An apprenticeship contract supports a person’s initial vocational education. For a personnel administrator, changing the title of an ordinary employment contract is therefore insufficient. Occupation, training duration and the responsible trainer belong to the process, alongside cantonal approval. This guide explains the workflow in HR | base, from choosing the contract type to recording the official decision. It does not provide a universal recommended salary. The relevant starting points are documented terms for the occupation and training company, checked against the actual agreement and the authority’s requirements.
Legal basis and responsibility
The special rules for apprenticeship contracts appear in Articles 344–346a of the Code of Obligations. Article 344a requires a written contract and sets out its minimum content. Article 14 of the Vocational and Professional Education and Training Act provides for cantonal approval. An ordinary notice clause for indefinite employment under Article 335c CO therefore cannot simply be carried across. Check the training period and occupational content against the applicable training ordinance.
First establish which canton is responsible for the training company. The company’s registered canton can provide a useful default, but it does not settle every case where training takes place elsewhere. You can override the canton for an individual contract. The displayed office and its link help you verify the submission process. Where that process is undocumented, the interface explicitly leaves it marked for checking. Read the official instructions before arranging submission and signatures.
Occupation and training duration
Open the contract from the personnel file and choose the apprentice contract type. HR | base then opens the apprenticeship form. An existing apprenticeship contract is also opened through this entry point. This lets you continue the same process instead of creating an additional ordinary employment contract. Check the person and associated company before entering conditions. That check is particularly useful when you are preparing several personnel files in succession.
Enter the official occupational title, the EFZ or EBA qualification and any specialisation. An occupational code can help identify the correct training programme. A freely entered description does not demonstrate that every requirement of that programme has been met. Compare the information with the occupational documentation and cantonal form. If the sources differ, clarify which reference applies before finalising the document. The distinction matters for both the training plan and the contract’s duration.
Next enter the start, end and duration in months. The form can suggest an end date from the start and duration. In the opposite direction, matching dates that describe an exact whole number of months allow that duration to be applied. Review the suggestion before saving it. A different end date is not silently replaced with a rounded duration. The recorded boundaries also determine which training years need salary conditions. Recheck these boundaries whenever you revise the training period.
Probation, supervision and salary
Under Article 344a CO, probation is generally between one and three months. Without a different agreement, three months apply. An extension to a total of six months requires a timely agreement and the cantonal authority’s consent. The additional date field does not itself provide evidence of that consent. Clarify the supporting documents with the office before treating an extension as agreed. Keep a proposed date distinct from a condition supported by the necessary evidence.
Select the responsible trainer from the accessible employees of the same company. Check the name printed in the document and the person’s actual responsibilities at the workplace. Selecting someone in the software does not replace checking their suitability under the relevant occupational requirements. If responsibility changes, update the contract deliberately and establish the appropriate next step with the office. A clearly identified trainer also helps colleagues understand who is responsible when they later work on the file.
For every displayed training year, enter the agreed gross monthly salary and the arrangement for a thirteenth salary. The software does not invent a recommendation to fill these fields. Use documented occupational references or a verified agreement. A missing annual row remains visible in the checklist. If you later shorten the training period, explicitly review salary rows outside the new period before removing them. This prevents conditions from remaining attached to years that no longer belong to the contract.
Working time, holiday and education
Record the agreed weekly working time. Compare work in the company with school attendance and other mandatory training activities. The form collects contractual terms; it does not automatically certify that every working pattern is lawful. Planning for young apprentices must also account for the applicable protective rules. Clarify missing information rather than substituting a customary figure without evidence. The employer’s operational plan and the educational obligations should be considered together when the conditions are reviewed.
The holiday suggestion depends on age at the start of training. The displayed source identifies the legal basis. Also check any more favourable agreement that may apply. If you change the start date, reload the suggestions and deliberately decide whether to use the new value. An existing contractual entry should not change without your awareness. The suggestion supports a review; it does not confirm every individual condition. Compare it with the actual circumstances before creating the final document.
Complete the vocational school, location and school days for each training year. Intercompany courses have separate rows for title, provider, location and number of days. Enter only information that is known and checked. Open educational details should be clarified before the final discussion with the cantonal office. Article 345a CO covers, among other matters, the time required for training and examinations. Recording these details together makes it easier to compare the educational plan and contractual arrangements.
Costs and insurance
Explain who pays for school materials, courses and other agreed costs. A clear description of responsibility is more useful than an unsupported flat amount. Use the company’s actual documents and the guidance relevant to the programme. Check that the contract agrees with the material presented to the apprentice for signature. Where several documents describe the same responsibility, review their consistency. A contradictory attachment can leave uncertainty even when the main form appears complete.
Then review occupational accident insurance, non-occupational accident insurance and daily sickness allowance insurance. Record understandable arrangements based on the available insurance documents. Free text in a form does not replace checking actual cover. If several operational situations exist within the company, use the one that applies to this apprenticeship. A broad statement may leave an important question unanswered. Clarify that question while preparing the document instead of relying on an assumed standard arrangement.
Practical example: a fictional training company
The fictional Cloud Workshop prepares a contract for Lina Wolkenfels. The personnel administrator opens Lina’s file and selects the apprentice type. She checks the canton of the training company, enters the occupation and compares start and end dates with the training documents. She selects the responsible trainer within the company. For salary, she uses no generic figure; she checks the available documented references and the actual agreement.
After entering school and costs, she saves the draft. The checklist still shows missing information and points requiring review. She creates the PDF in the personnel file after addressing those items. The notice that approval is still outstanding remains visible. A saved document or a tick on the joining checklist is therefore not confused with a positive official decision. The separate stages remain understandable to the colleague who may take over responsibility for the file later.
Submission and approval
Compare the document with the current cantonal form and arrange the necessary signatures. The software does not automatically send the contract to the office. After actual submission, record its date and any available reference. The status then describes an evidenced step, rather than a planned delivery. Use the canton’s link to consult the instructions that apply to the specific situation. Keep the supporting records with the rest of the contract documentation.
When approval arrives, enter its date and number from the decision. Approval can only be recorded after submission. Until then, the interface displays the reservation that the contract becomes valid after approval. If the contract is rejected, record that status and clarify the required amendments. Early termination requires consideration of Article 346 CO; the ordinary notice calculation is not the appropriate workflow for that situation. Clarify the process with the responsible authority.
How KMU | base helps
The form follows the document’s sections and uses shared protected server functions for the draft, PDF and official statuses. The personnel file card shows status, current training year and the next year change. Access follows the rights for the person and their contractual data. Protected people retain that protection for apprenticeship contracts. Viewing and editing remain separate operations subject to the relevant permissions, rather than being permitted merely because a link is visible.
Administrators maintain occupational and cantonal guidance with a source, date and check status. A value without a source or dated reference remains marked for checking. The form displays that provenance so you can compare and apply the value deliberately. Approval updates the intended salary records for each training year. Read the returned notices, particularly when manual rows are retained or the salary module has not been configured. Reviewing these responses completes the recorded workflow.