On 27 September 2020, Swiss voters approved, by 60.3%, an amendment to the Loss of Earnings Compensation Act (LECA) introducing two weeks of paternity leave. Switzerland was then one of the last countries in Europe with no statutory paternity leave: fathers generally received only the single day granted for a « family event ».
The measure was the outcome of a long tug-of-war. In 2017, the umbrella organisation Travail.Suisse and the « Paternity leave now ! » association filed a popular initiative demanding four weeks. Parliament countered with a more modest indirect counter-proposal — two weeks, or ten days, to be taken within six months of the birth. The initiative was withdrawn, but a committee of SVP politicians, Young Liberals and employer circles launched a referendum against this counter-proposal, deemed too expensive.
The stakes went beyond fathers alone: they touched the modernisation of family policy, gender equality and the financial burden on the economy. The leave is financed through the loss-of-earnings scheme (APG/EO), whose contribution rate rises from 0.45% to 0.5% of wages.
On 27 September 2020, the yes prevailed clearly with 60.3% of the vote, on a turnout of 59.36%. Support was massive in French-speaking and Latin Switzerland; rejection was concentrated in rural central and eastern Switzerland.
▲ Cantons that accepted Geneva (79.4%), Jura, Neuchâtel, Fribourg, Vaud, Valais, Bern (56.9%), Ticino (67.3%), Zurich, Basel-City, Basel-Country, Aargau, Lucerne, Solothurn, Schaffhausen, Graubünden and Zug — 16 cantons (on the basis of the popular vote). | ▼ Cantons that rejected Uri, Schwyz, Obwalden, Nidwalden, Glarus, Appenzell Inner-Rhodes, Appenzell Outer-Rhodes, St. Gallen and Thurgau — rural central and eastern Switzerland. |
Actors and personalities
▲ Yes camp • Travail.Suisse (initiator of the compromise with « Paternity leave now ! ») • SP, Greens, Green Liberals (firm support) • The Centre / CVP (majority in favour) • Trade unions (SGB, Travail.Suisse) • The Federal Council and the parliamentary majority (recommend a yes) | ▼ No camp • Referendum committee (led by SVP figures, including Christoph Blocher, and around a dozen national councillors) • Young Liberals (opposed to a state-imposed leave) • Employer and SME circles (fear of additional burdens) • Part of the FDP (divided) |
Arguments and verdicts
▲ Arguments FOR (Yes camp) Fathers will use this leave « Paternity leave is an important step towards a modern family policy. » — Travail.Suisse, 2020 campaign ✓ Argument confirmed As early as Q1 2021, a paternity allowance was paid in about 70% of births. The benefit was immediately and widely used by the fathers concerned. For children born in 2023, 77% of eligible fathers took the leave, compared with 95% of mothers for maternity leave. Source: Federal Statistical Office / CHSS (Social Security), 2021-2022. ; FSIO, Social Security CHSS A modest, affordable cost « Two weeks are a reasonable burden, fully absorbable by the loss-of-earnings scheme. » — Committee « Yes to paternity leave », 2020 ✓ Argument confirmed Financing rested on a modest increase in the EO contribution (0.45% to 0.5%). In 2021 the system paid out around 150 million francs in paternity allowances — below the 230 million sometimes feared. Source: FSIO / EO, 2021 accounts. | ▼ Arguments AGAINST (No camp) A bill close to a billion « This leave will cost 230 million in direct costs, plus up to 900 million in indirect costs for companies. » — Referendum committee, 2020 ✗~ Partly refuted The direct cost proved in line with — indeed below — the Federal Council's estimates (around 150 to 230 million). The « 900 million » of indirect business costs, however, were a campaign projection that was never documented afterwards. Source: FSIO / EO, 2021 accounts; Federal Council estimates. Only a first step towards ever more « Two weeks today, but tomorrow an extended parental leave will be demanded. » — SVP opponents, 2020 ✓~ Partly confirmed The debate on an extension did not in fact close: parliamentary motions and cantonal initiatives (including Geneva's parental leave) revived the question after 2020. At federal level, however, no extension has been adopted to date. The next step is under way: the federal "Family Time" initiative (18 weeks per parent) was filed on 30 September 2026 with 112,517 valid signatures, and in 2026 Parliament granted partial federal approval to Geneva's 24-week parental leave. Source: Federal Parliament; cantonal votes 2023-2024. ; Keystone-SDA / SRF (30 September 2026); RTS (2026) |
Affiches de campagne (3)
Factual record
2 Confirmed | 1 Partly confirmed | 1 Partly refuted | 0 Refuted |
| ✓ | A benefit that became routine Paternity leave entered into force on 1 January 2021. In the very first year, around 70% of the fathers concerned took it up — a sign of rapid, broad adoption. Source: FSO / CHSS, 2021-2022. |
| ✓ | A contained cost Financing through the EO scheme (contribution raised to 0.5%) delivered on its promise: spending stayed within the announced envelope, with no derailment of the scheme. Source: FSIO / EO, 2021 accounts. |
| ~ | The parental-leave debate revived As opponents predicted, the matter did not stop at two weeks: cantonal extensions and parliamentary proposals followed — without, so far, producing a federal parental leave. Source: Federal Parliament; cantons, 2021-2024. |
Update 10/2026: added the take-up rate (77% of fathers for 2023 births), the filing of the "Family Time" initiative on 30 September 2026 and the partial federal approval of Geneva's parental leave.
The vote of 27 September 2020 marks Switzerland's late but clear entry into the club of countries with statutory paternity leave. The parliamentary compromise of two weeks — more modest than the four initially demanded — secured a comfortable majority where a maximalist version might have failed.
In hindsight, the yes camp's arguments hold up well against the facts: the benefit was widely used and its cost stayed under control. The no camp's alarmist figures — particularly the near-billion bill — found no confirmation in the public accounts.
The only opponent forecast that is partly borne out is the « first step » one: the parental-leave issue remained on the political agenda. But at federal level no extension has been decided, and Switzerland remains, by European standards, rather cautious in this area.