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We recommend that you find out as soon as possible about the rules that apply at UZH, via the Fact Sheet Parenthood (PDF, 249 KB) and the Human Resources website, and take care of all the necessary formalities. HR officers at the various departments, seminars and offices, as well as Human Resources and the Professorships Department, will be pleased to help.
Additional note: Maternity pay during maternity leave is based on a relationship of employment with UZH. If the baby is due after the end of a fixed-term employment contract, and that contract cannot be extended, it is the parents’ own responsibility to arrange any other benefits that they may be due, for example via the regional employment office (RAV).
Thanks to a very generous donation from the former AVETH Foundation, the kihz Foundation is able to provide support in social hardship cases.
We recommend discussing plans and options for resuming work or study after the birth of a child with your line manager or staff member at an early stage. To guide this discussion, please use the Memorandum of Conversation on Parenthood (PDF, 208 KB) document, which records your agreements in writing and can be used as an aide memoire at a later date.
If you or your staff member work in a laboratory, or you are regularly exposed to dangerous chemicals, or your work or theirs involves activities that are dangerous during pregnancy, please immediately contact Christoph Weber: Safety, Security and Environment. This office will then arrange an appointment with the staff member and her line manager to discuss how to adapt the working environment and duties to the pregnancy. Further information on pregnancy and maternity leave can be found in a variety of documents on the website of "Sicherheit und Umwelt" under the label "Schwangerschaft / Mutterschutz" (partly in English).
If you would like to reduce your working hours after becoming a parent, please discuss your wishes with your line manager at an early stage, as part of the discussion on returning to work after the birth (see above). You have no legal right to reduce your hours, but providing it is operationally possible, your wish will generally be accommodated under the University’s work-life integration policy.
Further information in this regard can be found in the President’s Circular on Reducing Working Hours (in German) (PDF, 545 KB) and in the “Part-Time Professorships” fact sheet.
Some flexible working options already exist at UZH, such as part-time positions and job-sharing. As of May 1, 2022, UZH introduced mobile working as a further working model.
Contact the kihz Foundation early on about childcare in the Zurich University Area.
Parents-to-be can find further tips and checklists at mamagenda.ch (in German, French, Italian)
The City of Zurich also offers professional, non-family care for pre-school children, both in the city’s own daycare centers, and via private-sector providers.
City of Zurich Childcare Facilities (in German)
A number of centers run by the ELCH association offer additional crèche services in various regions of Zurich.
If parents or other relatives do not live nearby, or if you are a single parent, we recommend building a broad network of neighbors, other parents and friends to provide additional childcare. There are several community and other organizations in the Zurich area that offer assistance.
nachbarschaftshilfe.ch (in German)
The community centers in the various districts of Zurich, or initiatives in your local area, may be able to help.
