Why job sharing changes how you calculate personnel costs
Job sharing means splitting the responsibilities and hours of a full-time position among two or more employees, each with a separate employment contract. For a Swiss SME it is a practical lever for retaining skills, increasing operational flexibility and making a role more attractive when it would otherwise remain vacant.
From an accounting and management perspective, however, a “single position” is not the same as a “single cost”: each employment relationship generates OASI obligations, insurance, possible occupational pension (LPP) coverage, payroll administration and its own balance-sheet lines. Underestimating these effects leads to unrealistic budgets, eroded margins and mismatches between payroll and general ledger.
This guide explains how to calculate the full cost of shared positions, how to handle LPP when several people cover one full-time equivalent (FTE), and how to record flows in compliance with the Code of Obligations (CO), the Federal Labour Act in Industry, Crafts and Commerce (LTr) and Swiss accounting practice (Swiss GAAP FER).
Legal framework: one organisational FTE, multiple employment relationships
Switzerland has no standalone legal form called “job sharing”. The arrangement rests on individual contracts (employment or, in limited cases, self-employment — to be verified carefully) that together cover the role’s required hours.
Each employee is entitled to remuneration, holiday, continued pay in case of illness (CO) and protection against abusive dismissal in proportion to their level of employment, unless otherwise agreed in compliance with the CO and LTr. Internal allocation of duties (shifts, handovers, on-call coverage) should be documented to avoid gaps on hours, overtime and accountability.
For the employer this means: two OASI numbers, two end-of-employment statements where applicable, two separate occupational pension enrolments or administrations if required, and clear communication to HR and accounting on which cost centre absorbs which share of the shared position.
From shared position to full cost: methodology
The full cost of a job-sharing position is the sum of the full costs of each contract, plus any additional costs that cannot be split proportionally (joint training, duplicate tools, double onboarding). You do not get there by simply dividing the cost of a hypothetical 100% role by two.
| Component | Calculation base | Note for job sharing |
|---|---|---|
| Gross salary | Individual contract (e.g. 2 × 50% or 60%/40%) | Align grades and minimum pay with the applicable collective employment contract (CCL), standard employment contract or company practice to avoid discrimination |
| OASI/AI/IC contributions | Each employee’s OASI salary | Two insured persons: no “merging” of salaries for compensation purposes |
| UI (ALV, unemployment) | Salary up to the annual ceiling per person | Individual ceiling: with two separate contracts, salaries each count toward their own annual cap even if headcount remains at 1.0 FTE |
| LPP (2nd pillar) | Coordinated salary per insured person | Mandatory for each person above the annual entry threshold; plans and rates per person |
| Accidents (LAA/LAINF) | Payroll mass and risk class | Premium and payroll mass increase with two contracts even if FTE stays at 1.0 |
| Family allowances | Cantonal rules / fund | Depend on the employee, not on how the position is split |
| Administrative costs | Estimate per employment relationship | Often underestimated: duplicate payroll, duplicate absence management |
Operational formula: full cost of shared position = Σ (gross salary + employer social charges + employer LPP share + LAA/LAINF + other benefits) + allocated common costs. For management control it helps to also express cost per FTE (100%) by multiplying by 1 / sum of employment percentages, so the role can be compared with full-time or outsourced alternatives.
Occupational pension (LPP) with several employees on the same role
The Occupational Pension Act (LPP) requires enrolment when annual salary from the same employer exceeds the entry threshold (CHF 22’680 from 1 January 2026, subject to annual revision). In job sharing each person is assessed individually: two 50% employments with annual salary above the threshold mean two mandatory insurances, even if the org chart shows a single box.
Coordinated salary and part-time work
Coordinated salary is derived from OASI salary net of the coordination deduction (legal minimum CHF 26’460 per year at full-time in 2026, reduced according to level of employment or the pension fund rules). The LPP base follows each contract’s salary; the pension fund rules define employee and employer contribution rates.
In budgets, estimating the employer LPP share separately for each job-sharer avoids mistakenly applying a single rate to the gross total of the “position”.
Below threshold and bridging cover
If an employee remains below the entry threshold, there is no mandatory LPP for that year (unless bridging insurance or a more favourable company policy applies). The other 50% partner may still be insured: the full cost of the shared position becomes asymmetric while remaining one logical FTE.
If someone moves from part-time to full-time or one partner leaves, update the pension plan and cost budget promptly for the current financial year.
Simplified numerical example (2 × 50%)
Assumptions: shared “Head of administration” role; annual gross salary CHF 70'000 per person at 50% (CHF 140'000 full-time equivalent). Indicative overall employer charge 15% of gross per person (varies by canton, pension fund and LAA class). Rounded amounts, for illustration only.
| Line item | Person A (50%) | Person B (50%) | Position total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual gross salary | 70'000 | 70'000 | 140'000 |
| Employer charges (15%) | 10'500 | 10'500 | 21'000 |
| Estimated admin costs | 800 | 800 | 1'600 |
| Annual full cost | 81'300 | 81'300 | 162'600 |
| Full cost per 100% FTE | 162'600 (same as total because FTE = 1.0) | ||
Useful comparison: a single employee at 100% with gross CHF 140'000 would have the same OASI payroll mass, but potentially lower administrative costs (one payslip, one onboarding cycle). Job sharing may add a few percentage points to full cost; the benefit is measured in recruiting, service continuity and reduced concentrated absenteeism.
Compliant accounting in SMEs
Under ordinary Swiss accounting, salaries and social charges typically flow to the income statement under “Personnel costs”. Job sharing does not require a special chart of accounts, but consistent traceability between payroll, cost centres and, where used, management accounting.
Monthly posting: at each payroll cycle, allocate gross pay and charges by employee number or cost centre. If both job-sharers sit in the same department, two entries (or one consolidated departmental entry with analytics per person) keep cost-centre allocation correct for audit and review.
Accruals and holiday: holiday entitlement accrues in proportion to level of employment; accruing per person avoids “averaging” on a single account for the shared position and simplifies exit of one partner.
Continued pay: insurance premiums and any replacement costs during illness belong to the absent employee; management accounting for the shared position should flag when backup is absorbed by the other job-sharer (overtime or time bank).
Account structure (example Swiss GAAP SME)
- 5800 Salaries — sub-accounts or analytics by employee ID
- 5810 Social charges OASI/UI/AI/IC — same allocation logic
- 5820 LPP charges and benefits — aligned with pension fund filings
- 5830 Other personnel expenses — joint training, duplicate equipment
- Liabilities: 2290 Salaries and charges payable — monthly close with payroll extract
Internal reporting, financial statements and audit
In the income statement and notes to the financial statements (Art. 959b CO for entities subject to it), personnel costs are usually aggregated. For internal management, reporting “cost of shared position” as the sum of the two (or more) heads avoids misinterpretation in budgeting or pricing.
Recommended KPIs
Full cost per FTE for the role; variance vs internal full-time benchmark; overtime hours for handovers; absence rate per partner. Linking KPIs to cost centre “position X” in Accountex or your ERP simplifies what-if scenarios.
Audit and traceability
Keep contracts, hour-split agreements, LAA policies and LPP certificates for each employee. On a statutory audit, the auditor compares accounting payroll mass, OASI declarations and pension fund statements: job-sharing discrepancies often arise from department-only postings without employee-level detail.
Operational checklist for HR and accounting
Define level of employment and pay for each contract; document handovers and working hours (LTr).
Check LPP threshold and bridging insurance for each person; update employer charge budget separately.
Configure payroll with two OASI profiles; align cost centres and employee IDs in the chart of accounts.
Calculate full cost of the position (Σ individuals + common costs) before approving headcount.
At month-end: reconcile 5800–5820 with payroll extract and social declarations; post holiday accruals per person.
If the split changes (e.g. 60/40), update contracts, cost simulation and annual forecast in accounting.
Conclusion
Job sharing in a Swiss SME is manageable and often advantageous operationally, provided each employment relationship is treated as a separate unit for payroll, LPP and management accounting. The full cost of the shared position is the sum of the legal realities involved, not an ideal average of one full-time role.
Integrating payroll, cost centres and periodic postings in one workflow — as in Accountex — reduces year-end variances and gives management a reliable numerical basis for decisions on headcount, pricing and investment.