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Legal - Partnerships | publié par Loyco | 14.01.2025
Les changements législatifs 2025 pour l'employeur

Changes for employers on January 1, 2025

Several provisions of Swiss law come into force at the beginning of the year. Our partner CJE, Avocats, Conseillers d’Entreprises, takes a look at what’s coming in 2025.

Significant changes were to be made on January 1, 2025, following the entry into force of an amendment to the double taxation agreement (DTA). The French Parliament was unable to ratify this amendment before December 31, 2024, so the transitional tax agreement of December 2022 continues to apply.

In all likelihood, the new provisions of this amendment will not come into force until January 1, 2026. Detailed information will be provided in due course. So here’s what it means for employers:

  • The double limit applicable to teleworking (40% of working time, 10 days of temporary assignments) remains unchanged.
  • All rules applicable in 2023 and 2024 remain unchanged.
  • Employers will not be obliged to inform the tax authorities of their employees’ actual teleworking rate in 2025.
  • However, employers will still need to be able to certify the percentage of telecommuting granted by producing a contractual document binding them to their employees.
  • Employers now have a further year to prepare for implementation of the amendment to the Franco-Swiss double taxation agreement (DTA).

For more information on these new features, read the article written by our specialists.

The list of occupations subject to compulsory registration is determined by the unemployment rate; if this is at least 5% in an occupation, it is subject to compulsory registration. The number of occupations subject to compulsory registration in 2025 is again higher than in previous years. All occupations that were subject to compulsory registration in 2024 will also be subject to compulsory registration in 2025. The occupation with the highest number of registrants in 2025 is elementary building trades, with 89,080 registrants. From now on, managers and executives in sales and marketing (45,180 active workers) and catering assistants (33,497 active workers) will also be subject to compulsory registration. By 2025, around 6.5% (3.2% in 2024) of the workforce will be working in occupations subject to compulsory registration.

Switzerland and the United States of America have signed a new agreement on the exchange of trainees and young professionals. The aim is to facilitate the mobility of Swiss and American young people between the two countries, for a limited period, in order to improve their skills in their professional or academic field and enhance their knowledge. The agreement, which comes into force on November 30, 2024, is aimed at young Swiss nationals aged 18 to 35. Participants must either be in training, or hold a vocational diploma or higher education qualification. People who are neither in training nor holding a diploma may also be eligible, provided they have some professional experience. In particular, they must be seeking to complete their studies or perfect their skills in their field of specialization. For both Swiss and American participants, residence and work permits are granted for a maximum of 12 months, with the possibility of a 6-month extension.

The increase in the retirement age for women, from 64 to 65, will take effect on January 1, 2025, in annual increments of three months, reaching harmonization in 2028. The reference retirement age for women will be raised as follows:

  • 2025, women born in 1961, reference age: 64 years and 3 months
  • 2026, women born in 1962, reference age: 64 years and 6 months
  • 2027, women born in 1963, reference age: 64 years and 9 months
  • 2028, women born in 1964, reference age: 65

AHV/IV pensions will be adjusted in line with price and wage trends, and thus increased by 2.9% on January 1, 2025. The minimum OASI/DI pension will rise from CHF 1,225 to CHF 1,260 per month, and the maximum pension from CHF 2,450 to CHF 2,520.

The minimum AVS/AI/APG contribution for the self-employed and those not in gainful employment is reduced from CHF 514 to CHF 530 per year, and the minimum contribution without optional AVS/AI from CHF 980 to CHF 1010.

 

The adjustment of AHV/IV pensions also has an impact on mandatory occupational benefits. The amount of the coordination deduction in the compulsory occupational pension scheme has been increased from CHF 25,725 to CHF 26,460, and the entry threshold from CHF 22,050 to CHF 22,680. The maximum tax deduction for tied personal pension plans (pillar 3a) has been increased from CHF 7,056 to CHF 7,258 for those with a 2nd pillar, and from CHF 35,280 to CHF 36,288 for those without. These adjustments come into effect on January 1, 2025.

Survivors’ and disability pensions under the compulsory occupational pension scheme (BVG) must be adjusted periodically up to the normal retirement age, in line with increases in the consumer price index. Adjustments are made at the same time as AHV pensions, as a rule every two years. Pensions adjusted for the first time
Pensions starting in 2021 will be adjusted for the first time. They will be increased by 5.8%. This rate is calculated on the basis of the consumer price indices for September 2021 and September 2024. Adjustments resulting from the increase in AHV pensions
As AHV pensions are adjusted in 2025, BVG survivors’ and disability pensions must also be increased. Compulsory pensions
As long as pensions exceed the legal minimum prescribed by the LOB, there is no obligation to adjust them in line with inflation. In the same way as pensions for which the LOB does not provide for periodic compensation for inflation, they are adjusted by the pension funds within the limits of their financial possibilities. Each year, the pension fund’s supreme body decides whether and to what extent pensions should be adjusted.

According to the law, the decisive factor in setting the rate is the trend in yields on Swiss government bonds and, in addition, on equities, bonds and real estate. The minimum BVG/LPP interest rate will remain unchanged at 1.25% in 2025. This rate determines the minimum interest that must be earned on retirement assets under the compulsory pension scheme, in accordance with the Swiss Federal Law on Occupational Retirement, Survivors’ and Disability Pension Plans (BVG/LPP).

The reference age for occupational benefits, also set at 65, is the same as for AHV.

People in gainful employment in Switzerland who have not made the maximum contributions to their Pillar 3a plan each year have the option of paying these contributions retroactively over a ten-year period. The Buyback amount is fully tax-deductible, in the same way as the ordinary annual contribution. A Pillar 3a Buyback (CHF 7,258 in 2025) is permitted each year, in addition to the regular contribution. To be able to make a Buyback, you must have been entitled to make Pillar 3a contributions, i.e. have received income subject to AHV in Switzerland during the year for which you intend to make retroactive contributions. This condition must also have been met in the year in which the buyback is carried out, i.e. the full amount of the ordinary contribution for that year must have been paid.

At the end of October 2024, permits issued by the cantons to companies in Switzerland accounted for almost 63% of the quotas for workers from third countries (L and B permits) and almost 44% of those for Services providers from the EU and EFTA (L and B permits). The quotas available for workers from the UK have been only marginally used (18% by the end of October 2024 for L and B permits). The Federal Council has decided to keep the quotas for workers from third countries and for Services providers from the European Union (EU) and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) unchanged in 2025. The special quota for workers from the UK has also been extended. In the medium term, it will be integrated into the regular quota. Here are the 2025 quotas:

  • Third countries: 8,500 units (4,500 B residence permits, 4,000 L short-term permits)
  • Assets from the United Kingdom (UK): 3,500 units (2,100 B and 1,400 L)

The ceilings for service providers from EU or EFTA countries whose assignment in Switzerland exceeds 90 or 120 days a year also remain unchanged: 3,000 L permits and 500 B permits. Croatia
Croatian nationals coming to work in Switzerland once again benefit from full freedom of movement.

In accordance with the Federal Law on Family Allowances (LAFam), family allowance amounts are adjusted to the Swiss consumer price index (CPI) provided that the CPI has risen by at least 5% since the amounts were last set, which has been the case since the beginning of 2024. The adjustment rate for minimum family allowance amounts is 7.1%. The child allowance has been increased from CHF 200 to CHF 215 per month, and the education allowance from CHF 250 to CHF 268 per month. This first adjustment since the LAFam came into force in 2009 comes into effect on January 1, 2025. Cantons are free to set higher amounts than those mentioned above, and are under no obligation to increase allowances if they are at least equivalent to the new amounts.

From January 1, 2025, it will be forbidden throughout Switzerland to conceal one’s face in all public places. Anyone contravening this ban can be fined up to CHF 100, and in the event of refusal to pay the fine, the maximum fine is CHF 1,000. Exceptions to the ban
People may conceal their faces for health reasons, to ensure their safety, to protect themselves from climatic conditions, to maintain local customs, or for artistic or advertising purposes.

Geneva
The minimum wage, which applies to all economic sectors, is indexed annually to the cost of living, based on the Geneva consumer price index. For 2025, it amounts to CHF 24.48 per hour. Employees in the agriculture and floriculture sectors have their own minimum gross hourly wage, which is CHF 17.99 in 2025. Neuchâtel
For the year 2025, the basic minimum gross wage is CHF 21.31 per hour. The minimum gross wage in agriculture, viticulture and horticulture is CHF 18.12 per hour.

Employers’ charitable funds can currently grant discretionary benefits to people to alleviate the economic consequences of old age, death and disability, but only if they are in a situation of distress. As of January 1, 2025, the Civil Code has been amended to allow the payment of benefits even to people who are not in distress. These foundations can also pay benefits for new situations:

  • training and continuing education,
  • reconciling family and professional life,
  • health promotion and prevention for their policyholders and their families,
  • contribute to the financing of other employee benefit schemes.

From January 1, 2025, companies, individuals, foundations and associations entered in the commercial register will be liable to bankruptcy for their public debts. These debts include various taxes, AHV contributions, fines and SUVA claims. At present, entities and individuals subject to seizure proceedings can continue their business activities. In 2025, regardless of the amount owed and the type of debt (private or public), creditors will be directed to bankruptcy proceedings, which may result in the debtor’s outright demise. For more information, read our article on the subject.

People serving in the army, civil protection or taking part in civilian Services, as well as in courses for youth and sports instructors, will be able to claim their loss-of-earnings benefits (APG) online. The implementing provisions come into force on January 1, 2025. However, the digitized procedure will only be phased in from 2026. The new digitized procedure is designed to lighten the administrative burden for both insured persons and their employers, by replacing paper forms with a simpler, more efficient process. The data required to process claims will be automatically extracted from other registers, thus improving the quality of information. This system should not only speed up benefit payments, but also reduce the administrative burden on employers and compensation funds.

 

This article was written by our partner CJE, Avocats, Conseillers d’Entreprises.

Editor's note: This article was written in French and automatically translated into English and German.
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