Leaving ETH Zurich

Everything about leaving ETH Zurich.

Permanent employment contracts can be terminated by the employee at any time as long as the applicable notice period is complied with. The employer can only ordinarily terminate the employment contract subject to statutory provisions.

Please submit your letter of resignation, in compliance with the notice period, to your supervisor. You will receive confirmation of your resignation from HR Operations, with details of the necessary leaving formalities.

The notice periods are specified in Article 10 and 12 of the Download Federal Personnel Act (German) (PDF, 180 KB) and in Article 19 and 20a of the Download Personnel Ordinance (German) (PDF, 1.4 MB).

If you have any questions, please contact your HR Partner.

A non-permanent employment contract ends after the specified contractual period has passed, unless a special agreement has been made otherwise or an extension has been implemented before the contract expires. There is no need for any notification of resignation. HR Operations will send you details of the necessary leaving formalities.

Please note that it is possible to terminate the employment contract early by mutual agreement between the employee and the responsible supervisor, but this shall only be valid with the agreement of HR Consulting.

If you have any questions, please contact your HR Partner.

In Switzerland, the current legal retirement age is 64 years for women and 65 years for men. As a result of the AHV (OASI) 21 reform, which aims to stabilise the the state pension system, the OASI reference age of 65 years will apply to both men and women in Switzerland, starting from 2028. Transitional regulations apply to women born between 1961 and 1964. They include a gradual increase in the OASI reference age:

In addition, women born between 1961 and 1969 receive lower reductions for early pension payments or higher supplements for pension payments at the reference age or when deferring the pension payments.

Further information on retirement:

• external page Explanatory video about the AHV (OASI) 21 reform
• Download ETH information sheet on retirement (PDF, 54 KB)
• ETH course Meine Pensionierung in Sicht (in German)
• Retirement information on external page Publica’s website
• external page OASI e-form

Please contact your line manager or HR partner six to eight months before you retire. HR Administration also needs this advance notice to take care of the administrative aspects of your retirement.

Do you have questions? Your HR partner is happy to assist.

Please note that you must apply for your external page retirement pension (form in German) and / or for your external page lump-sum payment (form in German) and your external page OASI pension yourself.

Would you like to stay connected with ETH after retirement? Visit Retirees’ Association of ETH Zurich’s website (in German).

At ETH, early retirement or partial retirement is possible after reaching the age of 60. Please discuss your plans for early or partial retirement with your line manager at an early stage.

If you would like a personal consultation with your HR partner, please bring your current pension certificate. You can download it in the external page Publica online portal.

For additional details on early retirement or partial retirement, please be referred to the Download ETH information sheet on retirement (PDF, 54 KB).

We also recommend the ETH course Meine Pensionierung in Sicht (in German).

Please note that HR Administration needs six to eight months' notice to organise the administrative aspects of your retirement.

Would you like to stay connected with ETH after retirement? Visit Retirees’ Association of ETH Zurich’s website (in German).

Information for employees leaving ETH Zurich

Work certificate

Upon termination of employment, employees shall receive a work certificate upon request (at any time). As a general rule, a confirmation of employment is issued to people who have been employed for less than three months. For scientific staff, a letter of recommendation is usually provided in addition to the standard reference.

More information: Employer’s reference and letter of recommendation

The Download Checklist: Leaving ETH Zurich (PDF, 78 KB) (in German) is a tool for HR administrators to ensure that important tasks are completed in a timely manner when employees leave.