their thirties.
3. Payrolling is a subject that is being talked about a lot at the moment. Can you tell us a little more about it in relation to the services of your company Thalent SA?
The consultant can concentrate on his job, which is to deliver high added value services. Thalent takes care of the administrative and invoicing part and makes sure that the consultant can work in an environment that complies with the legal framework concerning employment.
4. Your company also aims to help firms abroad looking to expand into Switzerland, how is this happening?
We would be more than happy to do so. Often companies want to have a bridgehead in Switzerland or in Europe. Switzerland is a privileged place, especially Geneva and our company is located a few minutes from the Geneva airport. This makes it very easy to get to.
Often we employ a person, domiciled in Switzerland, who, through our company, works within a legally compliant framework and we invoice the foreign company for the services provided by this person, settling of course all the issues related to VAT if applicable.
After the first phase the company can then decide whether it wants to establish a subsidiary in Switzerland and in this case we can assist it in establishing a Société Anonyme SA or a Société à Responsabilité Limitée SARL thanks to the excellent connections we have with notaries or lawyers.
5. You have a company in neighbouring France, what is its function?
We do have a company that is completely independent of the Thalent structure in Geneva.
It is an SAS, a simplified joint stock company, with which we work closely and which allows us to carry out operations in the European community in the event that having a company in Switzerland is not optimal.
We use our French company when, for reasons mainly related to VAT, it is easier to work with a company established in France and another country of the European Community.
6. So you can work with companies all over Europe but also all over the world?
Yes, we can do this directly from Thalent SA, for customers located in Europe and outside Europe such as the United States, Japan and the United Kingdom. We work with the following 4 currencies: EUR, USD, GBP, CHF.
7. What do you think of the current situation of the Swiss labour market?
At the moment, we can see that for specialists, the current situation on the labour market is very favourable. As consultants are often very competent people, they have no difficulty in finding mandates.
This has been the case for several years now and perhaps the health crisis has made it even more so. The more specialised people are, the more in demand they are, and the more generalist skills people have, the more difficult it is for them to find work.
8. How does Thalent differ from other umbrella companies for the consultant?
We are one of the first companies active in this field in Switzerland with an experience of over 20 years. Our company is characterised by long-term relationships with consultants, as some of them have been working with Thalent for more than 15 years.
For these people, we have the advantage of being able to offer permanent contracts and not leasing contracts. The consultants can therefore present themselves to their clients as part of a team and a company with an excellent reputation.
9. Are there any values that you hold dear?
Of course there are. I would say the seriousness of our work, an extreme flexibility accompanied by a very high reactivity, a lot of care given to the service we provide and the personal contact with the consultants. There is a great deal of mutual trust between the company and the consultants.
10. What type of profiles does Thalent have among its ranks?
We have a technical focus, engineers or technicians, but we also have consultants active in business development, project management, human resources, translation, coaching, IT.
11. You are an engineer, is there anything that an engineer will find in addition at Thalent because of that?
Very clearly a general understanding of the client and the fact that we can speak the same language with the client.
12. Entrepreneurship can be facilitated by an umbrella company. Can you explain this a little more?
The entrepreneur does not need to register as a freelancer, does not need to deal with all the administrative tasks and can concentrate on his core business. We also provide the necessary advice on drawing up offers and contracts with clients.
13. Can you give us 5 advantages of beeing a payrolling consultant?
Administrative simplification
Entitlement to unemployment benefits
Possibility of distribute the income as a salary over a long period
Quick start: no administrative procedures
Recognition by the market, which tends to give mandates to established companies rather than to self-employed people
14. Is there any advice you would give to a young entrepreneur?
The first advice I would give is to join us. This will give her or him the support they need to launch their business. It is up to him to decide whether he wants to register as a freelancer or create his own company. What is interesting to mention is that in the last ten years, none of our consultants have preferred to start their own company.
In some cases consultants have even set up their own company within Thalent, i.e. we have had several consultants working for the same client on the same project.
15. Do you have a success story that you have witnessed to share?
In addition to your previous question. One of our consultants who had achieved a significant turnover decided to set up her own company. After a few years she decided to put it on hold and to join Thalent again because she had noticed that the results were inferior both in terms of economics and management.
Interview by KF
Besure to regularly check our homepage and follow us on our social networks for more information regarding payrolling and becoming an freelance consultant. If you like our posts we would be thankful if you could give us a like on LinkedInor Facebook!
7. Consultant start and end of contract with Thalent
A. How does a start as a Consultant at Thalent.com go?
Many umbrella companies charge a registration or start-up fee, this is not the case at Thalent SA.
Our onboarding process consists of 3 steps:
You leave us your contact details and we make an appointment by phone
One of our experienced managers calls you back for a non-binding professional consultation
You sign your contract with Thalent.com all digitally
During the consultation our manager will assess
Your project, your activity
The state of progress of your contracts
Your professional situation
He will then send you an email summarising the essential elements with a few documents that will enable Thalent to make you a contract proposal, all in electronic form or by post if you wish.
There are no start-up costs as such and no minimum contract amount.
B. What happens at the end of a contract as a Consultant at Thalent?
At the end of a service or a fixed-term assignment, your employment contract is terminated.
Within the framework of an open-ended assignment, you can resign or discuss the end of your contract with our company.
Everything is done 100% digitally and there are no end of contract fees as such.
8. Client company start and end of contract with Thalent, the solutions
A) How does a service contract to hire external Consultants using Thalent start?
You leave us your contact details and we will arrange a telephone appointment.
Typically we will contact you to discuss your staffing needs.
We define with you the conditions of employment of the consultant(s) chosen by you whether you are a Swiss or foreign company.
We can employ in Switzerland all Swiss and European nationals after having requested the necessary authorisations.
Example: you are a French, English or American company, we can employ the designated person(s) in Switzerland.
You sign a business-to-business contract with Thalent, without having to worry about labour law conditions, and all digitally.
B) What about the duration of the contract for a company?
The duration of the contract can be fixed when it is signed and can be extended very easily with an amendment.
9. How is payrolling, “Wage Portage”, regulated in Switzerland?
Payroll companies operate within a strictly controlled legal framework despite the fact that that there is no law as such that governs wage portage.
It’s a tripartite relationship: the payroll which is also called umbrella company signs an employment contract and a payroll agreement with the freelance Consultant as well a service contract with the “client” company.
The status, which is growing rapidly in Switzerland, is based jointly on the provisions of the Federal Act on Employment Services and the Hiring of Services (LSE/AVG) and the Swiss Code of Obligations (CO/OR).
The LSE/AVG stipulates that “companies that carry out employment service and service leasing activities in Switzerland must apply to the authority of the canton in which they are established for a permit. If they furthermore wish to engage in cross-border activities, they must also have a federal licence issued by the Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO)”.
Thalent has both a cantonal and a federal licence.
Some of the key elements of the status are as follows:
-The Consultant is looking himself for his clients and has them sign a contract with the payroll or umbrella company
-There is a subordination relationship between the Consultant and the “client” company
-The Consultant may be integrated or not in the “client” company for which the service is provided
-The umbrella company delegates a large part of the management to the “client” company
-The “client” gives instructions to the Consultant taking into account performance objectives
-The Consultant carries out tasks according to a scope of work
-The Consultant is registered as an employee with the OASI (old-age and survivors’ insurance).
-The payroll company does not have “know how” of the sector of the Consultant nor work premises for him
-The umbrella company bears the financial risk in the event of default by the Consultant
-The umbrella company may or may not bear the financial risk in the event of non-payment by the client.
-The payroll company assumes an obligation of means and not of result
-The umbrella company hosts the Consultant from an administrative point of view only.
10. A short history of payrolling or wage portage?
New forms of employment and in particular payrolling or wage portage are on the rise all over the world. In Switzerland the trend is also strong, even though standard work employment contracts can be terminated much more easily than in other countries.
Wage portage improves the match between supply and demand.
It meets several of the Consultant’s expectations:
To benefit from a very great autonomy in the “client” relationship
Provide them with social protection
Without the hassle of setting up a business
It meets several of the company’s expectations:
It does not increase the wage bill since it involves the purchase of services
It enables performance and project-oriented work
For example, consultants can work on a project only for the duration of an assignment
A) In Switzerland
In Switzerland, Thalent SA was a pioneer in developing this new way of working.
The company was founded in 2001 by Pierre Strübin, who is currently Chairman of the Board of Directors, and two other co-founding partners, electrical engineers like himself. The idea came to life after the dismissal of experienced colleagues who had been made redundant as a result of corporate restructuring. However, these people were highly valued and their former clients continued to entrust them with mandates.
Based on an idea already emerging in France, the idea emerged to create a company to serve these clients in Switzerland.
In the German-speaking part of Switzerland, where wage portage is also on the rise, it is called Payrolling, or also Lohnträgerschaft.
In Switzerland, payrolling or wage portage is based jointly on the Federal Act on Employment Services and the Hiring of Services (LSE/AVG) and the Swiss Code of Obligations (CO/OR).
In 2008, a member of the Geneva Grand Council (Grand Conseil) asked the Council of State (Conseil d’Etat) in a question whether it could consider using the tool in the fight against unemployment.
The latter replied that since it was used mainly by men between 35 and 50 years of age and only concerning certain types of jobs and sectors, “it concerned populations that are not representative of the mass of local job seekers. Consequently, although the Council of State is determined to closely monitor the evolution of this way of working, it intends to give priority to the instruments and means currently applied with as purpose the rapid and sustainable reintegration of the local unemployed.”
The Council of State therefore recognised the usefulness of payrolling or wage portage, but arguing that it is only used by a specific part of the population and types of jobs and sectors, refused to promote it in the fight against unemployment. This is still the case today.
B) In France
In France, this way of working was born in the 1980s and was set up by a non profit organisation whose aim was to reintegrate unemployed managers. The latter carried out fixed-term assignments, expertise or consultancy, with companies before being reintegrated into a permanent contract.
In the beginning, mainly senior executives were targeted, but nowadays payrolling has been extended to a large number of jobs and professions.
Accessibility to this way of working has been greatly facilitated by the arrival of new digital technologies.
In France, the system was finally introduced into the Labour Code by Law No. 2008-5s96 of 25th June 2008 on the modernisation of the labour market.
The following translated definition is included: “A set of organised contractual relations between a carrying (payroll, wage portage) company, a carried person (Consultant using the payrolls services, contractor) and client companies which comprises for the carried person (Consultant, contractor) the payroll and the payment of his service for the client by the carrying (payroll, wage portage) company”.
In France, it is estimated that in 2020 more than 90,000 people are using this way of working. Source : Catherine Doleux, “Chômage, tous vos droits 2020”.
C) In the United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, the word Payrolling is used for this way of working. In other European countries the english sentence “Wage Portage” is also sometimes used. A Payroll Company is furthermore commonly called an Umbrella Company.
Since April 2001 when the UK government introduced the “IR35” legislation which creates tests to determine employment status and the ability to make use of small company tax relief, payroll or umbrella companies have become very common. The legislation aims to avoid the non-payment of taxes.
Besure to regularly check our homepage and follow us on our social networks for more information regarding payrolling and becoming an independent consultant. If you like our posts we would be thankful if you could give us a like on Linkedinor Facebook!
