Allowance for the other parent (father or mother’s wife)

The father or mother’s wife, who is considered the other parent under Art. 255a para 1 of the Swiss Civil Code (CC), are entitled to the allowance if at the time when the child is born tey are: 

• employed; or
• self-employed; or
• working in the business of your wife, family or cohabiting partner and receive a cash salary; or
• unemployed and either already receive a daily unemployment
  allowance; or
• unemployed and unable to work owing to sickness, injury or disability and because of this are receiving daily benefits from a social or private insurer, provided that these daily benefits are calculated on the basis of a previous salary; or
• in a valid employment relationship, but are not receiving any continued payment of wages or daily benefits because your entitlement has been exhausted; or
• you are in service and are unemployed but do not receive a daily unemployment allowance even though you have paid contributions for a sufficiently long time to qualify for it.

You will be eligible for the allowance for the other parent if you were:

• the legal father at the time of the birth of the child or became so within the following six months; or
• the mother’s wife, who is considered the other parent under Art. 255a para 1 of the Swiss Civil Code, at the time of the birth of the child; and
• covered by mandatory insurance within the meaning of the OASI Act during the nine-month period immediately preceding the birth of the child. If the child was born prematurely, this period is reduced to:
  • six months in the case of children born before the seventh month
    of pregnancy;
  • seven months in the case of children born before the eighth month
    of pregnancy;
  • eight months in the case of children born before the ninth month
    of pregnancy, and
• gainfully employed for at least five months during this period or received loss of earnings compensation (LEC).

Periods of insurance and employment in an EU or EFTA member state and in the United Kingdom are counted.

It begins on the date of the child’s birth and ends when the 14th allowance claimed by the other parent has been paid out.

Entitlement to the allowance for the other parent begins on the date of the child’s birth and ends when the 14th allowance claimed by the other parent has been paid out but no later than the end of the six-month qualifying period after the birth.

If you die, the surviving parent, i.e. the mother, is entitled to a 14-day extension of her paid maternity leave, provided she meets the qualifying conditions.

It amounts to 80 % of the average earnings prior to the birth of the child.

The allowance for the other parent is paid as a daily allowance and amounts to 80 % of your average earnings prior to the birth of the child, subject to a maximum of 220 francs per day.

The maximum daily allowance is reached when your monthly income comes to 8 250 francs (8 250 francs x 0.8 ÷ 30 day = 220 francs/day) or, if you are self-employed, when your annual income on which you pay OASI contributions comes to 99 000 francs (99 000 francs x 0.8 ÷ 360 days = 220 francs/day).

If when the child is born, you are entitled under social insurance law to daily allowances from one of the following:

• unemployment insurance;
• invalidity insurance;
• accident insurance;
• health insurance;
• military insurance,

the allowance for the other parent will take precedence over these benefits and will come to at least the same amount as the daily allowance you were receiving previously. There is no vested right to a daily sickness allowance provided by daily allowance insurance under the IPA (i.e. a daily allowance under a private-law policy).

The following can claim the allowance for the other parent from the OASI compensation office responsible for their case:

• the father or mother’s wife
  through your employer if you are an employee;
  directly from the compensation office if you are self-employed, unemployed or unable to work;
• the employer
  if you fail to claim through your employer (see above) and your
  employer pays you a salary during the period of your entitlement;
• the dependants 
  if you fail to meet your maintenance or support obligations.

If at the time when the child is born you are employed, unemployed or unable to work, your current or most recent employer will certify:

• the duration of the employment relationship;
• your relevant salary for the purposes of calculating the allowance claimed by the other parent;
• the salary paid by your employer during the period in which you are receiving the daily allowance, and
• the leave you have taken to date as the other parent.

Yes

The allowance paid directly to the other parent instead of the salary is also considered income. OASI, IV and LEC contributions must therefore be paid on this benefit. In the case of employees, the contribution to unemployment insurance is also deducted. Like the other income, the amount of the allowance paid directly to the other parent is also entered in the individual OASI account kept by the compensation offices for each insured person. This will allow it to be taken into account when calculating future pensions.

Additional information on the obligation to pay contributions can be obtained from the compensation offices.

By the employer or the compensation office.

If your employer continues to pay your salary for the duration of your entitlement, the compensation office will pay the allowance for the other parent to your employer.

In the event of any dispute with your employer, or under special circumstances, you may request direct payment of your allowance for the other parent by the compensation office. Special circumstances would apply, for example, if your employer were insolvent or in default or if you have another job and your employer has not been informed of facts relating to this (amount of salary, self-employment, etc.).

You may ask for the allowance for the other parent to be paid to your dependants entitled to maintenance or support. The allowance for the other parent is paid in arrears, namely after your final day of paid leave to which you are entitled as the other parent has been taken.

The allowance for the other parent can also be paid to you abroad, if you move abroad after the birth of your child. The Swiss Compensation Office (SCO) will handle this case.

Yes

Employees who receive the allowance for the other parent will continue to be covered by mandatory accident insurance while they are on parental leave. In principle, they will be exempt from premium payments during this period.

If while they are on paternal leave, the employer pays a salary which amounts to more than the allowance for the other parent, he or she will be required to pay AIA premiums on the difference between the allowance claimed by the other parent and the salary payments (up to the current maximum insured earnings of 148 200 francs).

Unemployed persons will continue to be insured against accidents while on parental leave. They do not need to cancel the suspension with their health insurance because of this. However, a precondition for this is that there should not be any gap between receiving daily unemployment benefit and the allowance for the other parent.

Yes

Employees will continue to enjoy the same level of cover under the occupational pension scheme while they are on parental leave. The previous coordinated salary, on which contributions are levied, will therefore remain valid. However, employees can request a reduction in the coordinated salary.

If you have any questions about the amount of your occupational pension contributions, please contact your pension scheme.