Lone parenthood is a growing phenomenon in many European countries. Lone parents and their children have generally higher risk of poverty and negative health outcomes compared to couples with children and the general population (OECD 2014). In Switzerland family policies are poor compared to other Western welfare states, so that more than elsewhere labour market attachment represents a crucial resource for lone parents to face risks. Using data from the Swiss Household Panel (SHP, waves 2001 and 2013), we study the patterns of labour market participation for Swiss lone parents. We follow individuals’ employment trajectories during eight years after and two years before the transition to lone parenthood. We test for the association between employment trajectories and both individual and household characteristics and we find four types of employment “strategies” around the transition to lone parenthood, that is when lone parents face the potential trade-off between care time and earnings.