Perhaps these are really naive questions, please forgive me if so.

1) is it ok to make a contract with a customer in English or must it be German / fr etc to be legally binding?

2) am I allowed to claim things I buy for my einzelfirma off my taxes if I buy them outside of the EU? (eg Usa)

thx

1) It must be in an official language to be legally acceptable. Contracts written in English, in Switzerland are un-enforceable.

2) Yes, assuming they are still tax-deductable if they were purchased in Switzerland.

My first employment contract was in English. I guess it should actually be ok, assuming the vast number of international companies in Zurich, Zug, Geneva, ...

If both parties only speak English, this make a bit of a nonsense of it all...

English is fine as long as all parties to the contract are able to understand what they agree to.

This is absolutely incorrect.

My employment contract was in English. My termination agreement was in English. My supplier contracts to Swiss companies have all been in English. My contract with Sunrise was in English. My contract with UBS is in English...

thanks y'all!

I'm a bit stupid for forgetting NotAllThere's example: my employment contract here was in english too! durrrhh. It has been a week like that..

off to write some contracts I go.
X

...and how do you expect to get a contract in English enforced in a Swiss court ?

perhaps in exactly the same was as a non-english contract.

As many of the things are laid down in Law it's not necessary to have a contract at all.

The amount of salary is clear as it's been paid to date, you have a work permit, AHV been deducted possibly taxes etc.
Minimium notice periods are written in law as is holiday's.

It's all very simple in CH.

I see no indication that the OP was talking about an employment contract ?

Or a verbal contract.

If an English contract came to court, it would have to be officially translated into a local language. Come on, UTH, admit it. This time you got it wrong.

Funnily enough, when we bought our house, the contract was in German, so we were obliged to take a translator with us, so that we couldn't at a later date claim we hadn't understood what we were signing up for.

If the meaning of the content is in dispute, then the parties will have to provide evidence. This may include a translation in the language of the court, and ambgiuities gan work against a party that needlessly used an English language contract (e.g. a contract between two Swiss persons resident in Switzerland). By no means is the contract unenforceable per se. BGE 91 I 11

Am still researching...Everything I heard before said Official languages only in court, but it appears translations acceptable to both parties are allowed. Words like warranty etc have no basis in Swiss law so cant be included in a contract.

Seems far simpler to have a German contract for the German part of Switzerland , and have the customer translate if they want to.

Yep, seems I buried a wrong answer in my head though.

Ok I just signed my second contract in Swityerland and they were both in English, having said that, these two cotnracts were for itnernational companies. I do not know if another contract was prepared in a Swiss language but I very much doubt so because i was never asked to sign it...HTH

Dunno. But I know for an absolute fact that Swiss employment contracts are commonly in English and perfectly legal/enforceable.

My original contract, in English, made reference to a general agreement (Gesamtsarbeitvertrag), which I had an English translation, but with the caveat that if there was a difference between the English translation and the German original, the German is the master document.

With my newer contracts the general agreement no longer applies and there is only an English contract.