PSI Family Flexibility Grant

PSI is committed to supporting new parents as they navigate the challenges of balancing their new family with their career aspirations.

The Family Flexibility Grant is a revised form of the Career Return Program (CRP). The CRP aimed to attract scientists, especially those who identify as female, to return to STEM positions having taken time away from their careers due to family or mobility reasons. The Family Flexibility Grant aims to go a step further back along the chain and help PSI employees stay in the workplace altogether as they navigate having a family. It aims to do this by enabling flexible working rates and providing additional practical support to new PSI parents so that they have flexibility at this pivotal stage of life.

The Family Flexibility Grant is now in its pilot phase. Applications are welcome from October 2023 with the first round of funding available from January 2024.

What is the Family Flexibility Grant?

The Family Flexibility Grant is open to all new parents at PSI, regardless of their gender and the division in which they work.

Funding is provided by the PSI Directorate to support:

  • A reduction in work rate of the new parent (down to a minimum of 20%).
  • A temporary employee whose primary function is to support the new parent with their workload and tasks at PSI.

The PSI Directorate will award funding equivalent to 20% of the value of the applicants salary for up to 12 months. This funding, combined with the full value of the applicants salary will be pooled to support the applicant at a reduced work rate and a temporary support staff member. 

The image below provides a basic example how the grant could work for an employee who works 100% then, when they are awarded the grant, they reduce their hours to 60%:

Kriterien für den PSI Family Flexibility Grant

Eligibility criteria

  • You have become a parent in within the last 12 months, at the point of the application (regardless of whether this was during your employment contract at PSI), or you are expecting to become a parent in the next 12 months.
  • You are a current employee of PSI with a PSI contract.
  • The time remaining on your PSI contract is of equivalent length or longer than the time for which you are requesting support via the PSI Family Flexibility Grant.

The PSI Family Flexibility Grant can be requested for a maximum of 12 months and a minimum of 3 months.

How do I apply? What is the application process?

To apply, simply click here to download the short application form and submit it to ffg@lists.psi.ch. Applications can be submitted at any time and will be assessed on the last Thursday of every calendar month to ensure the applicant meets the eligibility criteria.

Applications that meet the eligibility criteria must then be approved by the applicant’s line-manager.

The award of the Family Flexibility Grant will then be approved pending the recruitment of support staff. The recruitment process for support staff can be officially initiated at this stage.

When a support staff member has been recruited and begins work, the new parent is able to reduce their work rate to the amount specified in the application (these dates do not have to coincide exactly, but must be within 3 months of each other).

Frühester Beginn

Späteste Bewerbung

Spätester Start

Späteste Ende

Der Beginn des Monats, in welchem die voraussichtliche Geburt/Adoption des Kindes ist, ist der früheste Zeitpunkt für den Beginn der Reduktion der Arbeitszeit

Ein Jahr nach der Geburt/Adoption des Kindes ist der späteste Zeitpunkt für die Einreichung eines Antrags für die Reduktion der Arbeitszeit

1/2 Jahre nach der Geburt/Adoption des Kindes ist der späteste Zeitpunkt für die Einreichung des Grants zur Reduktion der Arbeitszeit

1/2  Jahre nach der Geburt/Adoption muss der Grant abgeschlossen sein. Das heisst, die Arbeitszeit muss wieder der Arbeitszeit entsprechen, welche vor Gewährung des Grants festgelegt war

 

Want to help make the Family Flexibility Grant even better?

As stated above, this is a pilot phase for the PSI Family Flexibility Grant. If you have any suggestions, concerns or comments about how PSI could best support new parents, please get in touch - your feedback is crucial to developing a workplace that works for everyone at every stage of life.