Requirement
Resident director
Provide the Swiss-resident management the company and its licence require.
Resident directorStaffing & Recruitment
in Switzerland.
Placement and hiring-out of staff are regulated activities in Switzerland, and the licence depends on having the right people and substance in place first. We set up staffing and recruitment firms with the resident director, the registered office, the payroll and the books the activity and its licence require.
At a glance
The entity, the resident management and the payroll a staffing firm is built on.
Independent since 2007 · IFLR1000-ranked · offices in Zurich and Zug · one partner per file.
- Activity
- Placement & staff leasing
- Need
- Resident director & office
- Payroll
- Social security & AHV/ALV
- Books
- Compliant from day one
The challenge
What this sector has to get right in Switzerland
Personnel placement and the hiring-out of staff (Personalverleih) are licensed activities under Swiss law, supervised by the cantonal labour authorities and SECO. A firm that places or leases workers needs an authorisation, and that authorisation rests on having a properly constituted Swiss company, management resident in Switzerland who can be held responsible, suitable premises, and in the case of staff leasing a financial security. The licence is not a formality stapled onto a company; the company has to be built to support it.
Once trading, a staffing firm is a payroll business above all. It runs wages, AHV/ALV and other social-security contributions, source tax for foreign workers, and the reporting that goes with them, often across many short engagements. Errors here are not just costly; they put the licence and the client relationships at risk. The accounting and payroll have to be right and timely from the first placement.
We incorporate the company, provide or arrange the resident director and registered office that the authorisation needs, and set up the payroll and bookkeeping, so the firm meets the licensing conditions and can run placements compliantly from day one. Where the activity is licensed we prepare the application; the authority grants it.
What this desk handles
The services this sector uses most
Each links to the service page itself. Most mandates here combine several; one partner co-ordinates them.
Setup
Swiss company formation
Incorporate the operating company with the form and substance the activity needs.
Swiss company formationOffice
Registered office & domicile
A genuine Swiss business address and domicile for the company and its authorisation.
Registered office & domicilePayroll
Payroll & social security
Run wages, AHV/ALV, source tax and reporting across every engagement.
Payroll & social securityBooks
Accounting & bookkeeping
Keep the firm's books compliant and current, ready for review.
Accounting & bookkeepingVAT
VAT compliance
Register and report VAT correctly on placement and leasing fees.
VAT compliance Talk to the desk
Speak to a partner who knows the sector
No intake form to a junior, no call centre. The partner who reads your enquiry is the one who has run this structure before, and the one who will own your file. Outline your situation and you will have a considered reply, with the likely route and the next step, within one business day.
Why Goldblum and Partners
Swiss depth, one accountable partner
A staffing licence rests on the company, the resident management and the payroll being right — not the other way round. We build that base and prepare the authorisation, have been independent since 2007, and have been ranked by IFLR1000 across editions from 2015 to 2026. One partner co-ordinates the entity, the substance and the payroll.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions.
01What is the difference between a placement agency and a staff-leasing business?
A placement agency (Arbeitsvermittlung) introduces a job-seeker to an employer who then hires them directly; the agency takes a fee and has no employment relationship. A staff-leasing firm (Personalverleih) employs the worker itself and hires them out to a client company that directs the work daily. Both need a licence under the Recruitment and Hiring of Services Act (AVG, SR 823.11), but only leasing requires a security deposit.
02Which Swiss authority issues a recruitment or staff-leasing licence?
The cantonal labour office (Arbeitsamt) of the canton where the business has its registered office grants a licence for ordinary domestic placement or leasing. SECO, the federal labour authority, issues an additional federal licence only where the activity crosses the Swiss border. The cantonal licence is the base; the federal licence is added for cross-border work, not a substitute for it.
03Does a cantonal staffing licence apply if the business has offices in several cantons?
No. A business operating from multiple cantons needs a separate cantonal licence in each canton where it runs a leasing or placement office. The head-office licence does not travel. A group with offices in Zurich, Geneva and Zug therefore holds three cantonal licences, plus a single SECO federal licence if any branch leases across the border.
04How much is the security deposit for a Swiss staff-leasing licence?
The security deposit for staff leasing ranges from CHF 50,000 to CHF 150,000, set by the cantonal authority according to the scale of the business. Cross-border leasing sits at the upper end of that band. A placement-only agency lodges no deposit. The deposit must be lodged before the licence is issued and secures the wage claims of leased workers if the firm fails.
05Can a Swiss staff-leasing firm hire out workers from abroad into Switzerland?
No. Under the AVG, a recruitment business established abroad is not authorised to recruit for jobs in Switzerland at all. Hiring out workers from a foreign seat directly into Swiss client companies is prohibited. A foreign staffing group that wants the Swiss market must either partner with an existing licensed Swiss agency or establish and register a Swiss legal entity of its own.
06What legal structure and business premises must a staff-leasing firm have in Switzerland?
A staff-leasing or placement firm must be entered in the Swiss commercial register as a legal entity, usually a GmbH or AG, and must operate from suitable dedicated business premises. The company must not pursue any activity that conflicts with the interests of the workers or client companies. A named responsible person must be resident in Switzerland or hold a settlement permit and be of good standing.
07What qualifications and residence status must the responsible person for a staffing licence hold?
The licence attaches to a named responsible person who must hold Swiss nationality or an EU/EFTA residence permit. That person must be of good reputation, verified via criminal records and debt-collection registers, and demonstrate relevant training and professional experience in placement or leasing. The responsible person must be resident in Switzerland; the licence cannot be held by a non-resident sitting outside the country.
08What social-security registrations must a Swiss staffing firm complete before hiring staff?
A staffing firm that employs staff must register for AHV/IV/EO (state pension and disability insurance), ALV (unemployment insurance), and affiliate to a BVG occupational pension fund. It must also arrange accident insurance (UVG) and family-allowance registration. These registrations must be in place before the first payroll is run. Run incorrectly, they create back-contributions and personal director liability.
09What penalties apply if a staffing business operates without the required licence?
Operating without the required licence is a breach of the AVG (Recruitment and Hiring of Services Act). The cantonal authority can order the activity stopped, and unlawful operation is subject to penalty under the Act. Placement or hiring-out contracts concluded by an unlicensed agency expose the agency to civil consequences. The licence is a precondition for lawful trading, not a formality to regularise afterwards.
10How long does it take to obtain a Swiss staffing or recruitment licence?
There is no fixed statutory deadline. In practice, the cantonal decision follows once the file is complete: commercial-register entry, good-standing evidence for the responsible person, suitable business premises, and for leasing the lodged security deposit. The deposit and the responsible-person qualifications are usually what set the pace, not the canton's processing time. Cross-border cases add a separate SECO approval step.
The client's stories
What clients say
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Setting up a staffing or recruitment firm in Switzerland?
Tell us whether you place or lease staff and from which canton. A partner will map the entity, the resident management and the payroll it needs, and reply within one business day.
