Holidays and leave

Employees at ETH Zurich are entitled to take five weeks of holiday per calendar year. Employees over the age of 50 or to the age of 20 are entitled to six weeks of holiday.

Holiday must always be taken in the calendar year in which it was allocated. In consultation with the supervisor, a maximum of two weeks (at 100%) may be carried over to the following year. The holiday carry-over must be taken by 31 March of the following year. Employees should agree the timing of their holidays with their supervisor according to operational needs.

ETH Zurich is closed for university holidays between Christmas and New Year. These free days can be compensated for in advance during the year, or they can be taken as holiday.

Holidays are not paid out during the current employment relationship. In the event of resignation, whenever possible, the taking of holidays should be planned in such a way that no payment of holidays has to be made.

More information on handling and reducing high levels of accrued time off can be found here.

Paid leave is granted in exceptional cases such as the employee getting married, going on paternity leave, moving house or taking care of a sick person, details can be found in the DownloadPersonnel Ordinance. (PDF, 1.4 MB)

Information on leave regarding parenthood

If the time balances of loyalty bonus, vacation and working time have been used, employees have the possibility, where operational and organisational circumstances allow and with permission from their line manager, of taking unpaid leave. The duration of such leave should not exceed one year.

Insurance cover is continued for the first month. If the unpaid leave lasts longer, the employee should arrange the terms of insurance cover with HR Operations.

DownloadApplication form for unpaid leave (PDF, 84 KB)

Youth+Sport (Y+S): leave

By law, the following applies with regard to extracurricular youth leave: for each year of service, employers are obliged to grant employees up to the age of 30 a period of youth leave amounting to a maximum of one working week in total for unpaid managerial, supervisory or advisory activities in connection with extracurricular youth work in a cultural or social organisation and for the training and continuing education required for this.

Employees are not entitled to receive a salary while taking youth leave. An alternative arrangement can be made for the employee’s benefit.

In accordance with Article 52 of the Personnel Ordinance for the ETH Domain, leave up to five days of paid leave may be taken per calendar year for running and supervising courses under the Youth+Sport programme or in connection with disabled sport.

Appropriate training is a prerequisite for running and supervising Youth+Sport courses (as a Y+S leader, youth coach, leader and expert in school sports, etc.). Payment is carried out via an “EO” (income compensation) card upon provision of proof of having undergone such training.

Other camp leadership activities which are not conducted as part of the Youth+Sport scheme and are therefore not subject to income compensation must be deducted from the employee’s accrued holiday entitlement and do not fall under the Youth+Sport leave entitlement.

ETH Zurich enables employees to take a sabbatical at another national or international institution, thus contributing significantly toward ensuring employability.

Definition/eligible persons

A sabbatical is intended to aid professional and personal development and benefit continued employment at ETH Zurich and the ETH subject area.
During sabbaticals, employees are released from the duties/activities according to the job description.
Exclusively language school courses do not count as sabbaticals.
Eligible individuals are employees in management, staff and support roles, and permanent scientific employees

Requirements

Permanent employment contract
At least seven years at ETH
Independent of function level and level of employment
Excellent qualifications and performance
Relevance to the professional environment at ETH Zurich and for professional development
Stay at another national or international university, industrial company or service company, Swissnex, etc.
Support from supervisor; no general entitlement.

Framework conditions

Duration: at least two months to a maximum of six months; continuous
Expense limit: maximum of CHF 10,000
The following costs can be accounted for through expense receipts: Outward and return journey as well as accommodation
No overtime can be claimed

Legal aspects

The basis is the sabbatical regulations for employees in management, staff and support roles, and permanent scientific employees (RSETHZ 610, developing version 2019). Employment at ETH Zurich continues uninterrupted during the sabbatical according to the currently valid contract, with all rights and obligations unchanged.

Compensation from the host country

Any financial compensation or business expenses from the local institution or host country are not permitted for tax reasons.

Work permit

The employee must ensure that the local institution requests and acquires the necessary stay and work permits.

Process

Request
Following an agreement with the supervisor, a written request must be submitted through the official channels to the head of department or the responsible Executive Board member in the central areas.
The “Sabbatical request” form is provided as an aid.

Decision
The head of department or the responsible Executive Board member will make the final decision on granting of the sabbatical.

Cost reimbursement

After their return from the sabbatical, the employee must submit a one-time ETHIS expense report with the corresponding documents to be balanced by the PSP element 1-008186-000.
Permanent scientific employees must clarify reimbursement of costs with their supervisor.
Payments with company credit cards are not permitted.

Knowledge transfer/reflection

The employee must prepare a detailed report on the knowledge acquired within 30 days of their return from the sabbatical and submit this to the heads of professorships and department heads or heads of administrative departments and the responsible Executive Board member.The employee will convey the knowledge acquired within their own specialist group.

Time recording
The sabbatical stay (according to agreement) must be recorded in ETHIS as absence type «Education / Training» .

Insurance protection

Accident: SUVA is responsible for any hospital and medical costs (worldwide, general department).
Illness: Must be insured via private health insurance. Verification of international coverage with your private health insurance is advisable.
Continued pay: Personnel Ordinance of the ETH Domain applies in the event of accident or illness.

DownloadSabbatical | Discussion guide for supervisors and employees (PDF, 91 KB)

DownloadSabbatical request (PDF, 53 KB)