Work Calendar
National Holidays
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:
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January 1-6, 8
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New Year Holidays
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January 7
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Christmas Day
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February 23
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Defenders of the Fatherland Day
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March 8
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International Women’s Day
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May 1
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May Day
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May 9
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Victory Day
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June 12
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Day of Russia
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November 4
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National Unity Day
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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 red. Working days - if marked in green and followed by a national holiday - are one hour shorter.
40-Hour Work Week
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. Days off are marked in red. Working days - if marked in green and followed by a national holiday - are one hour shorter.
Leave
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 HSE 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. Research fellows are entitled to 2.33 vacation days for every month of work, while assistant, associate, and full professors are entitled 4.66 vacation days for every month of work.
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.
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 application filled out by the employee and submitted to the head of their department at least two weeks prior to the beginning of the leave.
- To change a scheduled leave, HSE Annual Leave Changing Application Form should be completed.
- For unscheduled leave, HSE Annual Leave Application Forrm should be filled.
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 Office. Consultations are offered only in Russian. If needed, please ask your coordinator to assist you with the visit or email consultation.
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 University and who were hired through the University’s international recruitment procedure (only for Assistant, Associate, and Full Professors).
Please note the sabbatical approval conditions:
- The international hires are obliged to use their annual paid leave days before applying for a short-term sabbatical leave;
- A brief research plan (approximately half a page) outlining proposed activities during the leave is required;
- A sabbatical cannot 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.
For further details please check up 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,
How to Apply?
If you are interested in applying for a 28-day sabbatical (or part of its duration) or its prolongation up to 56 days, please make sure you complete the following steps two weeks before the planned start of the leave:
- Complete the HSE Short-Term Sabbatical Leave Application Form (click at the 'Other Forms' option);
- Prepare a brief plan of intended research activities (approximately half a page) and submit it to your coordinator along with your application;
- Your coordinator will start the paperflow.
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 an average salary within the timeframes set by HSE's internal bylaws. If you haven't used all of your sabbatical days within a year, the remaining days can neither be transferred to the next calendar year or remunerated.
While on sabbatical leave, a staff member shall receive the average pay, as calculated for the last 12 months. Below is the formula for calculating the average pay rate:
- The average pay rate is determined by dividing payment for the last 12 months by the total number of days in the working period.
- The total number of days in the working period = 29.3 x total number of working months + total number of days in incomplete working months.
- Total number of days in an incomplete working month = total number of working days in a month ÷ number of calendar days in a month x 29.3.
Salary for sabbatical leave shall be paid 1 time a month and transferred to the staff member’s bank account as per the payment schedule.
Unpaid Leave
Aside from annual paid leave, HSE faculty and staff can take unpaid leave upon the agreement of the head of their department.
Please keep in mind that unpaid leave exceeding half a month can cause difficulties related to your migration status. Please consult the HR Office (Pavel Neudachin) for details of your individual case.