If you are reviewing a Swiss job offer or trying to understand your first payslip, these items deserve a close look. Accident insurance determines what is covered in the event of work-related and leisure-time accidents, while daily sickness benefits insurance, often called KTG from the German term Krankentaggeld, usually governs how your income is protected during a longer illness. Both can affect your net salary directly, but not always in the same way and not in the same form at every company.
What accident insurance and KTG mean in Switzerland
In Switzerland, accident insurance is a core part of employee protection. In practice, this usually means mandatory accident insurance under the Swiss Accident Insurance Act, often referred to as UVG in payroll and HR documents. It covers occupational accidents, occupational diseases, and, under certain conditions, non-occupational accidents as well. According to the official ch.ch page on accident insurance, employers must insure employees against accidents; if you work at least eight hours per week for the same employer, you are normally also covered for non-occupational accidents in your free time. That is exactly why these insurance arrangements matter not only for protection, but also for your monthly payslip. If you want a first estimate of how such deductions affect your take-home pay, a related calculator is a useful starting point. Important note: calculators only provide estimates based on standard assumptions and do not replace your actual payslip or your employer's insurance policy.
Daily sickness benefits insurance, often shown as KTG, is different. It is not automatically mandatory in every employment relationship. However, many employers arrange it because it helps manage the legal salary continuation obligation in cases of illness. Based on the SECO guidance on salary continuation when an employee is unable to work, an insurance-based contractual solution is allowed if it is at least equivalent; in practice, this often means 80 percent of salary for 720 or 730 days within a 900-day period. This is where a common misunderstanding starts: KTG is not a general tax and not a standard federal social contribution. It is usually an employer-specific or sector-specific insurance arrangement.
For employees and expats, this distinction matters because accidents and illness are handled differently in Swiss payroll practice. In the case of a recognized accident, accident insurance usually applies. In the case of illness, either the legal salary continuation obligation or an agreed daily sickness benefits policy applies. If you want to read your full payslip more systematically, the guide on how to understand a Swiss payslip is the right companion article, because it shows how insurance deductions, tax items, and net pay fit together.
Many newcomers focus only on gross salary and overlook the fact that the level of protection for accident or illness has real financial value. Two offers with the same annual salary can lead to meaningfully different net pay and very different protection in a risk event. If you are moving to Switzerland, these details should not be treated as minor HR fine print. They should be assessed as part of your overall work, insurance, and tax setup. That is why the guide on moving to Switzerland as an expat is also relevant, because insurance questions are often closely tied to residence, health insurance, and your first employment contract.
It is equally important to separate these items from classic Swiss social insurance deductions. AHV, IV, and EO finance different risks than accident insurance or KTG. The Swiss Federal Social Insurance Office explains on its overview page about social insurance contributions that occupational and non-occupational accident premiums work differently from AHV or unemployment contributions and can vary by salary and type of business. If you want a clearer view of first-pillar deductions, the article on AHV, IV, and EO deductions in Switzerland will help.
In practical terms, this means accident insurance is usually a clearly defined protection against accident-related risks, while KTG is mainly an income-protection arrangement in the event of illness. Both matter to employees, but the premium split, waiting periods, benefit duration, and scope of coverage are not identical across employers, especially for KTG. That is why you should never rely only on the label shown on the payslip. You should also check the employment contract, staff regulations, insurance terms, and, where relevant, any collective employment agreement.
Which parts usually appear on the payslip
On a Swiss payslip, accident insurance does not always appear under one uniform label. You may see entries such as NBU, NBUV, UV, UVG, BU, or wording such as occupational accident and non-occupational accident. The most important practical point is the split between these items: the premium for occupational accidents is generally paid by the employer, while the premium for non-occupational accidents is often charged to the employee. The BSV notes in its contribution overview that premiums for occupational and non-occupational accident insurance cannot be stated as one fixed national rate because they vary by income and type of business. That is why a deduction can be visibly higher or lower at employer A than at employer B without either payslip automatically being wrong.
KTG also appears inconsistently. Common labels include KTG, daily sickness benefits, KTG employee share, employee daily sickness benefits insurance, or simply sickness benefits insurance. In some companies, no separate KTG deduction is shown at all even though a policy exists, because the employer pays the full premium or structures the cost internally in another way. In other companies, you will see a percentage or a fixed CHF amount. If you want a broader overview of Swiss pay and tax topics, the Switzerland salary and deduction hub brings the main guides together.
A realistic example shows why these items matter when comparing offers. Imagine two job offers with the same gross annual salary of CHF 85,000. With the first employer, the employer pays the full KTG premium. With the second, the premium is split and the employee also pays a higher non-occupational accident premium because the business or insurance solution is priced differently. On paper, the gross salary is the same. On the monthly payslip, the second offer may leave you with several dozen francs less in net pay. More importantly, the first offer may provide KTG benefits at 80 percent from day 31 of illness for 730 days, while the second has different waiting periods or contractual details. The difference is therefore not only about monthly net salary, but also about real risk protection.
On the payslip itself, you should look not only at the abbreviation but also at the way the item is shown. Some payroll systems display a percentage, while others show only a CHF amount. It also matters whether the deduction is calculated on the full gross salary or on a specific insured salary base. With part-time work, bonuses, a 13th salary, or variable pay, the presentation may differ from what you see in a simple fixed monthly salary structure. That is why it is worth reviewing the first one or two payroll runs carefully instead of assuming all premiums are linear and identical to what you may have seen in another country or company.
For cross-border commuters, new expats, and people with multiple part-time jobs, the issue can become more complex. Non-occupational accident insurance depends on the eight-hour threshold per week with each individual employer. If you work below that level, you may not be covered by the employer for leisure-time accidents and may still need accident coverage through your health insurance. You will not always notice this immediately from the payslip alone, because in that case there may simply be no NBU deduction. No deduction therefore does not automatically mean you are comprehensively covered.
KTG deserves special attention when you think about income continuation during illness. SECO points out that daily benefit payments are not the same as normal salary and may therefore be treated differently for social insurance purposes during the benefit phase. On your ordinary monthly payslip before any illness event, you usually only see the premium. But in a period of incapacity for work, not only the amount paid out may change, the structure of the payslip often changes as well. If you only notice that in the middle of a real claim case, you are already late. Reviewing the setup early is far better than having a difficult discussion with payroll or HR once the issue becomes urgent.
How these items differ from AHV, BVG, and withholding tax
Accident insurance and KTG are often mixed together with other standard deductions, even though they serve a very different purpose. AHV, IV, and EO belong to the first pillar of the Swiss social insurance system. These contributions finance old-age, survivors', disability, and income replacement benefits. Structurally, they are different from an accident insurance premium or a daily sickness benefits arrangement. While AHV, IV, and EO are broadly standardized social insurance deductions, UVG and KTG premiums depend much more heavily on the employer model, the sector, the insurer, and the actual policy.
BVG, meaning occupational pension coverage, also works differently. It is about retirement, disability, and death benefits under the occupational pension system, not about short-term income protection during illness or cost and benefit coverage after an accident. The BSV explains in its material on occupational pensions that mandatory coverage depends on thresholds, age, and employment conditions, and that the employer must pay at least half the contributions. BVG is therefore primarily long-term retirement and risk provision. Accident insurance and KTG are much more immediate employment-related protections for specific periods of incapacity.
The difference becomes even clearer when compared with withholding tax. Withholding tax is a tax, not insurance. In Switzerland, for many foreign employees, it depends on residence status, canton, family situation, income, and other criteria. If your net pay falls because withholding tax rises, that is a completely different issue from a changed NBU deduction or a KTG premium. Tax deductions finance the state, while insurance deductions finance protection against defined risks. Both appear on the same payslip, but they should not be interpreted as if they were the same category.
A useful way to compare the categories is this: AHV, IV, and EO together with BVG are structural pillars of the Swiss system, withholding tax is a tax collection mechanism, accident insurance is the mandatory protection network for accident consequences in employment, and KTG is often the contractual income bridge in case of illness. Anyone who looks only at the total amount of deductions misses the fact that some items are mandatory social contributions, others depend on the employer's design, and others directly affect the quality of your protection when you cannot work. That is exactly why two payslips with similar net salary can still contain very different protection value.
In practice, this means a strong pension contribution setup may be attractive in the long run, but it tells you nothing on its own about how well you are protected in case of illness. A low non-occupational accident deduction may be good for monthly take-home pay, but it does not automatically mean the rest of the contract terms are strong. And a change in withholding tax says nothing about the quality of your insurance arrangement. If you want to read a Swiss payslip professionally, you need to keep these categories separate and assess each according to its own purpose.
Expats benefit especially from this distinction because many come from systems where illness, accident, pension, and tax are bundled differently or described with very different terminology. In Switzerland, the clean separation between social insurance, pension provision, tax, and employer-linked insurance arrangements is essential for payroll analysis. That distinction helps not only when reviewing your first payslip, but even earlier when evaluating an offer or an employment contract draft.
Which questions are worth asking in a new Swiss employment contract
If you are reviewing a new contract, you should not treat accident insurance and KTG as minor HR side notes. The first useful question is: Am I insured for non-occupational accidents, and if so, from what work level and at what employee cost? This is especially important if you work part-time, have multiple jobs, or have irregular working hours. Anyone working less than eight hours per week for one employer may be outside that employer's protection for leisure-time accidents. In that case, you need to know whether accident cover must remain included in your health insurance.
The second key question concerns KTG: Is there a daily sickness benefits policy, who pays the premium, what percentage of salary is covered, how long do benefits last, and are there waiting days? This is where major employer differences become visible. One company may offer a solid arrangement with 80 percent of salary for 730 days and a shared premium split, while another may use a more limited or differently structured setup. Even if both are legally acceptable, the practical difference for your financial risk can be substantial.
You should also ask how the employment contract, staff regulations, and insurance policy work together. It is not enough if the contract simply says "KTG provided." What really matters is whether there are written rules on equivalence, waiting periods, salary continuation in the first days of illness, partial incapacity for work, and benefits during probation or short-term employment. If an employer gives vague or evasive answers here, that is not a good sign, especially if you are relocating to Switzerland or changing industry.
It is also worth checking how costs are split. Under mandatory occupational accident insurance, the premium burden is normally carried by the employer. For non-occupational accidents, the employee share is often passed on to the employee. For KTG, the structure depends heavily on the contract design. SECO guidance and BSV-oriented system overviews make it clear that KTG is not handled identically everywhere. If you want to know whether an offer is truly strong, do not ask only "Is there KTG?" Ask "What monthly employee deduction will I actually see for it, and what concrete benefits do I receive in return?"
Another practical issue is how bonus pay, a 13th salary, and variable compensation are treated. Ask whether and how these components matter for KTG and accident-related daily benefits. In sales, finance, or tech roles with variable compensation, the salary base that is insured or taken into account during a claim can be critical. A high target bonus does not help much if, during a long illness, it is not protected in the same way as your fixed base salary.
For expats, one final practical question is what happens after a job change, during a break in employment, or at the end of the employment relationship. Many employees assume all protection systems continue seamlessly. In practice, however, follow-on coverage periods, deadlines, or new insurance arrangements may matter. A good contract discussion can save you a lot of trouble later. If HR or payroll explains these points clearly, that is often a sign of well-run processes. If not, you should follow up before signing and keep the answers documented in writing.
Mini glossary and table of typical insurance items
The overview below helps you categorize common terms on a Swiss payslip more quickly. It does not replace the insurance policy or the staff regulations, but it gives employees and expats a practical bridge between the payslip, the employment contract, and the insurance logic. For KTG especially, remember again that the wording and employee cost split can be presented differently depending on the employer.
With accident insurance in particular, you should always separate coverage from cost. A line item may be missing from the payslip even though coverage exists, for example if the employer pays the premium in full. On the other hand, a visible deduction does not mean you can already read every benefit detail from that line alone. For a practical evaluation, you always need both levels: the payroll line and the contractual or policy description.
| Term on the payslip | What it usually means | Who typically bears the cost | What you should watch for |
|---|---|---|---|
| BU / BUV / UV occupational accident | Premium for occupational accidents and occupational diseases under UVG | Usually the employer | Often missing as an employee deduction because you generally do not pay this cost yourself |
| NBU / NBUV | Premium for non-occupational accidents in your free time | Often the employee | Especially relevant once you work at least 8 hours per week for the same employer |
| KTG / daily sickness benefits | Insurance solution for income protection in the event of illness | Depending on the employer, fully employer-paid or shared, often split 50/50 | Benefit level, waiting days, duration, and premium split vary |
| UVG daily benefit | Benefit payment in case of incapacity to work after an accident | Not a normal premium line, but a benefit concept | A common rule is 80 percent of insured salary from the third day onward |
| Salary continuation during illness | Employment-law entitlement during illness if no or no sufficient KTG benefit applies | Employer or contractual insurance arrangement | Not every company handles this the same way; check the contract and staff regulations |
| Accident cover in health insurance | Coverage through compulsory health insurance if no employer accident cover applies | The insured person through health insurance | Relevant for non-employed persons or employees working under 8 hours per week |
A short glossary helps here as well: UVG refers to the Swiss Accident Insurance Act. NBU means non-occupational accident. BU or BUV refers to occupational accident or occupational accident insurance. KTG stands for daily sickness benefits insurance. Waiting days are the days at the beginning of an incapacity period before benefit payments start. Equivalence in employment law refers to the idea that a contractual insurance solution can replace the standard legal salary continuation obligation if it is sufficiently comparable.
When reviewing your own payslip, it helps to mark these terms line by line and compare them with your contract and staff regulations. That makes it easier to see whether a small deduction is actually a reasonable price for good protection or whether, conversely, an apparently minor line item points to a weaker arrangement for your situation.
Official framework and further sources
For this topic, you should not rely mainly on forums or general expat advice. The first sensible reference is ch.ch, because it clearly explains the basic logic of accident insurance, the eight-hour threshold for non-occupational accidents, and the consequences for health insurance accident cover. If you want to understand why not every premium on your payslip is structured in the same way, the BSV overview of social insurance contributions provides a useful system-level perspective. For employment law, salary continuation, and the role of daily sickness benefits, the SECO FAQ on incapacity for work and salary continuation is the key practical reference.
Because employers do not structure KTG in an identical way, you should always compare official guidance with your specific employer documents. What matters legally in your individual case is not only a public information portal, but the combination of your employment contract, any collective or standard employment agreement, the staff regulations, the insurance policy, and your actual payslip. Official sources help you ask the right questions; the answer for your own case is found in the binding contract documents.
If you want to assess your next payslip or a job offer, a practical three-step approach works well. First, identify any UVG, NBU, and KTG-related line items on the payslip. Second, check who pays the premiums and what benefits are promised in the contract. Third, compare the result with your expected net salary and your personal risk profile, for example if you work part-time, are planning a family, face a long commute, or are preparing a relocation. That turns a formal payroll item into a meaningful decision tool.
The next practical step is therefore not to memorize every abbreviation, but to map your own situation clearly. If you already work in Switzerland, review your next payslip against your contract and policy terms. If you are negotiating an offer, ask specific questions about NBU, KTG, waiting days, and premium sharing. And if you are new to the country, build your understanding of salary, insurance, and tax step by step instead of looking only at the advertised gross salary. That is when this topic is most useful: not as theory, but as a tool for making better employment and financial decisions.