Fathers in Switzerland will be entitled to 10 days of paid paternity leave starting 1 Jan 2021, under legislation amending the Loss of Earnings Compensation Act. Fathers currently do not have a statutory right to paternity leave after the birth of a child.

Highlights

• Fathers can take paternity leave in a single period or as individual days but must use the leave within six months after the baby’s birth.
• Paternity leave benefits will equal 80% of the employee’s average salary prior to the baby’s birth but will be capped at a total of CHF2,744, or CHF196 per day.
• The eligibility rules for paternity leave will be the same as for maternity leave. The father must be employed or self-employed at the time of the birth, covered by the old age and survivor’s insurance scheme during the past nine months, and employed for at least five months of that period.
• Employers that pay an employee’s salary during paternity leave will receive the benefit payment instead of the employee. Employers can increase the amount of paternity leave and pay.
• Employers cannot reduce the vacation entitlement of employees who take paternity leave.

Related resources

• Press release (Swiss Confederation, 27 Sep 2020)
• Summary of paternity law provisions (German, French and Italian) (Swiss Confederation, 27 Sep 2020)