In Switzerland, an hourly wage is used in plenty of situations: part-time staff, one-off jobs, and any activity where the number of hours worked shifts from one month to the next.
Unlike a fixed monthly salary, an hourly wage depends directly on the time actually worked. Working it out, though, is not just a matter of multiplying a number of hours by a rate. The employer also has to account for the various elements that make up the pay, for any supplements the law provides, and for social insurance obligations.
Getting payroll right means knowing how to calculate the hourly wage itself, the supplements that apply and the social insurance contributions due. Sound payroll management in Switzerland is what secures those calculations, keeps the company within its legal obligations and simplifies how staff pay is handled.
What is an hourly wage in Switzerland?
An hourly wage is pay calculated on the number of hours an employee works. At each pay period, the employer pays an amount set by the hours actually worked and the agreed hourly rate.
This form of pay is particularly common where working time varies with the needs of the business. It typically covers part-time staff, people hired for specific assignments, and workers paid according to the time genuinely spent on their work.
Even when it is calculated by the hour, pay remains subject to the general rules on remuneration and social insurance. The employer therefore has to identify correctly which elements form part of the determinant salary and build them into payroll.
An hourly wage forms part of the AVS determinant salary
In Switzerland, the hourly wage paid to an employee forms part of the determinant salary used to calculate mandatory social insurance contributions.
The determinant salary is the income from gainful employment that is subject to social insurance contributions. It is the calculation base for:
- old-age and survivors' insurance (AVS);
- invalidity insurance (AI);
- loss of earnings compensation (APG);
- unemployment insurance (AC), where the conditions for liability are met.
For the employer, this means the amount declared cannot stop at the basic hourly rate. Every element of pay subject to contributions has to be identified correctly and carried into the payroll records.
This step is what makes sure contributions are calculated on a correct base and that what is reported to the relevant bodies genuinely matches what the employee was paid.
What does an hourly wage consist of?
An hourly wage does not always come down to the amount paid for each hour worked. Depending on the employee's situation, several elements can go into it.
An hourly wage can include:
- the basic pay for the hours worked;
- vacation allowance;
- public holiday allowance;
- certain salary supplements;
- other benefits or bonuses, where they form part of the determinant salary.
Vacation and public holiday allowances matter enormously for staff paid by the hour. Because their pay depends directly on hours worked, these allowances are what compensate the periods during which no work is performed. How they are calculated is set out below, in the section on calculating an hourly wage. For the underlying rules, see our guide to paid vacation in Switzerland.
The employer therefore has to set out the different components of pay clearly, both in the contract documents and on payslips. Drawing a precise line between the basic hourly rate, the allowances and any supplements makes the administration easier to follow and cuts down on errors when social insurance is declared.
How do you calculate an hourly wage in Switzerland?
How an hourly wage is calculated depends on the pay structure agreed between employer and employee. Where pay is based on time, the agreed hourly amount also serves as the reference for working out certain mandatory supplements.
The employer therefore has to set an appropriate hourly rate, respecting the applicable cantonal minimum wage where there is one (see below), and check the rules that apply when an employee works overtime or works in conditions that give rise to a premium.
Converting a monthly salary into an hourly rate
Before calculating any supplement or allowance, the employer often has to work out a basic hourly rate from a reference monthly salary. The formula is:
hourly rate = (monthly salary × 12) / (weekly hours × 52)
Example: for a reference monthly salary of CHF 5,000 and a 42-hour week, the basic hourly rate comes to (5,000 × 12) / (42 × 52), or roughly CHF 27.47 gross per hour. That rate is the starting point, and the allowances described below are then added on top.
Vacation allowance
Vacation allowance is what most clearly sets an hourly wage apart from a fixed monthly salary. Since the employee is only paid for hours actually worked, their vacation has to be compensated as a percentage added to the basic hourly rate. That percentage is obtained by relating the weeks of vacation to the weeks actually worked in the year, meaning 52 weeks less the vacation weeks themselves:
- 8.33 percent for four weeks of vacation (4 / 48 weeks worked);
- 10.64 percent for five weeks (5 / 47 weeks worked);
- 13.04 percent for six weeks (6 / 46 weeks worked).
The statutory floor is set by art. 329a para. 1 CO: four weeks of vacation a year at minimum, and five weeks for workers up to the age of 20. An employment contract or a collective agreement can be more generous, in which case the allowance percentage has to be recalculated accordingly.
One point deserves particular attention. Including vacation allowance in the hourly wage is only valid where the share is stated both in the written contract and on every payslip, as a separate figure and a percentage. Where that is missing, the employer can be required to pay the vacation a second time, because the amount already paid cannot be shown to have covered it.
Public holiday allowance
Public holiday allowance works on the same principle as vacation allowance: the percentage is obtained by relating the number of paid statutory holidays to the working days left in the year once those holidays are deducted. That percentage depends on two variables specific to each canton: the number of recognized holidays, which varies considerably from one canton to the next, and the method the cantonal authority uses for the denominator, which can differ slightly from the one applied to vacation. There is no universal rate of the "9 holidays = X percent" kind. The percentage has to be calculated, or checked, against the official method published by the canton concerned, whether that is its salary grid or its own calculator, and recalculated if the employee changes workplace.
13th salary allowance
Where a 13th salary is provided for by the employment contract or a collective agreement, it also has to be built into the hourly rate, as an allowance of 8.33 percent, corresponding to one extra salary spread over the 12 months of the year.
A full worked example
Take the basic hourly rate of CHF 27.47 calculated above, for an employee entitled to four weeks of vacation, to a public holiday allowance set at 3.5 percent under the method used by their canton, and to a contractual 13th salary. The allowances apply one after another, each on the subtotal reached at the previous step:
- Basic rate: CHF 27.47
- plus public holiday allowance (3.5 percent) → subtotal: 27.47 × 1.035 ≈ CHF 28.43
- plus vacation allowance (8.33 percent for four weeks) → subtotal: 28.43 × 1.0833 ≈ CHF 30.80
- plus 13th salary allowance (8.33 percent, calculated on total annual pay) → CHF 30.80 × 1.0833 ≈ CHF 33.37
The all-inclusive hourly rate therefore comes to roughly CHF 33.37. These percentages belong to this example: each canton publishes its own calculation method, and for a real case you should work from the salary grid or the official calculator of the canton concerned rather than from a generic calculation.
Calculating salary supplements from the hourly wage
Where an employee is paid according to time worked, the hourly wage is the base for calculating certain supplements provided by law.
This covers situations such as:
- overtime;
- temporary night work;
- Sunday work.
To work out the amount of the supplement, the employer uses the determinant salary that serves as its base. The applicable rates are:
- overtime: normal pay increased by at least a quarter, meaning 25 percent, unless a written agreement, a standard employment contract or a collective agreement provides otherwise (art. 321c para. 3 CO);
- temporary night work, meaning fewer than 25 nights per calendar year: a salary supplement of 25 percent (art. 17b para. 1 LTr);
- temporary Sunday work: a salary supplement of 50 percent (art. 19 para. 3 LTr).
Regular or periodic night work, meaning 25 nights or more a year, does not give rise to a salary supplement. It gives rise instead to time off equal to 10 percent of the night work performed, to be granted to the employee within one year. There is one exception: where the work regularly performed at the start or the end of the night period does not exceed one hour, the compensation can be granted as a salary supplement rather than as time off (art. 17b para. 2 LTr). The distinction between temporary and regular night work is decisive, because it changes the nature of what is owed: a salary supplement in one case, time off in the other.
Some elements, such as family allowances or certain benefits, do not go into this calculation base.
Excluded in particular are:
- residence allowances;
- household allowances;
- child allowances.
The calculation therefore has to be made on the hourly pay that corresponds directly to the work performed, without folding in these additional benefits.
Drawing that line is what allows the rules on salary supplements to be applied correctly and keeps discrepancies out of the payroll records.
For employers, keeping precise track of hours worked and of the situations that give rise to a premium is therefore essential. Rigorous handling is what guarantees compliant pay while keeping the administrative side of payroll manageable.
Cantonal minimum wages
The hourly rate cannot be set freely in every canton. Five cantons impose a statutory minimum wage, and the amounts are revised periodically and should be checked every year. For 2026, those minimums are:
- CHF 24.59 per hour in Geneva;
- CHF 22.20 per hour in Basel-Stadt;
- CHF 21.40 per hour in Jura;
- CHF 21.35 per hour in Neuchâtel;
- between CHF 20.00 and CHF 20.50 per hour in Ticino, depending on the sector.
Cantonal minimums are not the only ones to watch. Some municipalities have adopted their own, and the Federal Supreme Court confirmed in May 2026 that they are valid: the minimum wage is CHF 23.90 per hour in the city of Zurich and CHF 23.00 in Winterthur, even though the canton of Zurich has no cantonal minimum. An employer hiring in one of those municipalities has to apply the municipal rate.
The employer also has to check the calculation rules specific to the canton concerned, to establish which elements count towards compliance with the minimum wage and which allowances have to be added on top of the basic pay. Comparing an all-inclusive hourly rate straight against the cantonal minimum is not enough.
The particular case of piecework
Not everyone paid according to their output has a fixed hourly wage. In certain sectors and situations, pay is calculated on the quantity of work completed, for instance where an employee is paid by the piece or by the job.
In that case, salary supplements are calculated differently. Where pay varies with output, the base for the supplements is determined under the rules applying to the supplement concerned, often from average earnings.
As with staff paid by the hour, some elements must not be built into that base. Family allowances and residence allowances in particular stay outside the amount used to calculate supplements.
Where an employee is paid by the piece or by the job, the employer has to inform them of the applicable rate before the work starts (art. 326a para. 1 CO). This is not a formality to be handled afterwards: it is what gives the employee a clear picture of their pay conditions and removes any uncertainty about what they will earn.
Failing an agreement on pay, the salary is determined under the rules of the Code of Obligations, in particular by reference to the usual salary for comparable work. That rule exists to protect employees against pay being fixed loosely once the work has already been done.
For companies using this form of pay, keeping clear documentation of the agreed terms, the work delivered and the amounts paid is essential. Precise records also make payslips and social insurance declarations easier to produce.
What obligations does an employer paying an hourly wage have?
Hourly pay gives businesses a degree of flexibility, but it also demands rigorous administration. The employer has to be able to justify the amounts paid, comply with the rules on salary supplements and report correct data to the social insurance bodies.
Reliable handling is what keeps hours worked, elements of pay and declared contributions consistent with one another.
Setting out pay and pay conditions clearly
Where an employee is hired on an hourly wage, the pay conditions have to be clearly defined from the outset of the working relationship.
The employer has to specify:
- the agreed hourly rate;
- any applicable supplements;
- the allowances that make up the pay;
- how the variable elements are calculated.
That transparency matters particularly for staff whose income can vary each month with the number of hours worked.
A clear payslip also has to make the different components of pay identifiable. The employee needs to be able to tell apart the pay for hours worked, any vacation allowance, public holidays, and supplements tied to particular working conditions.
For the company, that precision makes internal checks easier and reduces the risk of error in processing payroll.
Handling social insurance declarations and payroll records
Like any income from employment, an hourly wage has to be carried correctly into social insurance declarations.
The employer has to make sure the data reported reflects:
- the number of hours worked;
- the amounts actually paid;
- the allowances and supplements subject to contributions;
- any variation in pay from one period to the next.
Data tied to an hourly wage has to be taken into account when calculating AVS, AI, APG and AC contributions, where the employee is liable for them. The same goes for the other elements of pay subject to contributions, such as the 13th salary in Switzerland, where the employment contract or a collective agreement provides for one.
This can represent a significant administrative load, particularly where a company employs several people by the hour or where hour volumes shift frequently.
A suitable payroll system then makes it possible to centralize the information, cut down on re-entering data and secure what is reported to the competent bodies.
What tools can you use to manage hourly wages in Switzerland?
Managing an hourly wage means tracking several things at once: hours worked, variable elements of pay, any allowances and social insurance obligations. Various tools exist to help employers structure this administrative work.
The tools SECO offers employers
The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) makes several resources available to employers to help them manage employment relationships.
Some of these concern staff paid by the hour, and they include:
- model employment contracts for certain workers paid an hourly wage;
- calculation files for drawing up a budget or a payroll record.
These resources can help employers formalize the terms of engagement and organize the administrative side of pay.
They are particularly useful for small organizations that manage their staff directly and want a clear basis for their own documents.
Why suitable payroll management pays off
Where staff are paid by the hour, payroll needs particular attention. Each pay period can differ, depending on hours worked, absences, applicable supplements and the allowances to be included.
A suitable payroll solution makes it easier to:
- track hours worked;
- calculate the variable elements of pay;
- build in vacation and public holiday allowances;
- prepare social insurance declarations.
To anticipate the cost of a hire or estimate the budget tied to your staff, you can also use our Swiss payroll calculator.
For Swiss companies and foreign businesses employing staff in Switzerland alike, outsourcing payroll can be a way of cutting the administrative load while drawing on local expertise.
Professional handling frees up time for growing the business, while keeping a reliable view of salary data.
Manage your hourly wages with payroll expertise in Switzerland
Staff paid by the hour need particular attention. Unlike a fixed monthly salary, hourly pay means tracking precisely the hours worked, any applicable supplements, the allowances tied to vacation and public holidays, and everything that has to be declared to the social insurance bodies.
For businesses, this administrative work can get complicated quickly, especially as headcount changes, when several employees work variable hours, or when Swiss payroll rules have to be applied exactly.
At Numeriq Payroll, we support Swiss companies, foreign businesses employing staff in Switzerland and SMEs in managing their payroll obligations. Our team helps you handle hourly pay correctly and keep your administrative processes secure.
Our multilingual team based in Switzerland already supports more than 100 companies and 1,000 contractors with payroll and employer obligations. With over 50 years of combined experience, support available 24/7 and a payroll accuracy rate of 99.9 percent, we help you keep your payroll reliable, transparent and compliant.
That lets you concentrate on your business while working with a specialist partner to manage your hourly wages and all your payroll obligations in Switzerland.
