Which employment benefits/perks can you ask for?

Hi Forum

This question is about what benefits/perks it is common to ask for besides your normal salary for jobs in Switzerland.

I am in the closing stages of landing a job as an inhouse IT consultant. I have done a couple of interviews and have been invited for the final interview which will include senior people as well. In my last interview I was asked for my rough wage expectations and I gave them a number - so this part is out of the way.

So next up is what is common to ask for in Switzerland beside your salary as part of your job. I am Danish and in Denmark it is very common to ask for/have a company mobile phone (which can be used privately as well), company laptop and paid Internet subscription at home (home office), paid or subsidized gym membership, newspapers/magazines and other things on top of your salary.

What is common in Switzerland?

For this job, what would carry significant value for me would be a Swiss travelcard for trains throughout Switzerland as the job would involve significant commuting. The price for this stands at CHF 3860 per year. A paid Internet subscription would be nice as well (quite a lot cheaper).

Would it be frowned upon if I asked for at least these two things if I receive an offer?

Thanks for the advice.

Depends on the seniority of the job and what company it is, I ́d say. So difficult to answer right now.

>5 years of experience (senior)

developer and project manager

mid-size manufacturing company (<20.000 employees)

salary range probably around 100.000-130.000

no people management.

It is an IT job so access to systems etc. off hours is probably in the interest of the company

After 25 years here I'd say anything goes! I've seen:

- Cars & Travel cards of all varieties

- REKA checks

- Education

- Kids education

- Phones

- Flights home

- lunch vouchers

- pizzas on Fridays

- Evening dresses for the Christmas party

- Evening dresses for partners for Christmas party

- Hair dressers etc... for Christmas party

- Agreements were people have days off each week without it being reported to HR because of no salary increases

- Etc...

In fact the only thing I have not come across is evening wear for men, for some strange reason...

my 0.02: the more benefits an employer offers, the more complicated taxation is for both parties, hence bigger wages. In case of an establised company they likely already have do's and dont's, but you never know until asked.

If haven't seen yet, there's a summary of what you would at least be granted by default: https://en.comparis.ch/umzug-schweiz...n-schweiz.aspx

My 2 cents is that you'll get what you get (e.g. REKA cheques) and nothing much can be negociated, but others obviously have different experiences. Still, no harm asking - they can only say no :-).

There also might be some perks after you join the company. My husband's employer has deals with certain companies (eg. discounts on phone subcriptions, phones, gyms, car dealerships etc).

If there's nothing included in the "package" you might be able to benefit from some things after you're hired.

Thanks to everyone for the feedback. It seems as if it would not be a problem to ask about most things as long as it is reasonable which was my primary concern.

That will put you around mid-level management. Nowhere near senior and with this being said, you'll get what you get. Most companies already have a structured compensation package in place and thus, if your "special" request doesn't fall within the predefined options, you're simply out of luck.

Laptop is more or less a given; phone depends on the company. Travel card - well, if you're going to travel a lot as part of the job, they'll either pay for the card or individual trips (I always had a GA and got reimbursed for individual trips - never quite balanced out, but it was close enough that the convenience was worth it). If it's just commuting, then it's unlikely; they'll suggest you move closer when you relocate.

That said, everything you've asked for is more likely to be compensated by additional salary instead, and typically the negotiations here happen for all factors at once, because it's all part of their total cost / your total reimbursement. So they may feel a bit hard done by if you go back now, depending where you're at.

Not saying don't try (you're not local and wouldn't know, they should accept that), just be aware.

I have had final discussions with two companies and I did ask for the various things. The message was quite clear that the package is what it is with very limited negotiation possible.

One employer could offer either free parking or Half Fare card (you cannot use the Half Fare card towards paying for the GA Travel Card as far as I understand)

The other company did not offer Half Fare card but free parking and REKA checks at 20% discount which can be used to purchase tickets (and various other things). Not sure how useful it is and there is a yearly limit of 1000 CHF anyway.

Laptop and mobile phone (with reasonable private usage) were offered both places but paid Internet was not offered. Home office is ok but in general was not allowed to begin with (makes sense) and later needed to be discussed on a case by case basis. One company seemed more flexible regarding this than the other.

The rest is pretty much up to yourself to fund or use company facilities for e.g. gym.

As far as I can see (I have only received specifications from one company so not 100% sure), there is also some differences on what the companies offer to pay towards e.g. insurance, family allowances and retirement plan. I think some of it is determined by law while other things varies between companies.

I am sure that all of the above mentioned things to some degree is also dependent on your bargaining power which for me was not huge as I am not in a job currently.

I think the one thing you'll likely be able to get is paid language lessons if you don't speak German/French. Ask for a package of hours either private or group and explain it is for integration purposes and coffee/watercooler "gossip"

hi,

I would always suggest buying the GA (Swiss Pass) yourself. If the company pays it is a perk and so is taxable. If you buy it yourself it is tax deductable. It used to be full value was tax deductable but now is only 3000 CHF but still better to reduce your tax bill than to increase it.

All the best

Martin

Get a 5000 CHF benefit and pay tax on it (roughly 1k) or pay 5000 CHF and deduct it from your taxes (saving, for the sake of argument, roughly 1k).

Not sure I see it the way you do.

Why do people equate tax deductible with a net gain? I don't know of any tax where you can make a net gain by paying more - if I did, my full time very easy job would be spending money in order to use that tax.

Say tax is 25%:

Pay 3000, save 25%, you paid 2250 net

Get one from employer, you pay the tax = 750 net

It depends where the parking is.

If it's in the center of the city, that would be upwards 200 CHF per month for Zurich (underground garage).

Usually, if the GA is paid, there is usually no other reimbursement (you can't have the GA paid and claim costs for having driven with your private car etc.).

I would say that once you've been at a company for a while (and they like what you do, who you do it), there's more flexibility.

Hi,

your calculations are incorrect. For start that is not how the Swiss tax system works. You are forgetting that the marginal tax rate is much higher than the average tax rate as you tax rate changes. For example, your marginal tax rate could be 35 to 40% and certainly not 25%. For example, earn an extra 5000 and in reality you would get 3000 Chf after tax and the same way when you reduce your taxable income you reduce your overall tax rate.

However, in the end it is up to you whether it make sense to take it as a perk or not.

have fun

Martin

OK, if you pay >50% tax (marginal, on your highest band) you are better off buying it yourself. Otherwise you are not.

Realistically, does anyone in Switzerland pay that rate of tax? Or if they do, I'm pretty sure they aren't asking tax advice questions on EF!

(see http://taxsummaries.pwc.com/ID/Switz...ersonal-income )

Maximum marginal rates

Federal 11.5%

Max in Geneva is 19% + 0.5x for community = 28.5

Max in Zurich is 13% + 1.34x for community = 30.4

--> 41.9% - you need to be on > 250'000 to pay that - after all the other deductions - and it's still better to take the perk

Hi everyone

Thanks for all the feedback!

I actually forgot to post that! Both companies offer language lessons up to a certain level.

Thanks for the advice, I did not know that a GA was tax deductable.

If I decide to go by car (will be a commute on around 600 km per week), can I claim costs for that from the tax authorities? You can in Denmark but I did not know that such a scheme exists in Switzerland.

None of the companies would offer a GA so the discussion on what would be a better solution is not relevant just now

I think it got capped at 3000 CHF in most cantons.