A grand-funded researcher with a grant shorter than 12 months
The grant-funded researcher with a funding shorter than 12 months can conclude the grant-funded researcher´s agreement with university. The agreement is prepared in Mepco by a HR-person of the department. In the agreement, the researcher’s activities at the university, and the resources made available to him or her (e.g. the university’s equipment, facilities and other resources) are concluded. Also, potential compensation for the office and other resources recorded in the grant decision will be recorded in the agreement.
By signing the agreement, the grant-funded researcher agrees to
- ensure insurance coverage or a corresponding procedure against the damages or accidents, which may occur, while operating at the university
- take care of his or her own pension coverage
- get to know the University’s safety instructions, regulations and other decisions relating his or her activities
- give a permission to save in the university’s register the data given by him or her, or obtained from the access control system
- execute a separate agreement on the transfer of rights, if needed
- notify of intellectual property rights created in other contexts than collaborative research projects and of other commercially valuable observations made using the university’s research materials or samples
- publishing the research results, which have been created using the university’s research materials samples or other resources.
Information required to conclude the agreement:
- name, social security number of date of birth, address of the grant-based researcher
- name of the supervisor
The agreement gives you
- the access rights assigned to the UEF user account. These include rights to O365-environment, e-mail address, rights to campus and Moodle logins.
- a right to have lunch at staff prices at the campus restaurants
- a possibility to participate in staff training if there are vacancies. Trainings are, however, primarily targeted for members of staff.
Occupational health services are not available for those who work via a grant. Further, the Finnish Student Health Service (FSHS) does not offer its services to doctoral students. However, as a grant researcher you are entitled to use public health care, if you have a municipality of residence (kotikunta) in Finland, if you have European Health Insurance Card, if you come from Australia or Quebeck, or if you are covered by statutory insurance. Through public health services you can access e.g. dental services, family health services, mental health services, vaccinations, and laboratory services.
A grant-funded researcher with with a grant of a year or longer
Grant researchers are warmly welcomed by the University of Eastern Finland to do their research here. The university offers grant researchers an opportunity to conclude a part-time (10%) contract of employment for everyone who has an external funding of at least 12 months and meets other criteria listed below. In practice this means that the tasks related to this contract are agreed between the grant researcher and the head of the unit concerned. These tasks can be e. g. teaching.
The annual working time in part-time, 10% contract is equivalent to 160 hours. These hours are not tied to weekly working hours and they don´t have to be divided evenly over the grant period. Anyhow, the employment contract will be concluded for the whole funded period. This way the grant researcher will have almost the same fringe benefits as the rest of the university staff for the whole research period.
The contract of employment entitles the grant-funded researcher to:
- an office space, when necessary
- necessary tools for work (Microsoft O365), including a phone
- a user account to the university’s information systems and research databases
- occupational health care and insurance coverage (for the 10% contract of employment).
After fulfilling the criteria of 10 % part-time employment contract (listed below) it is recommended that the grant researcher to contacts their head of the unit concerned well in advance to negotiate about the assignments and timetables. The grant-funded researcher must make the initiative to conclude the part-time, 10% contract of employment.
UEF grant-based researcher´s part time (10%) employment contract is a new opening, which will be take effect from 1.6.2021. The funded research period has to last at least 12 months after concluding the employment contract. In addition to the part-time (10%) contract of employment, an agreement on working as a grant-funded researcher at UEF is always concluded and, when necessary, a separate agreement on the transfer of rights.
A part-time (10%) contract of employment will be concluded between the University of Eastern Finland and a grant-funded researcher when the following criteria are met:
- The grant has been awarded by an external organisation, meaning an organisation other than UEF.
- The grant-funded researcher has made sure that the funder’s grant decision allows the conclusion of a part-time, concurrent contract of employment with the university during the grant period.
- The grant-funded researcher is responsible for ensuring that the organisation awarding the grant approves the concurrent contract of employment with the university.
- Any other terms of the grant decision must also be taken into consideration.
- The research grant has been awarded and the research is linked or can be linked to:
- doctoral research, of which researcher has the right to pursue postgraduate studies in a doctoral programme of the University of Eastern Finland) or
- other research conducted at the University of Eastern Finland as a postdoctoral researcher or senior researcher.
- The duration of the grant period is a minimum of 12 months, which is also the minimum duration of the contract of employment.
- The part-time (10%) contract of employment is always concurrent with the grant intended for full-time research.
- The grant period of a UEF Grant-funded Researcher must continue for a minimum of 12 months after 1 June 2021 in order for a contract of employment of a minimum of 12 months to be concluded with them.
- The 12-month grant period can consist of several grants awarded by an external organisation.
- The grant has been awarded for research work, a so-called working grant, and it must enable full-time research.
- Finland must be the country of work and residence, and it has been confirmed that the grant researcher belongs under Finnish social security legislation for the whole duration of the employment.
- The duties will be defined separately in a work plan to be prepared in collaboration with the head of the unit concerned.
- Researchers come under the total working time system, and the annual working time in a part-time, 10% contract is equivalent to 160 hours.
- A contract of employment will be concluded if an agreement on the duties can be reached (160 hours/year).
- The title associated with the part-time contract of employment is Doctoral Researcher, if the person is working on their doctoral dissertation. For persons conducting other research, the title is Postdoctoral Researcher, Senior Researcher or Project Researcher, depending on their duties, qualification requirements, and research career stage.
- In addition to the part-time (10%) contract of employment, an agreement on working as a grant-funded researcher at UEF is always concluded and, when necessary, a separate agreement on the transfer of rights.
- The grant-funded researcher is responsible for finding out about taxation and pension related issues from the tax administration and from the relevant pension insurer.
- The grant-funded researcher must make an initiative to conclude a part-time, 10% contract of employment with the University of Eastern Finland by filling out an electronic form. The form must be submitted one month before the planned employment start date! NOTE! Before submitting this form, please familiarise yourself with the criteria on which grant-funded researchers at UEF can conclude a part-time (10%) contract of employment (above).
- A contract of employment is concluded without discretion whenever the criteria are met and an agreement on the duties can be reached.
- After the grant-funded researcher has submitted the electronic form, the process proceeds internally at UEF. The head of the unit will discuss the duties with the grant-funded researcher proposing a contract of employment, and the head of the unit makes sure that the criteria are met.
- If an agreement can be reached on the duties of the grant-funded researcher, and if the criteria for concluding a contract of employment are met, the head of the unit gives the unit's HR staff an assignment to start preparing a contract of employment as per the normal procedure, including the terms of employment, such as salary and title.
This initiates the normal employment contract process, as part of which the employee is instructed to prepare a work plan in accordance with the university's guidelines pertaining to work plans. - With the conclusion of a contract of employment, the grant-funded researcher also concludes an agreement on the transfer of rights as part of the contract of employment with UEF. In addition to the contract of employment, an agreement on working as a grant-funded researcher at the University of Eastern Finland is concluded for the same time period.
If a grant-funded researcher applies for a leave of absence from their part-time contract of employment, they shall be entitled to a part-time (10%) contract of employment of a corresponding length after their leave of absence, provided that their grant period continues. In these cases, the duration of the contract of employment may be shorter than 12 months, which otherwise is the minimum length.
Work trips
Part-time employers also are eligible for work trips in correspondence to the extent of employment. In a 10% contract of employment the extent is 2 working days/calendar month. Travel bookings can be made from the contract travel channels and the person is insured with university insurance on the work trip.
The total journey length is calculated by multiplying the number of working days by the number of remaining months of employment. For example, if the number of remaining months of employment is four, the total length of the work trip can be 2 x 4 = 8 working days at maximum. If a longer trip is planned, the grant-based researcher must arrange the trip with the grant. In this case, the person handles the travel bookings themselves and provides adequate insurance coverage for the trip.
Working abroad
In general, the country of work and residence of grant-funded researcher who has a part-time contract of employment (10%) must be Finland, and it has been confirmed that the grant researcher belongs under Finnish social security legislation for the whole duration of the employment.
However, an agreement on working abroad can be concluded with a for a period of time coinciding with the duration of the employment relationship can be concluded, provided that it has been ensured that the grant-funded researcher remains covered by Finnish social security during their working abroad, and that their working abroad does not cause any other employer obligations in the destination country (such as an obligation to withhold tax, or separate insurance coverage required by the destination country). In the case of working abroad, the guideline on work trip above shall not be followed.
How flexible is the time criteria?
A grant-funded researcher who meets the criteria listed below and who has a funding of at least 12 months, has a subjective minimum right to conclude a 10 % part time employment contract with the university. The departments are only bound by this minimum right, therefore it is possible to negotiate about concluding the employment contract even for a shorter period than 12 months.
Is there supervision of work available?
The researcher will be familiarized with the working tasks the same way as any other new staff. The employee will have information about working in UEF and other guidance needed will always take place at department level.
What to do when confronting problems at work?
In confrontational situations at work you can contact the labour safety representative of your own unit concerned. When having health problems contact the occupational health care and when encountering inequality in university, contact the UEF contact persons of equality.
Does the opportunity to part time contract of employment concern only Phd students or post doc -researchers as well?
Part time employment concerns both PhD students and post doc- researchers. The research in both cases should be linked to research conducted at UEF.
Can the international research grants be taken into account?
International research grants can be taken into consideration, if they equate the finnish grants.