HR check and HR audit
HR check: contracts, payroll and processes reviewed
An HR check gives you a clear picture of how your HR function is running today. We review employment contracts, payroll, social insurance filings, personnel files and the routines your team follows every day, and we record each finding in a report with clear priorities. It suits Swiss SMEs with 20 to 100 employees that are about to grow, or that have recently put someone new in charge of HR. Price on request: the scope depends on the size of your organisation, and you receive a fixed-fee offer before we start.
Scope
Scope.
Employment contracts, supplementary agreements and staff regulations checked against the Swiss Code of Obligations, the Labour Act and any collective labour agreement (Gesamtarbeitsvertrag, GAV) that applies in your industry
Payroll samples: contribution rates, withholding tax (Quellensteuer) for employees taxed at source, allowances, expenses and wage types checked for accuracy
Filings to the AHV compensation office (state pension), the pension fund and the accident insurer reconciled with your actual headcount
Personnel files reviewed for completeness, retention periods, access rights and data handling under the revised Swiss Federal Act on Data Protection
The full employment cycle reviewed: onboarding, absence and accident reporting, employment references (Arbeitszeugnis) and offboarding
A report that sets out every finding with a risk rating and a recommended action, ordered by urgency
How it works
What to expect.
- First conversation: we go through company size, industry, the issues you are dealing with right now and the scope of the review, and set all of it out in a fixed-fee offer
- Documents: you send us contracts, staff regulations, payslips and insurance statements, and give us access to a selection of personnel files
- Review: we work through the documents, take samples from the payroll and note every finding with its source
- Open questions: a 90-minute conversation with whoever runs your HR today clears the remaining points
- Report and discussion: you receive the written report and we go through it point by point with your management
Your fee or offer
Price on request
The scope depends on company size. You receive a fixed-fee offer up front.
All fees exclude VAT.
Talk to us about thisWho it is for: For companies that want certainty that contracts, salaries and processes are set up correctly, for example before a period of growth or after a change in the HR team.
Outcome
What changes for you.
You receive a written report that names every finding with its risk rating and a recommended action, ordered by urgency. You can see what needs attention now, what can wait a few months and which areas already run cleanly. Your management gets a solid basis for the budget, for setting priorities and for deciding which HR tasks stay in-house.
Frequently asked questions
HR check for SMEs in brief.
What does an HR check cost?
Price on request. The scope depends on the size of your organisation, so we put a fixed-fee offer in writing before you decide. That way the cost is settled before the work begins and stays the same through to the final report.
How long does it take, and what do you need from us?
For a company with 20 to 100 employees, allow two to three weeks from the day you hand over the documents to the finished report. There is little for you to do: a 90-minute conversation and the documents themselves. We ask for employment contracts and staff regulations, a sample of recent payslips, the statements from your social insurance providers and access to a few personnel files. Anything missing is recorded as a finding in its own right. Everything you send us stays confidential and is handled in line with Swiss data protection law. The timetable is set out in the offer.
Our contracts and payroll were set up from abroad. Does the check cover Swiss requirements?
Yes, and that is a common starting point. Swiss employment law sits mainly in the Code of Obligations and the Labour Act, and both apply to work performed in Switzerland even when the contract was drafted elsewhere. Some industries are also covered by a collective labour agreement (Gesamtarbeitsvertrag, GAV), which sets binding minimum salaries and working hours. On the payroll side we look at AHV (the state pension and its related contributions), the occupational pension, accident cover and withholding tax (Quellensteuer), which employers deduct at source for foreign employees without a C permit, the Swiss settlement permit and for cross-border commuters. We mark every clause and every calculation that needs adjusting for Switzerland.
What happens after the report?
We go through the results with your management and sort the points by urgency. You are then free to decide what you handle in-house and where you would like support. clever hr can take on individual items, for example new contract templates or your ongoing payroll.
Further reading
- Bogus self-employment: the risk for Swiss SMEs
- Payroll & social insurance
- HR administration
- Recruitment & RPO
- HR interim cover and interim management
- Outplacement
- AI consulting for SMEs
- Payroll software & HR tools
- Salary benchmark
- Mediation & conflict resolution
- Hiring in Switzerland, the 2026 guide
30 minutes on your HR.
Book an intro callNo obligation, with the scope and price agreed before work starts.