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Getting Started at UNIGE and GDD

Everything on the employer side: your contract, the accounts and card that let you into things, how you get paid, and what you are entitled to. Adapted from the GDD Guide to Geneva.

Your UNIGE HR liaison is the person who drives most of this. Stay in contact with them about your appointment, entry permission, and forms — they will tell you what to fill in and when.

Your first weeks

A rough checklist. The items run in parallel and belong to different offices, so start each one as soon as it is possible rather than working down the list in order.

  • Stay in contact with your UNIGE HR liaison about your appointment, entry permission, and required forms.
  • Confirm your accommodation can receive official post, and that your name or a valid c/o addressee is on the mailbox — see Post and address registration.
  • Activate your UNIGE account and email.
  • Request your multiservice ID card.
  • Get a Swiss phone number — needed for local services and two-factor authentication.
  • Register your address with the OCPM within 14 days of arrival — see Immigration & residency.
  • Open a salary-compatible bank account and register it through the GDE portal.
  • Take out compulsory health insurance within 90 days of arrival.
  • Watch your physical post and respond to anything from the OCPM promptly.

UNIGE onboarding and services

Once you have signed your contract, a few administrative steps can be completed on campus.

Multiservice ID card

The UNIGE ID card (carte multiservices) is your official university identification and provides:

  • Access to UNIGE's controlled-access buildings.
  • Identification as a reader in UNIGE libraries, the Geneva library network, and the BibliOpass network.
  • Access to uniFLOW multifunction colour printers. Students and continuing-education participants with 60+ credits automatically receive a 5 CHF welcome credit on the card.

Request the card through Distribution — Carte multiservices.

Email account

UNIGE IT sends an automated email to the private email address you supplied during onboarding, inviting you to activate your account by setting a password. If it does not arrive, contact your HR liaison or IT support — check your spam folder first.

Salary

Your salary is paid into the bank account you register through the GDE portal.

If your bank account is not ready in time

In the first month, before your bank account is active, salary can be collected in cash at the Uni-Dufour cashier's office by prior arrangement with HR. This is a temporary measure until your bank details are registered. Ask HR rather than assuming you will simply be paid late.

Opening the account depends on having a permit and a proof of address, which takes time — see Banking for the document list.

Leave and holidays

  • The statutory minimum in Switzerland is 4 weeks of annual leave.
  • The University of Geneva generally grants 5 weeks.
  • Official holidays include 1 August (national holiday), the Jeûne Genevois (a day in September), Easter, Pentecost, Ascension, and New Year. The authoritative list is memento 0057.
  • 1 May (Labour Day) is given off by UNIGE as a journée chômée, although it is not an official public holiday.
  • You have a right to leave for specific life events — moving, weddings, and others. Also listed in memento 0057.
  • Paternity leave in the canton of Geneva is 2 weeks.
  • Maternity leave is 20 weeks — see the UNIGE parenthood pages.

UNIGE benefits

  • UNIGE Welcome Center — orientation on insurance and housing in Geneva. Sign up for their services if you are eligible; they are the single most useful resource for a newcomer.
  • Meal discounts (unipass) for students.
  • La Maison des Langues — language classes for UNIGE affiliates.
  • Sport and culture — students, staff, affiliates, and alumni can take part in sports (ski and snowboard camps, tennis, climbing, sailing) and activities (dance, theatre) at reduced rates, with students getting the best deal. There are also free tickets for shows and concerts, but numbers are limited, so sign up in advance.
  • Further staff offers — the full catalogue.

Getting started at GDD

To be written

This page currently covers the UNIGE side of onboarding. The GDD side still needs to be added:

  • About GDD and our research principles
  • Who's who and who to ask
  • Mailing lists, calendars, chat channels, and shared drives
  • Access to group computing and storage
  • A new team member checklist for the first week and first month

In the meantime, ask your supervisor or GDD operations, and see Meetings & Communication and Research resources.