Work Сalendar and Leave

Work Calendar

 

National holidays in Russia are considered non-working days. Every year the Russian government issues a statement specifying the duration of national holidays, so it may vary from year to year. National holidays may also be followed or preceded by additional days off. Please note that a working day preceding a national holiday is normally one hour shorter.

National holidays are celebrated in Russia on the following days:

January 1-6, 8	New Year Holidays
January 7	Christmas Day
February 23	Defenders of the Fatherland Day
March 8	International Women’s Day
May 1	May Day
May 9	Victory Day
June 12	Day of Russia
November 4	National Unity Day

36-Hour Work Week

Professors usually work six hours per day Monday to Saturday, which results in 36 hours per week. Please refer to your work contract for your exact work schedule. Days off are marked in blue. Working days marked in green are one hour shorter as they precede national holidays.

40-Hour Work Week (2018)

Researchers, including postdoctoral fellows, normally work eight hours per day Monday to Friday, which results in 40 hours per week. Please refer to your work contract for your exact work schedule. Working days marked in green are one hour shorter as they precede national holidays. Days off are marked in blue.

 
Leave  

Documented Absence from the Workplace
HSE faculty and staff are normally employed under work contracts where the employee’s working time on the territory of the Russian Federation is specified. Employees are free to travel outside Russia on their non-working days that are days off, Russian national holidays, or registered leaves. Naturally, leaving the country on a workday (if it is not an official business trip) is violation of the work contract.

Going on leave requires formal procedures that must be completed in advance; otherwise, leaves will not be registered. HSE teaching and research staff are entitled to different types of leave – annual paid leave, short-term sabbatical leave, and unpaid leave. Please read the information below for details on each kind of leave.

Annual Paid Leave

 

According to the Russian Labour Code and the internal regulations of the University, research fellows must be provided with the annual paid leave of 28 calendar days per year; faculty who have a teaching load are provided with an extended annual paid leave of 56 calendar days. Please consult your contract for the duration of your annual leave.

The period of your annual leave can be divided into several parts with one unbroken part of no less than 14 calendar days. In general, faculty members take most of this leave in July and August, as there are no classes during these months.

Employees are supposed to use annual paid leave during the working year. Transfer and deferral of the annual paid leave is only possible in exceptional cases. To change the dates of the leave, an HSE Annual Leave Changing Application Form must be completed. Please note that when changing your leave you should specify the new dates for the entire leave period: either as one lump or in smaller pieces. 

How to apply?

Annual paid leave is provided according to the Employee Leaves Schedule, which is composed and approved at the department and submitted to the HR office in December at least two weeks before the start of a calendar year. According to the schedule, the leave and allowance are processed automatically during the year without any additional formal procedures.

Unplanned leave out of schedule is provided based on an HSE Paid Annual Leave Application Form filled out by the employee and submitted to the head of their department at least two weeks prior to the beginning of the leave.

How is it paid?

While it may seem advantageous to combine leave with holidays to prolong it, this may lead to certain monetary losses.

The reason is that compensation for leave days is calculated differently than a salary, and depends on 1) the amount of average wage* and 2) the number of working days in a month. While salary is paid for workdays, leave is paid for calendar days (including weekends). Furthermore, public holidays that occur during the period of leave are not paid, though they prolong the period of leave to the corresponding number of days. It is important to remember that the fewer working days there are in the calendar month, the smaller your compensation will be.

If you want to know the details of how the payment for your leave days was or will be calculated, you may consult the Accounting Department (Vanentina Kiseleva v.kiseleva@hse.ru); consultations are offered only in Russian.

Sabbatical Leave

A short-term sabbatical is a paid leave for conducting research activities. It is granted to employees whose primary place of employment is HSE and who were hired either through the University’s international recruitment procedure or have received a Tier 3 academic bonus.

A leave (in total parts) should not exceed 28 days per calendar year. It may not be preceded by or followed by a standard annual leave. It can be taken once or several times annually for periods when the applicant does not have classes or other in-class activities.

How to Apply?

If you are interested in applying for a 28-day sabbatical (or part of its duration), please make sure you complete the following steps two weeks before the planned start of the leave:

1. Complete the HSE Short-Term Sabbatical Leave Application Form form and submit it to the head of your department. If you have two contracts, then your form must be approved by both department heads.
2. Pass it to the HR Department for her approval (SPb, at Soyuza Pechatnikov st., 16, Room 204).

A prolonged short-term sabbatical

At the discretion of the International Recruiting Committee, a short-term sabbatical may be extended up to 56 days per calendar year.

If you are interested in applying for an additional 28 days of a sabbatical leave (or part of this duration), you must get a confirmation from the International Recruiting Committee.

One month before the planned start of your short-term sabbatical, please make sure to complete the following steps:
1. Inform the head of your department of your intention to take a sabbatical leave. If he/she approves it, mover Step 2;
2. Send an e-mail to Ms. Anastasiya Kotyashkina  (akotyashkina@hse.ru ) indicating the dates of your sabbatical leave and your research plans for this period;
3. If your sabbatical leave is approved, you need to complete the HSE Short-Term Sabbatical Leave Application Form form and submit it to the head of your department (if you have two contracts, your form must be approved by the heads of both departments);
4. Pass it to HR Department for her approval (SPb, at Soyuza Pechatnikov st., 16, Room 204).

How Do I Report the Results of My Short-term Sabbatical?

Within two weeks upon your return from a short-term sabbatical, its results (in a format agreed upon prior to the leave) must be submitted to the head of your department.

What Happens to My Salary During a Sabbatical Leave?

As per the Regulations on the Procedures and Conditions of Granting Short-Term Sabbatical Leaves to Academic Staff of the National Research University Higher School of Economics,  you shall receive a standard salary within the timeframes set by HSE's internal bylaws. If you haven't used all of your sabbatical days during the years (28 days). the remaining days can neither be transferred to the next calendar year nor renumerated. 

Unpaid Leave

Aside from annual paid leave, HSE faculty and staff can take HSE Unpaid Leave Application Form  upon the agreement of the head of their department.

Please keep in mind that unpaid leave exceeding one month can cause difficulties related to your immigration status. Please consult the HR Department for details of your individual case Ms. Anastasiya Kotyashkina  (akotyashkina@hse.ru ).

 

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*Pursuant to Article 139 of the Labour Code of Russia the average salary/wage of an employee (full-time or part-time) is calculated based on his/her actual salary/wage and actual hours worked during 12 calendar months preceding the period when the employee is entitled to retain his/her average salary (leave, business trip, etc.). A calendar month covers the period from the 1st up to and including the 30th (31st) day of each month (up to and including 28th (29th) day in February). Average daily wage payable for leave is calculated by dividing the amount of employee's salary/wage covering the previous 12 months by 12 and 29.4 (average number of calendar days in each month).