A good start helps decide whether new employees stay. In an SME there is often no time, so important things get lost in the rush of joining: registration with the pension fund, the safety briefing, access to the mailbox. An onboarding checklist sets out who does what by when. This guide shows which duties the law sets on joining, how to divide the process into phases and what you can already do before the first working day.
What the law requires on joining
Most items on a joining list are practice. A few, however, are statutory duties:
- Written information: For an open-ended employment relationship, or one of more than a month, you must inform the person in writing no later than one month after the start of the names of the contracting parties, the start date, the job title, salary and any salary supplements, and the weekly working time (Art. 330b, para. 1 CO). A contract with these five details meets this. More in the guide Create an employment contract.
- Probation period: The first month counts as the probation period; you agree a different length of at most three months in writing (Art. 335b, paras. 1 and 2 CO). Details in the guide Probation period in the employment contract.
- Data protection: You may process only data that concern suitability or are necessary for the contract (Art. 328b CO). Anyone who collects personal data informs the person concerned appropriately, at least of the identity and contact details of the controller, the purpose of processing and, where applicable, the recipients (Art. 19, paras. 1 and 2 DSG).
- Safety: Information and instruction about hazards and protective measures are given at the time the job starts, during working hours (Art. 6, paras. 1 and 4 VUV).
- Accident insurance: It starts on the day the employment relationship begins or the entitlement to salary first arises, and in any case when the person sets out on the way to work (Art. 3, para. 1 UVG). Anyone who works for you at least eight hours a week is also insured against non-occupational accidents (Art. 13, para. 1 UVV).
- Pension fund: Compulsory insurance begins on taking up the job (Art. 10, para. 1 BVG), provided the entry threshold is exceeded and no exception applies, for example a fixed-term contract of at most three months (Art. 1j BVV 2). See the guide to the BVG entry threshold.
- Family allowances: The employer informs about entitlement, provides the application form and passes it on to the family compensation fund (Federal Social Insurance Office, FSIO).
- Withholding tax: For persons liable to withholding tax you report the employment within eight days of the start of the job (Art. 5, para. 1 QStV).
Time recording is subject to its own rules, which the guide Working time recording explains.
The process in four phases
The deadlines below are suggestions from practice, not statutory deadlines. They are counted as days before or after joining.
| Phase | Tasks | Usually responsible |
|---|---|---|
| Before joining (about six weeks to one week) | Draw up and send the contract; check collective employment agreement (GAV) and minimum wage; receive signed documents back; open the personnel file; enter master data and payroll (payroll accounting); clarify permit; prepare registrations with pension fund, accident insurance and daily sickness allowance insurance | HR, Finance |
| Preboarding (about 14 to 3 days before) | Welcome email with information on the first day; induction programme; appoint a buddy; inform the team | HR, line managers |
| First working day | Reception and tour; hand over work equipment against receipt; explain regulations; hand over data protection information; safety briefing; IT induction | Line managers, HR, IT |
| Induction and probation period | Feedback after the first week; agree goals; plan training; check the first payslip; probation review meeting before expiry | Line managers, Finance, HR |
Additional items depend on the person: residence permit, withholding tax, company vehicle, protective equipment, forklift licence or driver card. A good template shows them only when needed.
Preboarding: collecting details before joining
Before the first day you need from the new person personal details, address, AHV number, bank details, emergency contact and documents such as an ID or permit. Instead of paper and emails, the person can enter them themselves. Collect only what you really need (Art. 328b CO) and tell the person what the data are for (Art. 19 DSG). A time-limited link and a check of the details by HR before they enter the personnel file make sense.
Who is responsible for what?
Assign each item to a role or a person: HR, line managers, IT, Finance. Only then does everyone see what is open. Line managers know the workplace and induction, IT the account and device, Finance salary and insurance; HR holds the threads together. Agree who steps in during absence.
Practical example: Elektro Gisler AG
Elektro Gisler AG is a fictitious business. Sofia Rossi starts on Monday, 8 March 2027, as a dispatcher on a full-time basis. Her annual salary is CHF 62’400 (13 × 4’800). She has a residence permit B and one child. A three-month probation period is stated in writing in the contract. The company works with the template’s standard deadlines:
| Date | Task | Who | Background |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 25.1.2027 | Send contract (42 days before joining) | HR | With the five details it meets Art. 330b CO |
| Mon 8.2.2027 | Signed documents back (28 days before) | HR | Family allowances: ask for supporting documents |
| Mon 15.2.2027 | Enter master data (21 days before) | HR | |
| Fri 26.2.2027 | Enter payroll in payroll accounting (10 days before) | Finance | Salary 62’400, withholding tax tariff code |
| Mon 1.3.2027 | Welcome email (7 days before) | HR | |
| Wed 3.3.2027 | Register with AHV, pension fund, UVG, daily sickness allowance (5 days before) | HR | 62’400 is above the threshold of CHF 23’040; coordinated salary 62’400 − 26’880 = 35’520 |
| Mon 8.3.2027 | First day: reception, safety briefing, data protection information | Line managers, HR | Art. 6 VUV, Art. 19 DSG |
| Thu 11.3.2027 | Register for withholding tax (3 days after joining) | HR | Statutory deadline eight days; cautiously by Mon 15.3.2027 |
| Sat 13.3.2027 | Feedback after the first week (5 days after joining) | Line managers | Calendar days: falls on a weekend |
| Mon 15.3.2027 | Family allowances application to the FAK (7 days after joining) | HR | |
| Wed 7.4.2027 | Check first payslip (30 days after joining) | Finance | Deductions, allowances, withholding tax |
The permit and withholding tax were ticked in the record. The withholding tax item is therefore on the list; for a Swiss person it would be missing. The information under Art. 330b CO is already met by the contract; otherwise it would fall due on 8 April 2027 at the latest. For a short-notice joining, the software would move expired deadlines to the joining day and mark them “catch up”.
Checklist
- Contract with the five details under Art. 330b CO and written probation period signed
- Permit, withholding tax liability and collective employment agreement (GAV) coverage clarified
- Personnel master data, salary and insurance entered in payroll accounting
- Pension fund, accident insurance and daily sickness allowance insurance registered; family allowances applied for
- Withholding tax reported within eight days (if applicable)
- Access, workplace and work equipment ready, handover against receipt
- Data protection information handed over, regulations explained
- Safety briefing carried out and documented on the first day
- Feedback meeting after the first week, goals for the probation period agreed
- First payslip checked, probation review meeting scheduled
How KMU | base helps
HR | base creates the joining checklist automatically, dates every item and lets the new person enter details themselves before joining.
1. Record joining. Under People › Employees › Record new joiner you enter the start date, workload, probation period and other details. Under “What applies?” you select what applies to the person, for example withholding tax, permit, work equipment or protective equipment. With “Record joiner and create checklist” the checklist is created by itself; if you later change the start date or details, it adapts. Items already completed remain unchanged.
2. Template and due dates. New customers start with around 90 ready-made items for joining and leaving (Swiss SME standard template). Every item is dated automatically, derived from joining, probation review meeting, end of probation, leaving or notice plus days; overdue items are marked in colour. You adapt the template under People › Onboarding: items, role, due date, condition and sub-items.
3. Preboarding. Under People › More › Preboarding you send the new person a time-limited link (3 to 60 days, default 14) to their private address, with information on the first day, contact person, welcome text and, optionally, the contract as a PDF. On the welcome page, without login, they enter personal details, address, telephone, AHV, IBAN and account holder, emergency contact and permit with validity; AHV and IBAN are validated. HR checks the details, returns them for correction if needed or transfers them to the personnel file; the matching checklist items are ticked off.
4. Assign. You assign individual items or the whole checklist to a person, who receives a link by email. The tasks then appear under Personal › My tasks – all apps. It is best to assign items for IT and Finance to a fixed person.
5. Free checklists for everything else. For topics beyond joining and leaving, such as year-end closing, a trade fair, an office move or onboarding a customer, every app offers shared free checklists under Personal › Checklists. You start empty or from a template, share the list with people, teams or roles and decide who may edit, only tick off or only read. Assigned items also appear under My tasks; comments with @-mentions arrive in the bell.
What you need to know:
- The template’s deadlines and notes are suggestions from practice, in calendar days, and can fall on a weekend or public holiday. You check statutory deadlines, for example for withholding tax, yourself.
- Preboarding requires that the person has been recorded as a joiner; confirming the contract via the link does not replace a signature under the contract.
- The template is industry-neutral. Adapt items, roles and conditions to your business.
- You create the contract itself separately from the checklist.
If you would like to try it yourself, take a look at the Demo or open a test account. If you have questions, we will help you via the Contact page.
Sources
- Code of Obligations (OR, SR 220), Art. 328b, 330b, para. 1 and 335b, paras. 1 and 2, as at 1 October 2026: fedlex.admin.ch (German original), accessed on 27.10.2026.
- Federal Act on Data Protection (DSG, SR 235.1), Art. 19, as at 7 July 2025: fedlex.admin.ch (German original), accessed on 27.10.2026.
- Ordinance on the Prevention of Accidents and Occupational Diseases (VUV, SR 832.30), Art. 6, as at 1 May 2018: fedlex.admin.ch (German original), accessed on 27.10.2026.
- Federal Act on Accident Insurance (UVG, SR 832.20), Art. 3, para. 1, as at 1 January 2026: fedlex.admin.ch (German original); Ordinance on Accident Insurance (UVV, SR 832.202), Art. 13, para. 1, as at 1 January 2026: fedlex.admin.ch (German original), accessed on 27.10.2026.
- Federal Act on Occupational Retirement, Survivors’ and Invalidity Pension Provision (BVG, SR 831.40), Art. 10, para. 1, as at 1 January 2025, and BVV 2 (SR 831.441.1), Art. 1j, as at 1 January 2025: fedlex.admin.ch (German original), accessed on 27.10.2026.
- FDF Ordinance on Withholding Tax for Direct Federal Tax (QStV, SR 642.118.2), Art. 5, para. 1, as at 10 January 2025: fedlex.admin.ch (German original), accessed on 27.10.2026.
- FSIO, family allowances, organisation: bsv.admin.ch (in German), accessed on 27.10.2026.
This guide does not replace legal or tax advice. Information as at 27.10.2026.