Five steps lie between finding an assignment and your first salary: a simulation, the assignment description by your client, two written contracts, your online registration, then your first month. All you provide is a CV and an identity document.
Where do I start?
With a simulation. Before making any commitment, you know what you will be left with. Four details are enough: your daily rate, the number of days, your canton of residence and your family situation.
The simulation sets out each line, from the invoice to the net salary: our fees, the contributions, the estimated withholding tax.
SPTS fees are 4% of the invoiced amount, with a minimum of CHF 400 per month. No entry, exit or administration fees.
What does your client do?
Your client describes the assignment online: the dates, the rate, the currency, the place of work and the payment terms. What your client writes is authoritative: the contracts reproduce its terms exactly, and any change requires a correction on its part.
Which contracts are signed, and how quickly?
Two written contracts, drawn up within 2 days once the information has been gathered.
- Your employment contract with SPTS: it specifies in particular the type of work, the place of work and the start of the assignment, the duration or the notice period, the working hours, the salary and the social insurance deductions (Art. 19 of the Federal Act on Recruitment and the Hiring of Services, LSE, as at 01.01.2026).
- The staff leasing contract between SPTS and your client: it sets the terms on which you are placed at your client's disposal and the rate (Art. 22 LSE, as at 01.01.2026).
You sign them online, from your personal area, without printing anything. You work under your client's direction, and it is SPTS that employs you. This is what defines staff leasing (SECO directives on the LSE, section 3.1.2.6, June 2024).
Which documents do I need to provide?
Two documents: your CV and a valid identity document. You then complete your details in your online personal area: identity, address, family situation, bank details.
What if I do not yet have a work permit for Switzerland?
That depends on your nationality.
- You are already authorised to work in Switzerland: your permit is sufficient.
- You are an EU/EFTA national (Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein) and not yet in Switzerland: as a licensed staff leasing provider, SPTS can employ you and carries out the formalities. For an assignment of three months or less, an online notification made before the first day is sufficient; beyond that, a short-term residence permit, limited to the assignment, is required. The decision rests with the cantonal migration authority (SECO directives on the LSE, para. 3.10.4, June 2024; State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) directives on the Ordinance on the Introduction of the Free Movement of Persons (OLCP), January 2026).
- You are a national of another country and not yet authorised in Switzerland: staff leasing is in principle not open to you (SECO directives, para. 3.10.1.2, June 2024). Let us discuss it before taking any steps.
How does the first month work?
You work under your client's direction. At the end of the month, your client approves your timesheet; SPTS invoices the approved hours; your salary is paid within two working days of receiving your client's payment, together with your payslip.
Do you have an assignment in view? Send us your daily rate, the number of days and your canton: we will reply with your simulation. Request my simulation (on the site, at launch)
Further reading
- The brochure "Starting an assignment with SPTS" (PDF, 6 pages, in French).
- The brochure "From invoice to net salary" (PDF, 7 pages, in French).
- Repère No. 02: a month in payrolling (in French).
Licensed in Switzerland and internationally. SPTS is licensed by the Canton of Geneva and by SECO for staff leasing and recruitment, in Switzerland and abroad. All professions. Check the federal register of licensed companies (SECO)
Sources
- Federal Act on Recruitment and the Hiring of Services (LSE), Art. 19 and 22, version of 01.01.2026 (in French)
- SECO, directives and commentary on the LSE, paras. 3.1.2.6, 3.1.4, 3.10.1.2 and 3.10.4, June 2024 edition (PDF)
- SEM, OLCP directives, January 2026 (PDF, in French)
This article provides general information. It does not replace advice tailored to a specific situation.