Health protection
SSHE cares for a healthy and safe working environment at ETH and advises you in health protection issues.
ETH employees with work-related health complaints have the opportunity to take advantage of a confidential and free occupational health assessment. If necessary, this is done in co-operation with the attending physicians. Depending on the situation, a consultation and/or a workplace inspection is planned. Measures are then developed to improve the health situation and maintain work and performance capacity in the long term. It is recommended, but not necessary, to inform the supervisor in advance. Occupational health consultation is also indicated in the event of a change in work or performance capacity as a result of illness or an accident. Appointments can be scheduled via e-mail to .
ETH Zurich offers its employees an occupational medical aptitude test to ensure their health and safety under special working conditions. This examination is aimed in particular at people who work at night, are on call, care for animals, work in biosafety laboratories or work in oxygen-reduced atmospheres. The occupational medical aptitude test is an important part of ETH Zurich's occupational health management. It helps to maintain and promote the health and performance of employees. For further information and to make an appointment, please contact after consulting your supervisor.
Sitting for long periods at the office, working with screens and computers, repetitive movements and one-sided strain can lead to tension and pain in the musculoskeletal system. Headaches, neck pain or pain in the shoulders and arms are possible symptoms. Reviewing your personal workstation and making the associated ergonomic adjustments can help to reduce or even eliminate complaints. Minor changes - such as adjusting the height of the desk or the office chair - can have a major impact. You can use the "Ergonomics Information Sheet for Screen Workstations" (PDF, 140 KB) to carry out an initial check of your screen workstation and make small adjustments yourself.
For further information, you will find a course on "Ergonomics at the Screen Workstation" in the SSHE training programme. The experts from the Occupational Safety, Security, Health and Environment department will teach you the basics of ergonomics at screen workstations and explain how you can work healthily and without fatigue with screens. Ergonomics workshops are also offered to interested organisational units and groups on site at their workplace.
In individual cases and if required, individual consultation or workplace clarification is carried out. This is the case when employees suffer from complaints that cannot be alleviated by adapting the existing ergonomic conditions. For further information and to make an appointment, please contact after consulting your supervisor.
People who work outdoors are exposed to the sun and therefore to potentially carcinogenic ultraviolet radiation. Protective measures against UV radiation are necessary when working outdoors. It should be noted that technical measures such as the use of awnings and organisational solutions - for example, shifting work to times with lower UV exposure, i.e. early in the morning or late in the afternoon - have priority. If these measures are not sufficient or cannot be implemented, body-covering clothing and head protection with appropriate UV protection must be worn. Only as a last option – if no other protection is possible – should sunscreen with a high sun protection factor be used.
We recommend ordering various, tested sun protection products with a UV protection factor as personal protective equipment for use during work, e.g. via the online platform
Our hands are subjected to heavy strain during manual work and need special protection and care to stay healthy. Wearing gloves is not the only way to protect your hands; a skin protection cream applied before work also helps the skin to fulfil its protective function. You will find the necessary information in our Download skin protection plan (PDF, 161 KB). After work, we recommend using a skin care cream that promotes regeneration and prevents skin problems. The Download Information Sheet: Protection and Care of the Hands (PDF, 146 KB) provides suitable details.
Measles vaccination
The measles virus is five to six times more contagious than seasonal flu. Contrary to popular belief, measles is not harmless for adults. Measles can cause serious complications in adults, such as pneumonia or meningitis.
The general conditions at colleges and universities, with large gatherings of people in a confined space, favour virus transmission: an infected person who has not yet developed symptoms can expose everyone gathered in an auditorium to the virus.
The measles vaccination (two doses at least one month apart) is recommended for everyone who has never been infected with the disease. On the one hand, vaccination serves to protect you personally, and on the other hand, it prevents transmission to persons who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons (infants, pregnant women and persons with a weakened immune system).
It is worth checking whether you are at risk of infection. A blood test can determine whether you are immune. By assessing your own risk or by the vaccination you contribute to your own health and at the same time protect others, especially those who can’t receive the vaccination for the reasons listed above.
You can find information on the facts at external page the Federal Office of Public Health FOPH or at external page the Canton of Zurich, Directorate of Health.
The measles vaccination is important for students: In the event of a measles outbreak, the cantonal physician can impose an exclusion of up to 3 weeks from the institution for all persons not immune to measles who have had contact with a potentially infectious person - even in the middle of the semester or during the examination period.
Special vaccinations
Members of ETH Zurich are sometimes exposed to particular risks of infection or contagion in the course of their research work, during field trials or on excursions, which can be reduced by a Download vaccination (PDF, 133 KB). ETH Zurich bears the costs for the vaccination of its employees who require a special vaccination due to their professional activity at ETH Zurich. The units concerned (chairs, institutes and other organisational units) pay for these costs. Students usually pay for the costs of vaccinations themselves.
For advice regarding vaccinations and receiving vaccinations, you can either contact the external page Travel Clinic of the University of Zurich or external page the Centre for Occupational Medicine, Ergonomics and Hygiene (AEH).
One of the special vaccinations for which information is most frequently sought is the vaccination against tick-borne disease: information on tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) and the vaccination itself can be obtained from the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) external page ?Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE)?.
Flu vaccination
The vaccination against seasonal flu, like other basic vaccinations and supplementary vaccinations within the framework of the Swiss Vaccination Plan, is part of individual personal health care; therefore, the Safety, Security, Health and Environment Department no longer offers flu vaccinations.
For ETH members with professional contact to patients or probands, for employees of day-care centers as well as for researchers with professional contact to domestic poultry or wild birds, the flu vaccination is recommended for professional reasons. The vaccination is carried out decentrally at the family doctor's office or at a vaccination pharmacy; the costs are borne by the responsible organizational unit.
The vaccination is important for students: In the event of a measles outbreak, the cantonal medical officer can impose a ban on entering the
university of up to 3 weeks for all those not immune to the disease who have had contact with a potentially infected person. This can also happen in the middle of a semester or during the exam period.
Employees up to their 18th birthday are considered "young". external page Dangerous work is generally prohibited for young people. ETH Zurich takes into account that young people still have little experience, their awareness of dangers is not yet fully developed and they are less capable than adults. They must not be overexerted. To protect their health, a confidential, specialist, questionnaire-based, occupational medical aptitude test is carried out in cooperation with the Human Resources department prior to employment. Individual vaccination consultation is available on request. During the induction week, important preventative topics such as fatigue-free working at computer screens, skin protection in the workshop and laboratory, as well as effective strategies for dealing with external page Challenges are taught in workshops.
As an expectant mother, you and your child have the right to special health protection. Please contact the Safety, Security, Health and Environment Department (SSHE) already if you plan to become pregnant, at the latest if you become aware of your pregnancy so that they can carry out an individual risk assessment of your work/study space at an early stage. The purpose of a risk assessment is to exclude any possible health risks for mother and child by taking the appropriate protective measures. Upon request, the risk assessment is carried out confidentially.
Health risks for mother and child
The SSHE Download leaflet on pregnancy and breastfeeding (PDF, 174 KB) provides detailed information on the possible health hazards and risks during pregnancy and breastfeeding. If you are exposed to such a risk, contact the SSHE Department. You can also find a list of prohibited tasks in the external page maternity protection brochure of the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO).
Daily key for breastfeeding day guests
The day keys for the breastfeeding rooms can be requested spontaneously from any ISC if breastfeeding day guests are at ETH for one or more days for a specific reason.
The rooms can also be used by people with health impairments and mothers as a place of retreat. In addition to the locations, you will also find information on the equipment of the rooms on the map of retreat rooms.
ETH members enter a key application in GMIS or by e-mail to and can obtain the key from the responsible ISC after three working days.
Guests can borrow a key for one-time access from the ISC HG D 61.1. or HIL D 25.1.