“Employees and supervisors have a shared responsibility”

Mr Vonesch, ETH employees with high time balances (holidays, over-hours, overtime and loyalty bonus holiday credits) are being asked to reduce their excess hours. Is there a new rule that people should be aware of, or why is this request coming up now?

There's actually no new rule involved. Personnel policies have basically always regulated how employees take holidays and deal with other types of excess time. Examples of these policies include the Regulations on recording of working time and absences and the ETH Zurich Personnel Ordinance. In a university or scientific setting, people have a high degree of autonomy in their work, which is why this issue has remained in the background till now. Other employers have had a long-established policy of being stricter in this regard and requiring staff to use their excess time credits.

We have been trying to raise awareness of this issue among employees since 2017. Until now, this took place mostly on an individual basis, but now we are requiring people to create a binding plan for reducing time balances. There is also increasing pressure from the federal government to deal with this topic appropriately, and ETH Zurich has to adhere to this requirement.

Which employees will be affected by the requirement to reduce time balances?

The majority of employees, around 75 percent, have a good handle on their time balances and correctly take their free time and holidays. Twenty percent of employees have slightly too high time credits that they can further reduce by taking a bit more ownership and doing a bit more planning. Only five percent – so around 350 people – have extremely high time balances. For these employees, we need a mandatory, systematic approach for reducing their excess hours. These employees and their supervisors will be contacted by Human Resources and asked to create a binding plan for reducing their excess time. HR Personnel Consulting will gladly provide support to employees who are affected if they have any questions or concerns.

What's the procedure for reducing excess hours? What responsibilities do professors, supervisors and employees have in this regard?

Time off is to be taken in the year it occurs. Employees and managers have a shared responsibility when it comes to managing time balances. Employees should independently manage their time balances and correctly enter their absences into the ETHIS time recording system. Professors and supervisors are required to do their part by allowing employees to take holidays or to balance out excess hours by taking free time. They can encourage their employees to keep their time in check.

Employees who had too much accrued time off as of January 2021 will be instructed by email to reduce their excess hours. They will have to create a written plan for reducing their hours and discuss it with their supervisors.

Are there deadlines for reducing high time balances?

In general, holidays are to be taken in the year they occur. If that's not possible, full-time employees can carry over a maximum of two weeks of holiday time into the following year. These two weeks have to be taken by 31 March of the following year.

Over-hours and overtime should be balanced out over the course of the year so that not more than 100 hours are carried over into the following year. Employees have a grace period until the end of 2022.

What happens if employees with high time balances don't adhere to the requirement to reduce their excess hours?

ETH Zurich trusts in the personal responsibility of the employees as well as in the leadership responsibility of the supervisors in this matter, and Human Resources is there to support staff and supervisors in doing so. The objectives that employees set out in their plans are binding, however, and must be adhered to. If that's not possible, the plan needs to be updated. If the updated plan still can't be adhered to, then in some circumstances employees may simply be ordered to take their holidays or free time.

Why is it important for employees to take ownership when it comes to correctly entering their working hours and absences?

There are two aspects.

The first is that time off is time for employees to recover. This time is important for our health, our sense of balance and our ability to perform. Looking out for employees’ health is part of ETH Zurich’s duty of care as an employer, and it's something that is very important to us.

The second aspect is that employees log their time, so their absences and their working time, in the ETHIS time recording system. Whatever accrued hours are in the system are legally binding and create financial obligations on the part of ETH Zurich. If an employee leaves their job, accrued holiday time has to paid out, or they can face difficulties switching to another job within the university if they have excessive accrued hours.

Which employees are required to record working time? Where can ETH employees, professors and supervisors get an overview of time balances?

ETH employees can see in ETHIS what time recording requirements they have. ETHIS also provides an overview of an employee’s time balances. Professors and supervisors can also find the time sheets of their employees in ETHIS. HR Personnel Consulting is available to answer any questions that come up on this issue.

ETH Zurich uses a flexible annual working time model for its staff. What does that mean for employees, and how does this affect the issue of reducing high time balances?

The annual working time model allows employees to balance out hours accumulated during times with higher workloads by working fewer hours during phases with less work. This can be done throughout the year. With this flexibility, we can coordinate the desires and needs of both ETH Zurich and our employees. This approach promotes work-life balance, well-being and personal responsibility, and employees appreciate having this benefit.

The corona crisis has impacted us in many different ways. Have employees been accumulating more excess hours than usual during this time?

It's true that the pandemic has demanded a lot from everyone and created additional work for some employees. It's also true that it was a difficult and generally not great time to plan and take holidays.

Fortunately, we will soon have the opportunity again to take holidays and time off and reduce any excess hours that may have been accumulated. With that said, I’d like to wish all employees at ETH Zurich a wonderful vacation period with lots of relaxation and recovery.