Convenio del sector limpieza Suiza 2026 — salarios mínimos, categorías, indemnizaciones en Tesino

The Swiss Cleaning CCL — the sector's binding reference

When people in Switzerland ask about the cleaning industry's minimum wage, the answer isn't a single national figure but a collective labour agreement — the Contratto Nazionale di Lavoro (CCNL/GAV/CCT) — which sets pay, hours, holidays, sick leave and allowances for anyone working in industrial or private cleaning. The 2026 version is generally binding following declaration by the Federal Council, which means it applies even to companies that haven't signed it directly. For anyone hiring privately or running a cleaning business, the figures below are the legal floor, not a suggestion.

CCL Ticino categories — who earns what

The Ticino cleaning CCL is separate from the German-Switzerland GAV run by Allpura, and it classifies minimum wages by task type (ordinary, special, hospital, vehicle cleaning) and by training level (I without formal training, II with). Above the two levels sit the federal qualifications CFP and AFC, reached through formal apprenticeship paths of two and three years respectively.

2026 minimum hourly gross wages — Ticino Cleaning CCL:

Federal qualifications (above levels I/II):

Administrative staff (minimum monthly salary):

Allowances (on top of the base rate)

The hourly rates above are the base. On top of them stack the allowances for the time slots and days the legislator considers worthy of an uplift, and these uplifts are calculated against the base wage of the contractual category.

Night work, defined between 22:00 and 06:00, carries a +25% uplift: an ordinary cleaner level I in Ticino working from 23:00 to 06:00 therefore moves from CHF 18.50 to roughly CHF 23.15/h. Sundays and cantonal holidays trigger a +50% uplift — the same level I on a Sunday earns CHF 27.75/h gross. Federal public holidays (New Year, Easter, Christmas, the 1 August National Day) carry a +100% uplift, bringing level I to CHF 37.00/h gross on those dates.

On top of this there's a minimum allowance for on-call work or urgent interventions outside contractual hours, set in the individual employment contract.

Employer-side social contributions

When you hire someone privately, the gross wage isn't the final cost — you have to add the mandatory social contributions, which the employer pays by law in proportion to the gross:

• AVS, AI and IPG (loss-of-earnings insurance): 5.275% (2026)
• Unemployment insurance (AD): 1.1%
• Daily sickness benefit insurance (IGM): variable, around 1–2%
• Suva (occupational and non-occupational accident insurance): variable, around 0.5–2%; the cleaning industry rate is typically 1.5%
• Second pillar (LPP) if annual income exceeds the entry threshold (CHF 22'050 in 2025, indexed): around 7–12% paid by the employee and the same by the employer
• Cantonal family contribution: variable, around 0.5–1.5%

In total, a private employer pays roughly 12–20% on top of the gross wage for employees below the LPP threshold, and 25–30% above. Translated into concrete numbers, a cleaner with CCL level I in Ticino working 8 hours a week — 32 hours a month — costs:

• CCL level I rate: CHF 18.50/h
• Gross monthly wage: 32 × CHF 18.50 = CHF 592/month
• Employer-side social contributions (~17%): ~CHF 100/month
• Total cost to the employer: ~CHF 692/month
• Annualised, including 13th month: ~CHF 9,000

For anyone considering hiring a cleaner directly at home, this is the realistic calculation — and the starting point for comparing with the alternatives.

AVS simplified procedure for domestic work

For small domestic employment — below the annual threshold of roughly CHF 21,500 in 2025 — AVS provides a simplified procedure that significantly reduces paperwork for the private employer. Registration is done via a dedicated form on the AVS website, contributions are paid in a unified manner four times a year, and the employer is recorded not as a company but as a "private employer" with reduced documentation. Pay and contributions remain fully regular: what changes is the form, not the substance.

A chèque emploi system like the ones in Vaud and Geneva is not yet active in Ticino, but it's been under evaluation for 2026.

Other important elements of the CCL

Beyond the hourly rate, the CCL defines the other contractual elements that distinguish a sound contract from an unbalanced one.

Working hours are 42–43 hours per week as standard, with the option of going up to 45 hours when overtime is paid; the minimum lunch break is 30 minutes and is unpaid. Holidays are 4 weeks under age 50, 5 weeks from age 50 onwards (and for employees under 20), with the possibility of 6 weeks from age 60 in some cases. The 13th-month salary is mandatory under the cleaning CCL, paid in December or pro-rata monthly depending on contract terms.

In case of illness, the CCL guarantees salary continuation for a period that grows with seniority: three weeks in the first year, up to six months after ten or more years of service, covered by the employer's IGM sickness insurance. Notice periods start with a 1–3 month probation; after probation the notice is one month at month-end up to 9 years of service, two months from 10 to 19 years, and three months beyond 20 years.

What is NOT CCL

Angolli's professional alternative

Resources

• Ticino Cleaning CCL — official text: servizio-ccl.ch (vertrag 13471)
• Ticino cantonal minimum wage: www4.ti.ch — USML
• GAV Reinigung Deutschschweiz 2026-2029 (PDF): allpura.ch/pdf/GAV_2026-2029.pdf
• Allpura (employer association, German Switzerland): allpura.ch
• AVS procedures for domestic work: ahv-iv.ch
• Suva cleaning: suva.ch
• Verify a company VAT number: uid.admin.ch

Annual updates

Both the Ticino CCL and the SMC are subject to periodic renegotiation, and the minimum rates are indexed to the cost of living through the consumer price index. Before signing a long-term contract or accepting an hourly-rate offer, it's worth checking the current values on servizio-ccl.ch and on the Ticino USML site.