Overemployment possible?

Hi

Does anybody have experience with “Overemployment”? (Working multiple remote jobs).
I have a remote job in IT. I don’t have to put in too much hours or efforts in it but they are really satisfied with me.
Now I’ve got an offer for another remote job with should also not take too much effort. I’m thinking of trying to do both at the same time.

How possible would that be in Switzerland? Will the employer find out because of AHV/pensions contributions/something else?
What’s the worst that could happen if they find out?

Thanks for your input!

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Might sound great at first since there is quite a community especially in the US doing this but unfortunately not so easy in switzerland. You would have to convince one employer to pay into the better 2nd pillar of the two because else you might have double coordination deduction etc.

In most work contracts it’s clearly stated that you have to inform your employer if you are doing any paid work outside of this work contract. They might accept if you just tell them it’s a small side gig but if they find out you lied see last point.

They won’t. I’m pretty sure it would be a breach of privacy if the AHV would inform your employer that other companies are paying for you aswell but I’m not 100% sure on that.

Immediate termination of your work contract.

Read your contract. The law doesn’t forbid it. I’m employing someone who is full time elsewhere.

You don’t have to sign up to their second pillar, but you will have to disclose that you already have full employment elsewhere.

If it’s allowed from your existing contract, you could work around the second pillar problem by asking them hire you as a contractor.

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Hi @attika59,

no, not in the sense of having more than 100% employment.

I cannot say anything about contractors.

For salaried employees, I don’t see any issue as long as your total official workload doesn’t exceed the maximum number of work hours. That is currently 45 or 50 hours, depending on the type of work. s. State Secretariat of Economic Affairs
So a 50% contract here for 20 hours and another 50% there for another 22 hours would not raise issues and also alleviate concerns of the employers that your side hustle interferes with your main job.
You may be able to tweak that number, but having two contracts adding up to nominally 60 hours a week may raise eyebrows.

Again, for salaried employees, there are rules to ensure that they have rest periods:

S. also fact sheet on multiple employers.
(Sorry, both sources only available in German)

See also my previous post (esp. item 2):

So first, read your contract.

What’s the worst that could happen if they find out?

They can fire you. Well, realistically, only if you’re in clear violation of your contract, e. g. you work for a competitor, violate confidentiality agreements or have a strict “no side hustle rule (without prior permission)” rule.

I strongly suggest to get written permission from each employer, allowing side hustles in a broad manner, and to anticipate a discussion about any formal “overwork”. Usually, employers can refuse permission beforehand only with very good reasons.
It’s more about communication than the official rules. After all, you wan to stay on good terms with both employers.

Cheers,
J.

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Can someonemplease,explain whatmismthe exact issue with the second pillar when one has 2 jobs?

That’s actually quite a rabbit hole you need to go down:

I have no experience with this case, and I guess for all the reason I’ve listed with two jobs above the maximum work hours per week, most side hustles are done as contractors, not employees. Of course, there are other things to watch out as contractor. But at least you don’t have to deal with coordination costs and other intricacies of the 2nd pillar.

Cheers,
J.

Where are the employers located? In Switzerland, in EFTA or the EU, or outside of EFTA and the EU?

If the employer is in Switzerland or another EFTA country, or in an EU country, then they have to pay your social security contributions, take out accident insurance, a pension fund, etc. (assuming your salary passes the minimum thresholds for these social insurances).

If the employer is located outside of EFTA or the EU (and possibly the UK), then it is easier. You register that employment as anobag at your local Swiss social security office, and state how much income you earn from that employment. You then pay contributions on that employment yourself, separately from your Swiss employment.

How long do you work for each employer?

The amount of time you work for an (EFTA/EU/possibly UK) employer determines which social security you are subject to. If more than 20% of your work is done in Switzerland (e.g. home office) and you live here, then that employment relationship is subject to Swiss social security. That gets a bit complicated because your foreign employer has to take out Swiss social insurance and pay contributions for you. Many employers use payroll companies to simplify the setup.

If you do more than 80% of the work in your employer’s country of domicile, then that employment is subject to that country’s social security.

This isn’t an issue if your employer is not in an EFTA or EU country, as you will then register as anobag and be covered by (self-administrated) Swiss social security.

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There is no real limit on employment (what percentage you can be employed, in total), as far as I know. There are simply limits on the maximum salaries on which you pay contributions to the AHV, DI, a pension fund, accident insurance, etc. Certain kinds of jobs also have special limits, where working too long could be hazardous.

Das Arbeitsgesetz beschränkt die wöchentliche Höchstarbeitszeit auf 45 resp. 50 Stunden.
Die 45 Stunden gelten im Wesentlichen in der Industrie, in Bürobetrieben und in grossen Verkaufsgeschäften. 50 Stunden gelten in den übrigen Betrieben, namentlich in Gewerbebetrieben sowie in den Gesundheitsberufen, soweit diese dem Arbeitsgesetz unterstellt sind.

That limits total employment to around 120%, and this is what I had heard.

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Right. I stand corrected. I got mixed up with self-employment. If you are employed by a Swiss company, then your employer has to keep to maximum work hours. But that is a requirement for employers, and not employees (AFAIK). It’s possible that this requirement could be extended to employers in EFTA or EU countries, if you are subject to Swiss social security (though it’s hard to see how that would work). If you work for an employer outside of the EU or EFTA (Anobag), I can’t see this being enforcable at all.

But the closest thing to an answer to the question would be what Dr. Pi posted above.

I have seen some articles in 20 minutes about some young people doing 2 or 3 jobs at the same time, not informing anyone and so far they haven’t had any trouble.

They are declaring everything to tax office. They don’t seem to have a problem with it. This came to me as a surprise. I was in a similar situation as yours and if I had known that I might have taken that opportunity.

In theory you are supposed to inform your employer and stay within the limit of weekly max working hours.

In practice, as long as you don’t enter a complicated scheme and keep it simple with the second company, i think it is low risk that anyone finds out.

I think investing these extra hours in building your own business may be more profitable long term.

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Ask to be transformed to a contractor so you’d have your own company.

Then you can bill 200-300% of your time to your clients, as your heart desires. You employment legally will only be 100% (as an employee of your own company).

Just make sure to keep both clients happy.