{"id":237115,"date":"2026-10-23T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-23T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rister.ch\/?p=237115"},"modified":"2026-10-15T16:12:25","modified_gmt":"2026-10-15T14:12:25","slug":"cleaning-company-geneva","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rister.ch\/en\/post\/cleaning-company-geneva\/","title":{"rendered":"Starting a cleaning company in Geneva: the collective agreement, the Geneva minimum wage, Suva and evening work"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Opening a cleaning company in Geneva takes no cantonal licence and no diploma: a GmbH registered in the Geneva commercial register is enough to start. The real framework comes afterwards, one paid hour at a time. In Geneva, every hour must pass two checks, the wage grid of the French-speaking cleaning agreement and the cantonal minimum wage, and the two do not always give the same answer. Add Suva, which is compulsory for building cleaning, Geneva-specific holiday rules and an 11 pm limit on shifts without a permit. This guide sets out how these rules apply to a Geneva cleaning company in 2026.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Contents<\/h3>\n
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  1. What Geneva does not require<\/a><\/li>\n
  2. The cleaning agreement in Geneva<\/a><\/li>\n
  3. Wage grid and minimum wage: two checks<\/a><\/li>\n
  4. Holidays, 13th salary and public holidays<\/a><\/li>\n
  5. Suva, with no choice of insurer<\/a><\/li>\n
  6. Evening shifts yes, night shifts with a permit<\/a><\/li>\n
  7. Public tenders and staff leasing<\/a><\/li>\n
  8. Setting up the company<\/a><\/li>\n
  9. FAQ<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n

    What Geneva does not require<\/h2>\n

    Neither the canton nor the Confederation requires a licence to run a cleaning company. You do not have to prove any training, and the federal certificate for cleaning professionals plays no part in registering the company. It matters for your staff instead, since the collective agreement classifies and pays each employee by qualification. The useful question in Geneva is therefore not your status as an entrepreneur but the framework of the company that employs: agreement, wages, insurance and working hours.<\/p>\n

    The cleaning agreement in Geneva<\/h2>\n

    Geneva is one of the seven territories where the Federal Council has extended the collective agreement for the cleaning sector in French-speaking Switzerland, by a decree of 9 May 2025 effective until 31 December 2028. The Geneva employers’ association for cleaning and service companies (AGENS) is a signatory.<\/p>\n

    The agreement covers every company offering cleaning, hygiene and disinfection services, including building maintenance, apartment cleaning and cleaning after fire or water damage. When a company offers them, caretaking, window and facade cleaning, graffiti removal and solar panel cleaning also fall within its scope. Its core rules: a maximum of 43 hours a week, no annualised hours, no piece rates, a three-month probation period and a single written contract per employee whatever the number of sites. In Geneva, the working week may be spread over five and a half days.<\/p>\n

    Wage grid and minimum wage: two checks<\/h2>\n

    The 2026 grid, in force since 1 January 2026, distinguishes maintenance cleaning from specialist and construction cleaning. Geneva has its own column for maintenance staff.<\/p>\n

    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
    Reference<\/th>\nGross hourly amount 2026<\/th>\nNote<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
    Agreement grid, Geneva, maintenance cleaner (E2 or E3)<\/td>\nCHF 22.81<\/td>\n13th salary and holiday pay on top<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Agreement grid, unqualified specialist or construction cleaner (N40)<\/td>\nCHF 24.59<\/td>\n13th salary and holiday pay on top<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Geneva cantonal minimum wage<\/td>\nCHF 24.59<\/td>\nCHF 22.70 basic rate where a 13th salary is paid<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

    Sources: wage grid annexed to the federal decree of 11 December 2025; State of Geneva, minimum wage amount and calculation (updated 7 October 2026).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

    The agreement states that in Geneva its minimum wages apply only where they exceed the cantonal minimum. In practice, you run both calculations for each category and pay whichever is more favourable to the employee, taking into account how the 13th salary, holidays and public holidays are paid. The cantonal labour inspectorate (OCIRT) provides a calculation tool. A few centimes an hour, over thousands of hours, are enough to turn a tightly priced contract into a loss.<\/p>\n

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    Your cleaning company in Geneva<\/p>\n

    Accurate payroll from the first crew<\/p>\n

    Incorporation of the GmbH or AG and registration in Geneva, Suva, social security and sickness insurance, payroll checked against both the grid and the cantonal minimum, agreement contributions and VAT: RISTER\u00ae sets up and administers your company so that you can focus on your clients.<\/p>\n

    Request a meeting<\/a>
    \n RISTER \u2013 Fiduciary in Geneva, reply within one business day.<\/span>\n<\/div>\n

    Holidays, 13th salary and public holidays<\/h2>\n

    The agreement grants four weeks of holiday a year, with Geneva steps of its own. Full-time employees with more than five years of service with the same employer receive four weeks and one day, and from the eleventh year all employees receive five weeks, whatever their working rate. For hourly staff, holiday pay therefore rises from 8.33% to 8.79% and then to 10.64% of wages. The 13th salary, at 8.33%, is due after three months of employment, retroactively from the first day. Geneva’s nine paid public holidays include the Je\u00fbne genevois and 31 December.<\/p>\n

    Suva, with no choice of insurer<\/h2>\n

    Many founders compare accident insurance quotes before learning that they have no choice. The Accident Insurance Ordinance classes companies whose business is cleaning buildings, roads, squares and public gardens as building industry firms (Art. 73(b)), and the staff of building firms are compulsorily insured with Suva. The agreement also requires sickness loss-of-earnings insurance covering 80% of AHV salary, with at least half of the cost borne by the employer.<\/p>\n

    Evening shifts yes, night shifts with a permit<\/h2>\n

    Geneva offices are cleaned early in the morning or in the evening. Under the Labour Act, day work runs from 6 am to 8 pm and evening work from 8 pm to 11 pm, neither requiring a permit. Between 11 pm and 6 am, work is night work and needs a permit. A crew working from 8 pm to 11 pm in a bank in Eaux-Vives needs nothing; a contract requiring a shop in Plainpalais to be cleaned at 5 am needs a night work permit before work starts. Under the agreement, regular night work carries a 15% supplement and Sunday work 50%.<\/p>\n

    Consider an expat founder who opens a GmbH in Geneva with six maintenance cleaners working evening shifts in office buildings. Each employee has one contract covering all sites, is paid at least the Geneva grid rate and is checked against the cantonal minimum, and is insured with Suva. All shifts end before 11 pm, so no permit is needed. When a property manager orders cleaning after water damage in an apartment, those hours are paid in the specialist category.<\/p>\n

    Public tenders and staff leasing<\/h2>\n

    Schools, administrative buildings and public foundations account for a large share of Geneva cleaning work. To bid in a public tender in Geneva, a company must provide, at the time of submission, a certificate confirming that it respects the working conditions of its sector for staff working in the canton. A company bound by the agreement obtains it from its employers’ association; otherwise it applies to OCIRT after undertaking to respect the customary conditions of its profession.<\/p>\n

    Some clients, such as hotels or clinics, prefer to direct cleaning staff themselves. Once you hand them most of your authority over your employees, you are leasing staff, which requires a licence from the cantonal employment office. As long as your own team leaders organise and check the work, you are performing a cleaning contract and need no licence.<\/p>\n

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    RISTER advice<\/h4>\n

    Keep a file for each employee that lets you rebuild any month: contract, category, hours per site, travel time between sites, which counts as working time, and holiday balance. The joint committee may inspect at any time, and fines can reach CHF 10,000 per offender. A file kept month by month costs far less than one rebuilt under pressure.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

    Setting up the company<\/h2>\n

    A GmbH with CHF 20,000 of fully paid-up capital suits most cleaning companies starting with a crew. An AG, with CHF 100,000 of capital of which at least CHF 50,000 is paid up, suits a company aiming at large public contracts or bringing in partners. Our comparison of the GmbH and the AG in Geneva<\/a> helps you choose, and payroll, bookkeeping and VAT are covered by our general administration service<\/a>. VAT registration is mandatory once annual turnover reaches CHF 100,000.<\/p>\n

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    FAQ: cleaning company in Geneva<\/h2>\n
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    Do you need a licence for a cleaning company in Geneva?<\/h3>\n

    No. Neither the canton nor the Confederation requires a licence or diploma to open a cleaning company; registering the company is enough. Only staff leasing, which places employees under a client’s direction, requires a licence from the cantonal employment office.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    What is the minimum wage for cleaners in Geneva in 2026?<\/h3>\n

    The Geneva column of the agreement sets CHF 22.81 an hour for maintenance staff, with the 13th salary and holiday pay on top. The cantonal minimum wage is CHF 24.59, or a basic rate of CHF 22.70 where a 13th salary is paid. The agreement applies only where it is more favourable, so employers run both calculations and pay the higher result.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    Must a Geneva cleaning company use Suva?<\/h3>\n

    Yes. The Accident Insurance Ordinance classes building cleaning as part of the building industry (Art. 73(b)), so cleaning staff are compulsorily insured with Suva. The agreement additionally requires sickness insurance covering 80% of AHV salary.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    Can cleaning crews work after 11 pm?<\/h3>\n

    Only with a night work permit. Evening work from 8 pm to 11 pm needs no permit under the Labour Act, but work between 11 pm and 6 am does. Regular night work also carries a 15% supplement under the agreement.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    Which legal form suits a cleaning company in Geneva?<\/h3>\n

    A GmbH with CHF 20,000 of fully paid-up capital suits most companies starting with a crew. An AG, with CHF 100,000 of capital of which at least CHF 50,000 is paid up, suits companies targeting large public tenders or taking in partners.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

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    Sources<\/h2>\n