Family and Work in Liechtenstein: Maternity, Paternity and Parental Leave

At the turn of the year Liechtenstein implemented the EU work-life balance directive, noticeably reshaping family rights at work. The new elements are:

• Paternity leave — two weeks off, which had no statutory basis before
• Parental leave — up to four months per parent, non-transferable
• New responsibility — maternity benefit now runs through the Family Allowance Fund (FAK) rather than daily sickness benefit insurance

How the rules are split matters. Who gets time off and when is set out in the General Civil Code (ABGB); how much money follows is in the Family Allowances and Income Replacement Act (FZEG). The two belong together — time off alone says nothing about whether it is paid.

Because the rules are only nine months old, much of what is online still describes the previous position. The figures in this article come from the statute itself and from the Liechtenstein AHV-IV-FAK as the implementing body.

The entitlement runs for 20 consecutive weeks, that is 140 days, and can start no earlier than four weeks before the birth.

Three conditions have to be met:

1. You were continuously insured with Liechtenstein's AHV for the last 270 days before the birth — breaks may not exceed three months.
2. You stop working no earlier than 20 weeks before the birth (unless at least half incapacity for work is medically certified).
3. The child is born viable, or the pregnancy lasted at least 23 weeks.

It is paid as a daily allowance under the formula «eligible annual earnings divided by 360, times 80 percent». An FAK worked example: on a monthly salary of CHF 4'000 — CHF 52'000 a year including the 13th month — that gives a daily allowance of CHF 115.60 and, over 140 days, CHF 16'184 in maternity benefit.

Two points are easily missed. If you resume work during this period, in full or in part, the entitlement ends immediately. And if the newborn stays in hospital for at least two uninterrupted weeks, the period is extended by the length of that stay, by at most eight weeks.

Since 2026 fathers are entitled to two consecutive weeks off — 14 daily allowances, likewise at 80 percent of pay. The condition is that you were insured with Liechtenstein's AHV for at least 180 days immediately before paternity was established.

On the same worked example — a monthly salary of CHF 4'000 — that comes to CHF 1'618.40. Measured against the 20 weeks for mothers it is little; measured against the previous position, where no statutory entitlement existed at all, it is the larger step.

For the worst case the law provides a special rule: if the mother dies on the day of birth or within the 20 weeks that follow, the father is entitled to additional paternity benefit for 20 consecutive weeks. The reverse applies too — if the other parent dies within eight months of the birth, the working mother receives two additional weeks.

This is the biggest change — and the one where reducing it to a single number misleads most. Each parent can take up to four months of parental leave. Two of those months are paid; the other two are not.

The two paid months are calculated more generously than maternity and paternity benefit: at 100 percent of the average AHV-liable monthly salary over the twelve months before the birth. That is capped at twice the maximum monthly old-age pension, currently CHF 2'450 — so CHF 4'900 a month.

• Condition — more than six months of continuous employment with the same Liechtenstein employer
• Non-transferable — neither in whole nor in part to the other parent
• Deadline — until the child turns three; for adoptive and foster parents, until five
• Flexible — in one block, part-time, in days or in hours, provided both sides agree
• Multiple births — the entitlement still arises only once

That parental leave cannot be transferred is not an oversight but the heart of the directive: if you do not take it yourself, you lose it. Unlike maternity benefit, the FAK pays parental benefit directly to the parents rather than to the employer — and in arrears, not on a running basis.

Transitional rule: biological parents of children born in 2023 can still take parental leave until the end of December 2026, as can adoptive and foster parents of children born in 2021.

Alongside the three forms of leave, the Family Allowance Fund pays ongoing allowances: child allowances, birth allowances and single-parent allowances. Current amounts and eligibility are covered in the article on social security contributions and allowances — they belong there because they run through the same fund as AHV and IV.

Worth knowing for your budget: no AHV, IV, FAK or unemployment contributions are levied on maternity, paternity or parental benefit, and compulsory insurance continues throughout the leave — including the unpaid portion of parental leave. The benefits are nonetheless taxable.

Anyone entitled to an equivalent foreign benefit cannot draw Liechtenstein parental benefit. For cross-border commuters it is therefore worth looking at both sides of the border; the basics are in the article for cross-border commuters in Liechtenstein.

Two things are worth clarifying before you accept an offer. First the six-month rule: entitlement to parental leave only arises once you have been with the same employer continuously for more than six months. Changing jobs shortly before a birth forfeits it — not permanently, but for that child.

Second, how the company handles the two unpaid months. The statute sets only the minimum; some employers top it up or offer more flexible arrangements. It is rarely asked about, because many people do not know the entitlement exists.

For the period afterwards, a reduced workload is the most common way back — what that means for holidays, pay and pension is covered in the article on part-time work in Liechtenstein, and suitable roles are listed under all part-time jobs.

Open positions by workplace — for example in Vaduz or Schaan — are listed together under all jobs in Liechtenstein. This article is not legal advice; the ABGB, the FZEG and guidance from the Liechtenstein AHV-IV-FAK are authoritative.