Switzerland

Operating a business

Different types of companies	Number of partners/shareholders	Maximum and/or minimum capital	Liabilities	Registration fees
Private Limited Company.	Minimum 2 partners.	Minimum CHF 20,000. Maximum CHF 2 million.	Liability is limited up to the registered capital and not to the amount contributed.	CHF 600 for registration with the Register of Companies.
Public Limited Company.	Minimum 3 partners.	Minimum 100,000 CHF.	Liability is limited to the amount contributed.	CHF 600 for registration with the Trade Register .
General partnership.	Minimum 2 partners.	No minimum capital.	Liability is unlimited.	CHF 240 for registration with the Trade Register.
Limited partnership.	Two types of partners: active partners and sleeping partners.	No minimum capital.	Liability of active partners is unlimited. Liability of sleeping partners is limited to the amount contributed.	CHF 240 for registration with the Trade Register.

Business setup procedures: Request for registration is either oral and signed by the official partners, the managers or the administrators with the register's clerk, or written and with duly certified signatures. The required documents and information in the register vary depending on the corporate form. Documents must be drawn up in one of the official language used in the concerned canton.
Registration made in due form, is passed on the following day to the federal Office of the Companies Registrar which, upon approval, publishes it in the Swiss Official Business Sheet (FOSC).

Legal weekly duration: 45 or 50 hours
Retirement age: 65
Working contracts: Legal clauses regulate employment contracts and to a lesser degree collective agreements and individual negotiations.
The terms of employment contracts are rigid. The conditions for hiring and the limits for dismissal are less strict.

Minimum wage: No legally mandated national minimum wage
Social contributions: Social security contributions paid by employers: 5.05 %.
Social security contributions paid by employees: 5.05 %.

Bargaining power: The Swiss trade union SGB / USS SCHWEIZERISCHE GEWERKSCHAFTBUND UNION (Trade union centre) and the CNG-CSC (Christian trade union centre) can be listed.
Unionization rate: 80 %.
Labor regulation bodies: Switzerland Labour Law Profile
Union patronale suisse
Union Centrale des Associations Patronales Suisses