Paternity Leave in Switzerland 2021
In September 2020 paternity leave in Switzerland was officially voted into law by its citizens (60.3% approved). As of January 1, 2021, working fathers are entitled to two weeks, or 10 working days, of paternity leave. The leave must be taken within six months of the child’s birth, either all at once, or spread out over individual days. Other stipulations include:
- Employers are prohibited from reducing regular vacation days.
- To be eligible to receive paternity compensation the father must be employed or self-employed at the time of the child’s birth. The father must also be covered by the old age and survivors insurance scheme (AHV) over the previous nine months, and employed for at least five months of that period.
- Compensation is either paid directly to the employee or to the employer if the latter continues to pay the salary during the leave.
- Loss of earnings during paternity leave is compensated the same as maternity leave. The compensation amount is 80% of the average earned income before the child’s birth, up to a maximum of 196 Swiss Francs (CHF) per day. For two weeks leave, 14 days’ allowances are paid, resulting in a maximum amount of CHF 2,744
Swiss paternity leave is funded by the income replacement scheme (EO). On January 1, 2021, the EO contribution was increased from 0.45% to 0.50%. The EO contribution is split by the employer and the employee.
This information about paternity leave in Switzerland is provided by WHP, Asinta’s employee benefits consulting Partner in the country.