Establishing a private employment agency: 5 steps to obtain the staff leasing permit

Because it’s regulated by law. Those who work without a permit risk high fines!

Some people also refer to it as a staff leasingGlossary licence. In Switzerland, it’s not officially called a licence, but a permit.

The Employment Agency Act (Arbeitsvermittlungsgesetz, AVG) regulates private employment agencies and staff leasingGlossary in Switzerland. This law was enacted to protect job seekers and workers on loan and regulates the two types of permits:

• Placement permit: for those who regularly matches jobseekers with employers for payment
• Leasing permit: for those who hire employees commercially and make them available to customers for temporary assignments – i.e. temporary work.

You can find the source of these explanations here.

As is often the case in Switzerland, this topic is regulated by the canton. The cantonal employment offices are responsible, namely the office of the canton where your company is located. This means that you need a commercial register entry. If you have other branches in other cantons in addition to your head office, you will also need a permit from this canton.

If you are working across borders, you also need the federal permit from SECO. You can also request this via the cantons – they will forward your documents electronically to SECO.

You can find a list of all cantonal employment offices here:

Two terms that are often mentioned in one sentence but represent different business models and therefore have different requirements of your offer, the contracts you need to issue, the software you will use and the expertise you need to bring to the table. But don’t worry, we understand both models and offer corresponding back office services.

Personnel placement: The recruiter is looking for talents or candidates for a specific vacancy at a company. If the match between talent and company is right, then the employment contract between these parties is created. The employment agency receives a commission for the successful placement.

Staff leasingGlossary: in this type of employment, employees work temporarily for a company, also known as an assignment, a host or a contracting company. The staffing agency concludes a framework contract with one person and lends the person to another company via an assignment contract. As an employer, the staffing agency is responsible for wages, withholding tax, insurance, social security contributions and so on. Depending on the duration and industry of the assignment, other legal rules apply to the obligation to provide insurance and to pay taxes. The staffing agency must invoice all wages correctly from the 1st hour and communicate with the authorities. The company pays the staffing agency a fee specified in the staff leasingGlossary agreement. This type of employment is also called temporary work.

Note: These requirements apply at the time of publication of this blog, laws are constantly being adapted – so it is better to check shortly beforehand. 

To become a recruiter in Switzerland, as a leading person you must either:

1. be a Swiss citizen, or
2. foreigner with a permanent residence permit (excluding EU/EFTA citizens due to the Free Movement of Persons Agreement between Switzerland and the EU and the corresponding adjustment of the EFTA Agreement)
3. have a good reputation (no criminal record, bankruptcies, etc.) and
4. offer professional placement.

Your ability to offer professional placement will be attested to you, if you

1. have completed a vocational apprenticeship or equivalent training and can prove that you have been employed for several years, and
2. a recognised training for recruiters or staff leasingGlossary; or
3. 3 years’ professional experience in employment placement, staff leasingGlossary, personnel, organisational or business consulting or in human resources

The following is also required:

1. A company that is registered in the commercial register and whose purpose matches the offer
2. A suitable business premises, branch office, office
3. Do not engage in any other business that could jeopardise the interests of job seekers or employers

Additional requirements must be met for international placements.

These are the hard facts. We further recommend:

You should understand the needs of companies and employees in your target industries – the construction industry is very different from an IT company! You are central to the success of your business! A good network, strong communication skills and negotiating skills will get you far.

Can you tick all the boxes? Then the permit is the only requirement that keeps you from doing your own business. In order to apply for the permit successfully, you need to have a lot of documents and sample contracts ready. In addition to the documents, prospective staffing agencies must also pay a deposit and confirm that an accident insurance policy is available or that contact has been confirmed.

Note: in most cases, the documents should not be older than 6 months

1. Compile documents for the company in accordance with the cantonal specifications (e.g. commercial register excerpt, rental agreement, etc.)
2. Keep documents on the leading persons ready in accordance with the specifications (e.g. CV, residence permits, work certificates, etc.)
3. Staff leasingGlossary: Pay cash deposit, or deposit into the office’s account (no interest is paid, ouch) and confirmation of accident insurance
4. Staff leasingGlossary: Sample contracts for the contracts: Temporary employment contract, assignment contract, staff leasingGlossary contract, etc. – alternatively: Placement contract: this regulates the amount of commissions and fees for jobseekers. If this is free of charge, the placement is only charged to the employer, then this point is omitted.
5. Upload all documents to the website of the Cantonal Office of Labour!

1. Company founding costs: Fees of the Cantonal Commercial Register Office, notary fees for certifications
2. Rent for the business premises
3. Fees for issuing and amending permits (cantonally different)
4. A deposit or cash deposit of at least CHF 50,000 must be deposited with the canton – deposit insurance can also be taken out as an alternative.

Obtaining a successful staff leasingGlossary permit can be a complex matter, but with the right approach, it’s quite feasible. The big stumbling block is clearly the many documents you need to collect in order to submit your application.

The cantonal offices offer information sheets on their websites. This is that of the Office for Labour of the Canton of Zurich. If you work with a strong partner right from the start, you have nothing to lose. We are here to help you with tips & tricks, know the details, have the sample contracts and the right software so that you can hit the ground running right away as soon as the permit arrives!