Parental leave: 136 thousand signatures collected in Switzerland

Context

In brief

• 136’000 signatures collected for parental leave
• The signatures will be submitted next week
• 100’000 signatures were needed by the first of October
• The proposal provides 18 weeks for both parents

Key facts

• Signatures collected: 136’000
• Initiative: Strong society and economy thanks to parental leave
• Promoters: PVL, Verdi, Alliance F, Travail Suisse and Donne del Centro
• Required threshold: 100’000 signatures
• Collection deadline: first of October
• Planned funding: loss-of-earnings compensation insurance
• Requested duration: 18 weeks for mothers and fathers
• Estimated annual costs: around one billion francs

136’000 signatures have been collected for the popular initiative Strong society and economy thanks to parental leave. The announcement was made by the Green Liberal Party (PVL), one of the promoting forces. The signatures will be submitted next week to the Federal Chancellery. The PVL considers the number sufficient for the initiative to succeed «with a comfortable margin».

The text of the constitutional amendment was published in the Federal Gazette in April 2025. To succeed, the initiative had to collect 100’000 signatures by the first of October. The proposal is promoted, in addition to the PVL, by Verdi, Alliance F, Travail Suisse and Donne del Centro. It is also supported by PS, the Evangelical Party and other organizations.

The structure of the proposal

The objective is to introduce an adequate and paid congedo parentale for mothers and fathers after the birth of the child. The funding should come through loss-of-earnings compensation insurance. If accepted, the implementing legislation should be ready within five years.

For the first ten years, the text calls for 18 weeks for each parent: in principle, to be taken one after the other, with at most one quarter of the period taken together. The leave would not be transferable from one parent to the other. The amount of the allowance is fundamentally based on the amounts provided for military and civilian service. For lower salaries, however, the initiative provides for an allowance equal to a full salary.

In autumn 2024 Kathrin Bertschy, member of the National Council (PVL/BE) and co-president of the women’s organization Alliance F, had calculated an increase in payroll contributions of 0.25 percentage points, up to 0.75%. According to a study by Ecoplan, the annual costs would be around one billion francs.

Today, working mothers are entitled to a maternity allowance of 14 weeks. In 2020, the Swiss people approved two weeks of paternity leave, introduced at the beginning of 2021. The vote originated from an initiative for four weeks of paternity leave with loss-of-earnings compensation; in Parliament, the indirect counterproposal for two weeks ultimately prevailed.

Operational details

Before and after, according to the text

The comparison between the situation described today and the proposed model highlights a different distribution of time after birth. The source indicates 14 weeks of maternity benefits for working mothers and two weeks of paternity leave for fathers, introduced at the beginning of 2021. The initiative instead calls for 18 weeks for each parent within the first ten years.

Separate planning for each parent

The formula does not provide for a single package to be divided freely. The 18 weeks would apply separately to the mother and father; the basic rule is that they would be taken one after the other, while the overlap could not exceed one quarter of the period. The text also rules out transferring the leave. A family would therefore have to keep the two periods and any shared portion separate when planning. It would not only be the total number of weeks that mattered, but also their order and the shared portion. congedo parentale is thus described as a sequence of coordinated absences, not as a single period that could be freely redistributed.

| Recipient | Current framework indicated | Initiative's request | | Working mothers | 14 weeks of maternity benefits | 18 weeks within the first ten years | | Fathers | 2 weeks of paternity leave | 18 weeks within the first ten years |

The second effect to consider concerns financial coverage. The proposal indicates loss-of-earnings insurance; in autumn 2024 Kathrin Bertschy had calculated an increase in payroll contributions of 0,25 percentage points, with the level indicated at 0,75%. An Ecoplan study estimates the annual costs at approximately one billion francs. The percentage and the cost estimate are therefore the economic elements connected to the initiative proponents' plans, while the structure of the leave defines who could be absent and how the period would be divided.

A practical reading requires keeping these two aspects separate: duration and benefits on the one hand, financing on the other. If the initiative were accepted, the implementing legislation would have to be ready within five years, leaving the legislative text with the task of putting the requested rules into operation.

Recommended tools

For an updated estimate, use the net salary calculator and the CHF-EUR exchange comparator.

Key points

How to follow the initiative

The practical sequence for the reader

To follow the process without confusing the collection of signatures with the rules governing leave, it is useful to use a checklist based on the steps already indicated:

1. Check the next announced step: the 136’000 signatures will be submitted next week to the Federal Chancellery. This is the immediate operational reference communicated by PVL. 2. Keep the threshold and deadline separate: the proposal required 100’000 signatures, and the deadline indicated for collecting them is the first of October. The announced number and the closing date are the two pieces of data to consider together when reading the initiative. 3. Return to the text published in the Federal Gazette in April 2025 and check four elements: 18 weeks for each parent during the first ten years, in principle taken one after the other, at most one quarter taken together, and no transfer between parents. 4. Separate the duration from the financial calculation: the requested financing would come through loss-of-earnings insurance; the allowance essentially follows the amounts for military and civilian service, while full pay is provided for lower salaries.

This checklist makes it possible to read the proposal in practical terms: first the announced institutional step, then the collection requirements, followed by the rules that would affect the organization of leave, and finally its financing. The text also indicates that, if accepted, the implementing legislation should be ready within five years. For this reason, the stage described in the news report is still that of the initiative’s success and the submission of the signatures; future operational arrangements depend on the legislation provided for in the text.

For anyone planning a birth, the useful comparison is between the framework currently indicated for mothers and fathers and the structure requested by the initiative, without treating the proposal as a rule already in force. The estimates of wage contributions and annual costs, on the other hand, are useful for assessing the financial side of the project. To explore congedo parentale further, you can consider the document, timeline and rules together; to translate the effect of the contributions indicated by the promoters on personal income, open calcolatore stipendio.

Source: swissinfo.ch