Payslip in Switzerland

By Abi CarterPublished on Feb 28, 2025
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If you are working full- or part-time in Switzerland, you will receive a regular monthly payslip from your employer, which will break down your net salary and mandatory social security contributions for that month. Here’s what you need to know about receiving and reading your payslip in Switzerland. 

When will I receive my payslip? 

If you have just started a new job, you can expect to receive a payslip the first time you receive your salary.  

Interestingly, the Swiss Code of Obligations does not explicitly require employers to provide their employees with payslips - only that they must pay the agreed wages - but in practice most employers do issue their staff with payslips each month to enable them to check how much they have been paid, and how much they have contributed to various mandatory insurance schemes. 

Details included on a payslip

Your payslips will include the following details:

The Swiss payslip explained

To provide so much information on a small slip of paper, payroll departments use a lot of acronyms and abbreviations on payslips. If you’re not familiar with all of the terms, and especially if you don’t speak German, French or Italian, all of those numbers and letters can quickly become confusing. 

Here’s a breakdown of the different terms you’re likely to see on your payslip: 

Top section: Personal information

Typically, the top of a Swiss payslip will detail personal information related to your employment. Many of the common details are:

Middle section: Deduction breakdown

The middle section of the payslip will consist of a breakdown of your gross salary and the various social security contributions that have to be paid from it. These are:

Final section: Additional information 

The final part of a payslip in Switzerland typically contains personal data about where your payslip is being paid to. Most companies now pay employees through online methods, so you will automatically receive your payment through your bank account and will receive the payslip in order to keep it on record for when you need to pay your taxes. 

Some of the things that can be found in this section are your full banking details or details of a fund that you are paying your salary to. 

Annual salary certificate in Switzerland

On top of your monthly payslips, your employer will also issue you with an annual salary certificate once per year (usually sometime between January and March). The salary certificate is a single document that summarises all of the income you have received over the past tax year, as well as all your contributions to social security

You may need your salary certificate to:

The salary certificate is divided into two parts, the first with sections identified with the letters A through to H, and the second with the numbers 1 through to 15, as follows: 

First section of the salary certificate

The first section of the salary certificate details some important information: 

Second section of the Swiss salary certificate

The next section of a Swiss salary certificate provides information about your earnings and salary deductions:

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