Template for a work contract
What is a work and services contract?
Under a work and services contract, the contractor is obligated to perform certain work, while the client undertakes to pay for the creation of the promised individual work. The contractor is the person who creates the product or work. The most important feature of a work and services contract is that the contractor owes a specific work result (achievement).
What is the owed performance (the work)?
This can be a physically created work product, such as the creation or modification of an item, or a the result of intellectual work, such as a composition or individual software. However, the contractor is not responsible for ensuring that the economic purpose of the creation of the work actually occurs, for example the rentability of a properly constructed building.
How does such a work and services contract differ from an order?
In the case of an order, only careful work is owed, i.e. there is no performance obligation within the sense of a work result. If someone is hired to water flowers, this is considered to be an oder, since only the careful watering of the plants is required. If, however, the creation of a flower bed is owed, this is deemed to relate to a work and services contract.
How does a work and services contract differ from an employment contract?
In the case of an employment contract too, “only” the activity is owed and not the achievement. Unlike an order, the work relates to an employment contract if a person performs the work in a capacity where they are dependent on and integrated into a company.
How does a work and services contract differ from a purchase agreement?
In the case of a purchase agreement, an already existing item is purchased, while for a work and services contract, such a work or product is created individually according to the needs of the client.
How is payment made in the case of a work and services contract?
The so-called compensation for work performed can be defined in advance, as it is a fixed price. Here, the contractor bears the risk of whether they spend more than planned because no more than the agreed compensation can be charged. Conversely, the orderer shall also owe the fixed price if the work can be produced at a lower price than agreed. If no price is agreed in advance, then the compensation is determined subsequently on the basis of the work performed and material costs. A cost estimate can be drawn up in which the contractor estimates an indicative price. If this indicative price is disproportionately exceeded (by more than 10%) and the client has done nothing to cause this, you can demand a reduction in the remuneration for the work or, if necessary, withdraw from the contract, which must be examined in each individual case.
What can I do if the work is defective?
In the case of small defects, a decrease in the compensation or a free improvement can be requested. If the contractor is at fault, then damages can also be claimed. If, for example, they negligently and poorly constructed a roof and the rain gutter crashes onto a car, the damage incurred can be claimed.
If it is a case of a significant defect or the work is unusable for the client, then the client may refuse to accept the work and again claim damages if the contractor is at fault. However, if the work has been constructed on the property of the client, and it can only be removed with disproportionately excessive effort, then the contract cannot be dissolved. In this case, a reduction of the compensation or also the rectification of the work free of charge (provided this does not cause excessive costs) and a claim for damages are the only options.
What should you do to claim a defect?
Until now, the following applied: When you received a finished work, you had to check it immediately. You had to report any obvious defects without delay. Defects that were only discovered later (hidden defects) also had to be reported immediately after their discovery.
With the amendment to the Swiss Code of Obligations (SCO, “Construction Defects”), which was passed on December 20, 2024, and came into force on January 1, 2026, these rules have changed in certain cases.
When it comes to defects in immovable works (structures permanently attached to the ground, such as buildings), you now have 60 days to report the defect. It is not permitted to agree on a shorter period. This 60-day period also applies to defects in movable parts that have been permanently installed in the building and render it defective. It also applies to defects in the plans or calculations of architects or engineers that served as the basis for the building and render it defective.
Defects in an immovable work that you were unable to discover during the usual inspection and acceptance must now be reported within 60 days of their discovery. Here, too, it is not permitted to agree on a shorter period. This rule also applies to defects in permanently installed movable parts or in architectural/engineering services that render the structure defective.
Important note: It is assumed that these new, longer reporting periods only apply to contracts for work and services concluded after December 31, 2025. As the exact details of the application of these new provisions have not yet been fully clarified, it is advisable to seek legal advice if you have specific questions.
Oftentimes, the application of SIA standard 118 is agreed in a work and services contract. More information on this topic can be found in this article.
How must a work and services contract be drawn up?
A work and services contract can generally also be concluded orally. However, for the purpose of having proof, we recommend concluding the contract in writing. If the work and services contract is part of a contract for the purchase of land, then it may require public notarization under certain circumstances.
You can find additional legal information and a sample agreement for download below.