Project staff: adjustment of salaries to inflation

Thousands of researchers at higher education institutions in Switzerland work in projects funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF). The salaries of these employees will be adjusted to account for inflation. This has been decided by the Presiding Board of the National Research Council. The measure, which takes effect on 1 March 2023, applies to all personnel categories (doctoral students, postdocs, other employees) and funding schemes.

Decided in consultation with higher education institutions

For all employee categories, the SNSF will match the adjustments decided by each institution to tackle inflation. "This measure is the result of discussions held with the higher education institutions at the end of last year," explains Matthias Egger, President of the National Research Council. "It respects the autonomy of the higher education institutions as employers and guarantees equal treatment within each institution."

The additional costs of the salary increases will be covered by the SNSF budget, which itself does not benefit from any inflation adjustment. The measure will therefore have an impact on new grants.

Enhancing Switzerland's appeal as a research location

"The measure is in line with the SNSF's desire to strengthen Switzerland's global appeal as a research location," says Matthias Egger. In order to guarantee good working conditions for early-career researchers, the SNSF also wants to make structural increases in the salaries of doctoral students employed in its projects: this is a priority measure in its multi-year programme 2025-2028. A budget of 52 million francs has been requested for this purpose.