Good practice

Switzerland Statutory Paternity Leave — Two-Week EOG Entitlement after September 2020 Referendum

Switzerland · Bern · See the Switzerland profile

Approved by Swiss referendum (60.3% Yes, Sept 2020) and in force since 1 Jan 2021, the statutory two-week paternity leave pays 80% of salary (max CHF 196/day) via existing income-replacement insurance. Over 50,000 fathers used it in 2022, exceeding initial government projections.

50000 fathers

Fathers using paternity leave (2022)

60.3%

Referendum approval (Sept 2020)

Details

Maturity: Established
Promoter: Federal Social Insurance Office (BSV / OFAS)
Period: 2021–present
Keywords: government, parental leave, social insurance

Context

Switzerland had no statutory paternity leave until a 27 September 2020 referendum (60.34% Yes) introduced 10 working days of paid leave, in force since 1 January 2021 and financed through the existing Income Compensation Act (EOG/LAPG) via a small shared employer/employee contribution — no new tax or scheme.

Results

SECO data show more than 50,000 fathers used the benefit in 2022, exceeding initial government projections. The Federal Assembly is now debating a proposed 38-week shared parental leave, indicating continued institutional momentum.

Implementation

Implementation detail (cost, timeline, staffing, conditions for success) is not yet available for this practice.

Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

C-NAPSE web research — accessed 2026-06-23
Federal Social Insurance Office (BSV / OFAS) — accessed 2026-06-23
AHV-IV — Allowance for the other parent (paternity) — accessed 2026-06-23
WEF — Swiss vote approves nationwide paternity leave — accessed 2026-06-23
Mercer — Switzerland to offer paternity leave — accessed 2026-06-23
iamexpat — Expanded parental leave in Switzerland — accessed 2026-06-23

Quality score: 74/100

How is this calculated?

Evidence: Observational / pre–post

Top 37% in this catalogue (719 scored practices)

Scores cluster high, so position within the catalogue is often more telling than the number alone.

Evaluation

Evaluated by C-NAPSE

Score profile — the dimensions behind the score — how it's computed

Transferability / replicability2/3

Referendum-validated, insurance-financed model (no new fund needed) is replicable; comparable 2-week statutory paternity leave now exists across the EU, confirming the model's viability.

Impact on gender equality1/1

Directly targets Switzerland's asymmetric care distribution; 50,000+ fathers in 2022 (SECO) represent measurable first-year adoption of shared care responsibility.

Effectiveness1/1

Take-up exceeded initial government projections, confirming the policy reached intended beneficiaries.

Efficiency1/1

Financed via a 0.045% increment to existing EOG insurance; no new administrative infrastructure, minimising employer and public implementation costs.

Evaluated outcomes0/1

Programme in force only since January 2021; SECO take-up data are administrative counts, not an independent causal evaluation of gender-equality outcomes.

Sustainability1/1

Permanent statutory entitlement under the Income Compensation Act; no sunset clause; successor shared-parental-leave legislation in parliamentary debate.

Achievement / evidence1/1

Over 50,000 fathers used the benefit in 2022 (SECO); referendum approval at 60.3% confirms strong social legitimacy and substantial uptake.

Gender-mainstreaming embedding1/1

Directly embeds fathers' care responsibility in employment law, beginning to equalise statutory care entitlements between parents.

Curator validation0/1

Awaiting curator review.

Cite this

Evidoria. Switzerland Statutory Paternity Leave — Two-Week EOG Entitlement after September 2020 Referendum. Persistent ID: 051d8905-128a-49c0-886e-c99c8b24e920.

Export as decision brief (PDF)

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