With digital processes, electronic signatures are also gaining in importance. But for which business purposes is the qualified electronic signature (QES) suitable? And what requirements need to be met? Find out how you can benefit from QES using a practical example.

QES: Definition and difference to AES

The eIDAS Regulation categorises electronic signatures into three types: simple (SES), advanced (AES) and qualified (QES). Only the QES has the same legal effect as a handwritten signature and guarantees EU-wide legal validity for digitally signed contracts. In addition, the QES is also recognised in Switzerland by the ZertES (Federal Act on Electronic Signatures). When creating a QES, you must decide whether it should be compliant with the eIDAS Regulation or the ZertES.

The advanced (AES) and qualified electronic signature (QES) must fulfil similar criteria: Both must be clearly assigned to the signatory and allow subsequent changes to the document to be recognised. However, there is also a difference: the QES must fulfil additional requirements compared to the AES. The necessary qualified certificate may only be issued by a trust service provider using a qualified electronic signature unit.

By the way: Certifaction’s eSigning tool enables all types of electronic signature, including advanced and qualified electronic signatures.

How is the QES created and when is it required?

On the technical side, the QES works like this: The trust service provider (VDA) generates and manages the key pairs in a qualified signature creation device. The VDA is responsible for making the private key accessible exclusively to the signatory, which is usually guaranteed by an additional security factor. Before creating a signature key, the VDA must securely identify the signatory and store the corresponding identity information in the certificate.

Electronic signatures can be used to fulfil the legally required written form. The QES is therefore always required if a specific form is specified for the document to be signed. In Switzerland, this applies, for example, to rental agreements, employment references or leasing contracts. In Switzerland, a distinction is also made between simple and qualified written form. While the qualified electronic signature is considered equivalent to a handwritten signature in the case of simple written form, additional aspects are required for qualified written form. For example, it may be necessary to include certain content in the contractual document.

Practical example: How the qualified electronic signature is used by Swiss personnel service providers

Imagine a recruitment agency in Zurich that places both national and international talent. A client from the IT sector urgently wants to hire a specialised software developer for a three-month project. The fixed term of three months requires a QES signature.

As soon as a suitable candidate has been found, at least two contracts must be concluded: an assignment contract between the personnel service provider and the IT company (assignment company) and an employment or assignment contract between the personnel service provider and the candidate (employee). Traditionally, this would mean that paper contracts would have to be drawn up, sent, signed and returned – a process that can take several days and incur high costs.

On the left, a large pile of untidy files and documents on a desk, on the right a smiling woman in a light grey blazer looking at her smartphone, separated by an arrow in the centre of the picture as a symbol of change or digitalisation.

The electronic signature fundamentally changes the process. The recruitment agency can create the contracts digitally and send them by email to the company and the new employee. To do this, the recruitment agency uploads the document as a PDF to the eSigning provider and adds the email addresses of the signatories in the desired order. Certifaction can also be used to set password protection.

Using the link received, the company and employee can check the document and, after successful identification, sign it. Identification can take place online by presenting an identity card or passport. The identity is then confirmed by a qualified certificate from the trust service provider. In addition, a date is automatically noted when the QES is created, which acts as a time stamp and provides probative value in the event of disputes. The entire contract procedure can thus be finalised with legal validity within a few hours.

Companies often ask whether all parties must sign electronically for the QES. However, this is not mandatory. If one person uses an electronic signature, the other parties can still sign by hand. In the above example, only the candidate could sign electronically and the company of employment could sign in writing. However, this would of course mean a delay of a few days.

The advantage of digital signing is obvious: open and temporary positions can be filled much more quickly and efficiently. For example, the contract can be sent on a Friday – and is already signed by the time the employee starts work on Monday. This means that even very short-term requirements can be covered. In addition, the low effort involved reduces the bounce rate in the contract process. 90% of contracts are signed on the same day.

The advantages with Certifaction

Certifactions QES-Ident offers maximum user-friendliness, making the process easy even for people with no technical experience. Employees of the personnel service provider quickly find their way around the tool and can save a lot of working time with practical functions such as batch signatures and personalised signature requests.

In addition, Certifaction prioritises the security of your data and thus reduces the risk of breaches of data protection regulations. Your documents are processed locally and end-to-end encrypted. Nobody, not even us as the provider, has access to your confidential content.

Conclusion

Electronic signatures are an indispensable resource in today’s business world. Companies that decide in favour of implementation benefit from efficiency and legal validity. This is because the eIDAS Regulation and the ZertES mean that the qualified electronic signature (QES) is legally recognised in both the EU and Switzerland. While personnel service providers benefit in particular from the high number of contracts to be processed, the QES is also relevant for many other sectors and is also required by law in some cases.