Rules for cross-border workers working remotely: 25/45 days (cross-border guide)

Context

Rules for cross-border workers working remotely: 25/45 days

Key facts

• What: Rules for employment businesses and registration of employment businesses. - When: 1 January 2024. - Where: Switzerland. - Who: Cross-border workers. - Amount: not applicable.

Introduction

With the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, remote working has become increasingly common and widespread. Many cross-border commuters, particularly those from Italy and France, found themselves working remotely for Swiss companies. However, Swiss law provides specific rules for companies employing cross-border workers who work remotely.

Rules for the employment company

According to Swiss law, remote cross-border commuter businesses must be registered with the Swiss Labor Office. Registration is mandatory for all employment companies whose main purpose is remote working. Employment businesses must be registered within 25 days of the start date of remote working.

Registration of employment businesses is necessary to ensure that cross-border commuters are subject to Swiss laws and regulations. Furthermore, registration allows the Swiss authorities to check that employment companies comply with work and safety regulations.

Rules for registering employment businesses

To register an employment business, cross-border commuters must submit a written request to the Swiss Labor Office. The request must contain the following documents:

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Operational details

Cross-border workers who work remotely in Ticino must respect the rules for employment businesses and the registration of employment businesses. The Revenue Office is the competent body for registering cross-border workers' businesses.

The rules for cross-border workers working remotely are established by the Ticino law of 1 January 2018, which regulates work activity in Switzerland by foreign citizens. According to the law, cross-border workers who work remotely in Ticino must register their work activity at the Revenue Office within 25 days from the start date of the activity.

To register their work activity, cross-border workers must submit a registration application, which must contain the following data:

• Name and surname of the cross-border worker
• Residence address in Ticino
• Type of work activity (e.g. consultancy, self-employment, etc.)
• Start date of the work activity
• Duration of work activity (e.g. 6 months, 1 year, etc.)

Registration of cross-border workers' work activity is mandatory even if it is carried out remotely. The Revenue Office is responsible for verifying the regularity of the registration and requesting payment of the value added tax (VAT) if it exceeds 10,000 Swiss francs per year.

For example, if a cross-border worker named Giovanni Rossi, resident in Lugano, starts working remotely as a financial advisor on 1 January 2022, he must submit an application for registration by 25 January 2022 at the Lugano Revenue Office. The registration application must contain the above-mentioned data and must be signed by Giovanni Rossi.

Registering the work activity of cross-border workers is also important to avoid sanctions. If a cross-border worker does not register his work activity, he may be subject to fines that can range from 500 to 5,000 Swiss francs.

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Key points

To register the employment business, cross-border commuters must submit an application to the Revenue Office within 8 working days from the date of entry into Switzerland. Once the employment company has been registered, cross-border workers can start working remotely.

However, it is important to note that cross-border workers must comply with the rules relating to border work, which stipulate a maximum duration of 25 working days in a 4-week period. If cross-border workers exceed this threshold, they may be considered seasonal workers and will have to register with the Revenue Office as seasonal workers.

Concrete example: a cross-border worker arrives in Switzerland on January 1st and starts working remotely on January 2nd. Work 20 consecutive days without a break, therefore do not exceed the threshold of 25 working days. However, if he works 30 consecutive days without a break, he would exceed the threshold and would have to register as a seasonal worker.

Once registered as seasonal workers, cross-border workers must comply with the rules relating to seasonal work, which provide for a maximum duration of 45 working days in a 4-week period. If cross-border workers exceed this threshold, they may be considered permanent seasonal workers and will have to comply with the rules relating to permanent seasonal workers.

Concrete example: a cross-border worker arrives in Switzerland on 1 June and starts working remotely on 2 June. Work 40 consecutive days without a break, therefore exceeding the 45 working day threshold. You should register as a permanent seasonal worker and comply with the rules relating to permanent seasonal workers.

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