When is someone considered self-employed?

In Switzerland, the AHV compensation offices are responsible for determining whether someone is considered self-employed. They have established clear guidelines, allowing us to assess cases according to Swiss standards.

According to the AHV, a person is considered self-employed if they meet the following key criteria:

• They work under their own name and on their own account.
• They bear the economic risk themselves, for example through long-term investments and financing their business resources.
• They have the freedom to organize their work independently.
• They usually work for multiple clients or customers.

Unlike employees, self-employed individuals in Switzerland are not obligatorily insured against accident and illness. They must either take out their own insurance or cover loss of earnings from their savings. There is also no mandatory occupational pension scheme (second pillar) for the self-employed. However, they can contribute higher amounts to the third pillar. AHV contributions are calculated based on income and must be fully paid by the self-employed person. In return, they do not pay into unemployment insurance and therefore have no entitlement to unemployment benefits.

For employees, the employer contributes at least half of the social insurance premiums. For foreign employees without a settlement permit, there is also an obligation to withhold source taxes and remit them to the tax office. If a self-employed person is suddenly classified as an employee, this results in substantial costs for the employer, who must then retroactively pay all mandatory social insurance contributions and cover these costs themselves.

Unlike employees, the self-employed are not mandatorily insured against accident and illness. They must either take out their own insurance or cover loss of earnings from their savings. There is also no mandatory occupational pension scheme (the second pillar) for the self-employed. However, they can contribute higher amounts to the third pillar. AHV contributions are calculated based on income and must be fully paid by the self-employed individual. In return, they do not pay into unemployment insurance and thus have no entitlement to unemployment benefits.