I would like to hire Polish contractors to do major interior renovation (replace windows, floors, renovate bathrooms, kitchen and internal walls) of recently purchased house in kanton Schwyz.
The problem is that contractors have been only working in Germany so I need to understand the Swiss laws.

I have asked in the Geminde and for 90 days they only need to register online however they have to follow Swiss minimum wages and relevant industry regulations. Posted on this webpage:
https://entsendung.admin.ch/cms/content/willkommen_de
I have found this page to calculate minimum wage:
https://entsendung.admin.ch/app/lohn...lohn_berechnen
And after searching various terms like:
Industry: Sanitary and heating installation
Term: building renovation
Term: renovation of buildings
Term: internal painting of buildings
Term: windows (not self-manufacturing), installation
It didn't return anything.

Are you aware of any collective agreement which would apply to the renovation I listed above?
Is there anything else I should consider before hiring contractors from EU?

Your desire is understandable (and presumably not least from a language point of view), but you should consider issues about recourse if there's a problem with their work - who will put it right, who pays, how can you even reach them - and you will likely need locals like plumbers and electricians who can respond quickly if you have a fault in years to come.

You should also not underestimate the goodwill of using local contractors - and the lack of goodwill from not using them - especially in small villages and places like Schwyz.

See also my post no. 59 on this thread: https://www.englishforum.ch/housing-...ml#post3385050

Any electrical work will need to be signed off by a Swiss electrician anyway. Not sure if plumbing would be the same; haven't read anything about that.

and local Swiss electricians are most likely very unwilling to do that- for obvious reasons.

Rubbish, they will just charge a sufficiently high amount to make their displeasure known !


No restrictions for plumbers

Not true.


I redid my bathroom myself, and had an electrician come in and help twice. I first showed him my plans (as the previous wiring was incredibly shoddy, and wouldn't pass muster in the UK). Then, after I finished rewiring, had them come back. Total cost was 300chf ish from what I recall.


In terms of goodwill - this is an issue. When my boiler broke, I had to find a technician at short notice. The company who does the chimney sweeping was my first port of call, and they called/arranged another company to come the next day for me - as I don't speak German (for free - or at least, I didn't pay the chimney sweep for their help).


Build rapport with local handymen - it will serve you well. Even if that means "just" getting them to do the planning and then "doing the work yourself".

Indeed. A few years ago we had the RASI inspection, and a few things needed to be done. I got an estimate from the local electrician, but did about half the things myself, which he signed off on and billed me about 1/2 the estimate, as there were a couple things that he needed to do himself.

Tom

Not sure what the specific regulations are but you should carefully look into whatever insurance they would need for themselves (in case of accident or illness) or third party insurance.

Yes, they will. But very different for a local guy like Tom, who will do a few bits himself and get the electrician to do some bits too- compared to a group of workers hired from Poland, or wherever. Tom knows the local regs and standards and would be using suitable materials. Same for Spinal who first showed the plans to local gug with whom he has previously 'built rapport'. Hugely different kettle of fish.

Ah one other thing worth considering!


Do you intend to hire the contracts directly, or through a company? Makes a massive difference in terms of risk exposure.


If you hire "Bob Jones" to come do your work at 10EUR an hour, you are the employer and need to deal with all the paperwork on his behalf.


If you hire "ACME Inc" to do the work for 10k EUR, it's their responsibility to pay the contractors the minimum wage. Of course, should your nosy neighbors will complain, you will need to deal with the fallout.... and the company will suddenly go silent... but it's a different situation

It is a check of the work, either it passes or it doesn't !



If it doesn't pass, then you are back at square 1 and have to do it again. The regulations and standards are easy to find and follow, a lot of Polish people have knowledge of German and it is a technical thing to follow, logical.

I am afraid that is the reality of the risks. The neighbours--- who work in the trade, or have family and friends who do. They probably won't hesitate to make a quick phone call to authorities.

Fully aware... My neighbor has complained saying I was hiring people... got a letter from the gemeinde. I offered them to come and check, that all the work I was doing myself, with an occasional friend coming when I couldn't move something bigger.... never heard back. (love my neighbor)



Also, one of the first houses I went to see had a lot of potential, wasn't getting too many offers given how long it was on the market, and was located in a small village near Schaffhausen. So I went to the gemeinde before putting an offer in to get some idea of how difficult they would be to work with.


I brought with me some simple CAD drawings done by someone on upwork (random architect abroad for 20chf or so - very professional, fairly cheap).



The person at the gemeinde was brutally honest, and said that unless the local architect, who was his cousin, was involved, it would be very difficult as no-one knows local laws. I asked if these rules were documented somewhere, so that my remote architects could follow them - and was told that he could send my CADs to his cousin, who would redraw them (for a fee) for submission.



I opted not to make an offer on that property.

which is hugely different to lots of white vans and workers with foreign number plates, doing heavy work for weeks or months.

Or ... and now let the groans come :
you could do the east european version : do not declare anything --> have the workers stay in your place(you need to provide them with a place to stay and food), respect the working hours, don't bother the neighbours to much --> and don't declare anything --> pay them under, no taxes
Good luck with the renovations

Who doesn't love expats coming to Switzerland for the high Zurich salary and then hiring cheap EU labour because they don't want to pay Zurich salaries. The irony...

Thank you all for replies. I know it will be tricky to have warranty. However I had really bad experience with Swiss company which did substantial damage to the house and then claimed it is not their fault and I had to hire the lawyer to deal with it. So in the end I prefer to pay less and just hire Polish company with good opinions.
I would like to hire Polish company to do the work I would like to do everything legally. They will handle the invoice and Swiss VAT but I told them I will find out about permits.
So as I said getting 90 day permit is not an issue but they have to somehow follow Swiss minimum wage regulations for their industry but I cannot find anything which would fit internal renovations in Kanton Schwyz.
Am I missing something?

No, that's only what reputable companies like Läderach do.

If it's good for SVP voting, god-fearing traditional Swiss industry leaders then it's good enough for the rest of us.

I'd hate to think it was one rule for them and a different rule for expats.