Need more time? Apply for breastfeeding leave!

The first years of a child’s life are crucial for her psychological and cognitive development. A baby’s immune system continues developing through her first birthday. Majority of women have difficult time separating themselves from a small baby and leaving them with a childminder however experienced they may be. Woman’s body needs time to heal and recover from the biggest physical effort of her life.

And yet, working mums in Switzerland are expected to come back to work after only 14 or 16 weeks of maternity leave. The resulting stress can negatively impact your physical and mental well-being which is one of the reasons why many women decide to resign from their jobs after their maternity leaves.

Nowadays, the benefits of breastfeeding both for you and your baby are undeniable and many countries try to encourage it even beyond the first few months of baby’s life. You probably heard that you are entitled to paid breastfeeding or pumping breaks at workplace or at home (90 minutes if you work full time). However very few women in Switzerland are informed that if they breastfeed they are not obliged to return to work at all.

In fact, a pregnant or breastfeeding woman cannot be occupied without her consent which means that if you are not ready to go back to work or the breastfeeding/pumping in the office doesn’t work for you, you can simply notify your employer and stay home longer. Of course, your employer does not have to pay you so this will translate into an unpaid leave. Please note also that your protection period against dismissal ceases at 16 weeks after birth so your boss could in theory fire you but he cannot do so based on the grounds of breastfeeding because this would be abusive.

If you can afford it financially, this allows you to spend more time at home with your baby and getting your job back when you are ready! Or giving you more time to decide whether you want to go back to work or not. Many employers are unfortunately not aware of this option, therefore it is encouraged to discuss with them early enough to ensure smooth processing and planning.

Please contact me if you would like to hear my experience or if you would like to have more detailed information. Before taking any decisions impacting your work situation it is recommended to consult a legal professional. I can give you tip on where to seek one.

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Sources:

1. Swiss Labor law / Loi sur le travail (LTr) https://www.seco.admin.ch/seco/fr/home/Arbeit/Arbeitsbedingungen/Arbeitsgesetz-und-Verordnungen/Wegleitungen/wegleitung-zum-arg.html

Beware of the exceptions: Some sectors and individuals are excluded or only partially covered by Labor law: Public administration, Public transport, Science, Senior Management, Private households, Agriculture and others.