Switzerland see pros and cons of enhanced parental leave

Federal Council sees advantages and disadvantages of parental leave Keystone-SDA

The Swiss government remains non-committal about a proposal to beef up parental leave.

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A meaningful cost-benefit analysis is only possible once the objectives of parental leave have been clarified, the Federal Council said on Wednesday.

The government took note of a research report on the subject which concluded that parental leave models can have various positive and negative effects.

For example, parental leave can improve the compatibility of family life and employment and be beneficial for the health of mothers or the development of children. On the other hand, parental leave leads, among other things, to increased financing requirements and therefore – depending on the form of financing – to higher non-wage labor costs, for example.

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The Federal Council writes that the specific design of a parental leave model plays a central role. According to the analysis, the variable parental leave model (parental leave freely divided between parents) has a less negative impact on incomes than the parity model (both parents taking the same amount of leave).

In contrast, the parity parental leave model has a more positive effect on mothers’ participation in the workforce.

According to the Federal Council, the report should serve as a basis for the discussion on the design of any parental leave in Switzerland. Currently, working mothers in Switzerland are entitled to 14 weeks’ maternity leave, while the other working parent can take two weeks’ paid leave after the birth of a child.

In Switzerland, there has so far been no political majority in favor of parental leave at national level. A few weeks ago, however, the responsible committee of the Council of States signaled its intention to examine the proposal in depth. The tenor was that a pragmatic solution had to be found that was financially viable.

A national popular initiative on the subject is also to be launched soon.

Translated from German with DeepL/mga

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