LIS

Careers at LIS — Lugano Istituti Sociali

LIS Lugano jobs: long-term care, early-years education, community outreach. Salaries, sites, how to apply.

About LIS

LIS — Lugano Istituti Sociali is the autonomous public-law body of the City of Lugano that runs the municipal social services: long-term care for seniors in care homes and residential centres, early-years services (municipal crèches and nurseries) and community outreach programmes. LIS serves Lugano and its merged neighbourhoods, and alongside EOC is one of the main employers in the Luganese social and healthcare sector.

The flagship LIS facility is the Centro Residenziale Gemmo in Pregassona, with long-stay geriatric wards (dementia, palliative care) and geriatric rehabilitation, which also houses the LIS headquarters. The Gemmo network is complemented by Casa Serena in Lugano city, Casa Girasole in Breganzona and Casa Cigno in Viganello, together with municipal crèches, family-drop-in spaces and outreach services. In total LIS runs several hundred care beds and dozens of early-years places.

Recruitment follows the format of a Ticino public body: public competitions (concorsi pubblici) published on lavoraconnoi.lugano-lis.ch stating the salary class, the applicable service regulation and the site. Recurring profiles are registered nurses, healthcare assistants (OSS), care assistants, ward leaders, physiotherapists and occupational therapists, activity leaders, social educators, early-years educators and early-years assistants, plus support profiles (kitchen, housekeeping, administration, maintenance).

For Italian cross-border workers LIS is a very accessible employer: all sites are in Lugano city or the city neighbourhoods, 25–40 minutes from the main border towns (Como, Varese, Porto Ceresio) by car or TILO train. Public competitions accept G-permit applicants; regulated healthcare roles require federal recognition of the Italian qualification, handled via the Swiss Red Cross or MEBEKO with LIS support.

LIS sites in Lugano

All LIS sites are in Lugano, across Pregassona (Centro Gemmo), Breganzona, Viganello and the city centre. Apply to the site closest to your commute.

  • Sede amministrativa e Centro Residenziale Gemmo — Pregassona (Lugano)
  • Casa Serena — Lugano
  • Casa Girasole — Breganzona (Lugano)
  • Casa Cigno — Viganello (Lugano)
  • Nidi d'infanzia e servizi per la prima infanzia della Città di Lugano
  • Servizi esterni di animazione socioculturale sul territorio cittadino

Why work at LIS

  • 13th-month salary under service regulation. Salary over 13 months under the City of Lugano Employee Service Regulation applied to LIS.
  • Public-sector social protection. Public pension fund with contributions above the LPP minimum; AHV/AI/IPG and LAA coverage; statutory 4–5 weeks of leave.
  • Funded continuing education. Days and budget for continuing education in geriatric care, palliative care, early-years education and outreach.
  • Part-time and work-life balance. Many roles open from 50% to 100%; work-life balance supported by in-house early-years services.
  • Sites accessible from Italy. All LIS sites are in central Lugano or city neighbourhoods, 25–40 minutes from the main Italian border towns.
  • Meaningful work. Public service to the community: caring for seniors, educating the youngest children, animating city neighbourhoods. Concrete impact on Lugano residents' quality of life.

How to apply at LIS

All official LIS openings are published on lavoraconnoi.lugano-lis.ch as annual public competitions valid for the reference year, and tracked daily by Frontaliere Ticino. The standard process: (1) online application with CV, cover letter, diplomas and extract from the criminal record; (2) HR screening within 2–4 weeks; (3) first interview with the department head; (4) second technical interview and/or observation day for care/education roles; (5) hiring decision by the Board with salary class, workload and site. Regulated healthcare roles require recognition of the qualification before signature.

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Frequently asked questions

Does LIS hire Italian cross-border workers?

Yes. LIS public competitions are open to G-permit candidates. Healthcare roles (nurses, OSS, physiotherapists, occupational therapists) require federal recognition of the Italian qualification via the Swiss Red Cross; LIS supports the process but recognition must be started by the candidate.

What are typical LIS salaries?

Salaries follow the City of Lugano Employee Service Regulation, with public salary classes. Indicative gross annual figures: healthcare assistant CHF 60–72k, registered nurse CHF 75–95k, physiotherapist CHF 80–95k, early-years educator CHF 65–80k, ward leader CHF 90–110k. 13th-month and shift allowances included.

Which permits does LIS accept?

LIS, as a Ticino public body, hires Swiss citizens and holders of C, B, G and Li (EU/EFTA) permits. G-permit applicants do not need prior Swiss experience; paperwork is handled by HR at hiring.

Which facilities does LIS operate?

LIS operates the Centro Residenziale Gemmo in Pregassona (main site and senior-care wards), Casa Serena (Lugano), Casa Girasole (Breganzona), Casa Cigno (Viganello), the municipal early-years services of the City of Lugano and city outreach services.

How do LIS public competitions work?

Every year the LIS Board opens annual public competitions by professional category (nurses, OSS, care assistants, educators, etc.). Applications are submitted on lavoraconnoi.lugano-lis.ch; the resulting shortlist is used for hiring throughout the year.

Does LIS offer internships?

Yes. LIS regularly hosts interns and trainees from SUPSI (nursing, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, social work), Ticino OSS training centres and Italian schools under convention. Applications go through the sending school, or via lavoraconnoi for spontaneous internships.

This page lists positions published directly on the company's career portal. Listings are refreshed daily by our automated crawler and link to the official application page. If no roles are shown, the company may not have open positions in Ticino right now — bookmark this page to stay updated.

Cross-border guide: salary, G permit, tax, weekly return

How we collect listings and what this page guarantees

Listings on this page come from a proprietary crawler that polls the main Swiss ATS (Smartrecruiters, Workday, proprietary trackers like Talentry and ServiceNow) every 6 hours, plus the cantonal Ticino Job Center, JobUp, JobScout24 and the career pages of long-standing Ticino employers. Every listing passes a deduplication check on normalised title + company + municipality before publication, so the same role does not appear twice even when the employer posts it on three portals. The displayed date is the original publication date — not the crawl timestamp — so you can judge the freshness. We keep listings online for 30 days or until the employer removes them from its ATS (we verify HTTP 404 and "position closed" redirects every 12 hours).

Living in Italy and working in Ticino: the cross-border geography

For Italian-resident G-permit candidates inside the 20 km border zone, applying to a role in Pregassona requires the cross-border permit. The application is filed by the Swiss employer at the Ticino cantonal migration office after the contract is signed: first issuance takes 2-6 weeks and is renewed yearly up to the contract end. Weekly return to the Italian domicile is required to keep the status; no separate visa is needed.

CHF gross salary: how to land at real take-home

Listings on this page publish CHF annual gross salary: the typical range for skilled office roles is CHF 60-110k, but real take-home depends on four variables. (1) Cantonal TI source tax: brackets 6-19 % depending on gross, marital status and number of children. (2) Social charges: AVS-AI-IPG 5.3 % flat, unemployment 1.1 % up to CHF 148,200/year, LPP rising from 7 % at 25 to 18 % above 55. (3) The 2024 Italy-Switzerland fiscal agreement: dual taxation with Italian tax credit up to 80 % of the Swiss withholding for new cross-border workers (hired after 17 July 2023), 10,000 EUR allowance. (4) Commute costs: a mid-size petrol car covering 40-60 km/day costs CHF 2,400-3,200/year between fuel, motorway and wear (Swiss vignette CHF 40 included). The typical gross-to-net gap is 18-28 % for a childless single, 12-22 % for a married worker with two dependents. Open the calculator with the listing's gross figure and your own profile to get the exact number for your scenario.

Example: a manager with a CHF 6'154 gross monthly offer in Pregassona (CHF 80,000 gross/year over 13 months). Source tax ~13 % (~CHF 800), AVS-AI-IPG 5.3 % (~CHF 326), LPP ~7 % (~CHF 431). Swiss net ~CHF 4'597/month. EUR rate at 0.97 → ~EUR 4'459. On the Italian side, 24.5 % of source tax is refunded to your residence municipality (border zone) and the Italian IRPEF tax credit closes the calculation. The Frontaliere Ticino calculator handles both regimes (old + new agreement) and shows the effective net.

Frequent questions from cross-border readers

How many days a week can I work remotely while keeping cross-border status?

Teleworking is currently allowed up to 25 % of the working time (about one day per week on a standard schedule) without losing cross-border status and without triggering social-security contributions in the country of residence. Above 25 %, a specific agreement between employer, employee and authorities is required — exceeding the cap shifts the social and fiscal basis toward Italy. Check the agreed share with HR before signing.

Does Pregassona have a different border zone than the rest of Switzerland?

No: the "border zone" of the 2024 Italy-Switzerland agreement is the same across the Canton of Ticino — Italian municipalities within 20 km of the Swiss border. What changes between Lugano and Bellinzona is the commute time, not the tax regime. Your Italian residence stays in the same municipality even if you switch employers between Ticino cities.

Are Italian qualifications recognised for this sector in Pregassona?

For most private-sector roles, the Swiss employer accepts an Italian diploma or degree directly, without formal recognition. For regulated professions (healthcare, civil engineering, lawyers, accountants) recognition by SBFI/SEFRI is required: the procedure takes 3-6 months and should be launched in parallel with applications, not afterwards.

How much does the commute actually cost on a monthly basis?

For a mid-size petrol car commuting 50 km/day (e.g. Como-Pregassona return), monthly cost across fuel, motorway and wear is around CHF 200-280. Adding the yearly Swiss vignette (CHF 40) and cross-border driver insurance, the annual impact is about CHF 2,500-3,200 to subtract from gross. Choosing TILO regional rail over private car can cut this cost by 30-40 % when distances and working hours allow the train.

Related tools for cross-border workers

Three free tools to close the loop before applying: cross-border net salary calculator with both tax regimes (old + 2024 new agreement) and the municipal refund estimate; CHF/EUR exchange comparator with rates from Italian banks, Swiss bureaus de change and Wise/Revolut; LAMal health-insurance comparator to pick the cheapest premium in your Ticino work municipality.