Terms of employment for PhD candidates and postdoctoral fellows
The positions of PhD candidate and postdoctoral fellow are established pursuant to the Universities and University Colleges Act and are exempt from the general rule of permanent employment.
Position type and legal basis
Act relating to universities and university colleges – effective from August 1, 2024
Permanent employment is the main rule in working life. This is an important principle that ensures predictability and job security for employees. To employ temporarily, one must have legal authority. Both PhD candidate and postdoctoral fellow positions are defined as fixed-term positions, meaning legally time-limited positions. This implies that the terms of employment for these positions are somewhat different from other temporary positions.
It is the Regulation to the Universities and University Colleges Act (before August 1, 2024: Regulation on terms of employment for positions as postdoctoral fellow, PhD candidate, research assistant, and specialist candidate) that sets the framework for the terms of employment. See chapter 3 of the regulation: Teaching and research positions, recruitment positions, and entry-level positions [Norwegian only].
The Universities and University Colleges Act (link above) stipulates that the fixed-term period for PhD candidates and postdoctoral fellows is from three to four years. The regulation sets rules for leaves of absence and extension, scope of other career-promoting work, implementation plan, and follow-up responsibility. Local personnel regulations may specify this further and grant extended rights, but not restrict the provisions of the regulation.
At universities and university colleges
All private and state educational institutions are bound by the regulation mentioned above. Note that this legislation regulates the terms of employment, and not the admission and completion of research education. Here, there are separate, locally anchored regulations and rules. On Lovdata, you can find an overview of all these regulations.
The interest organisation Universities Norway (UHR) has prepared a number of guides and templates for various agreements and regulations concerning research education: UHR: PhD – guides and guidelines [some in English]
Most institutions also have their own rules for admission and organization of research education (often based on UHR's guides). Here is an overview from the Norwegian universities:
Outside universities and university colleges
Since PhD candidate and postdoctoral fellow are not protected professional titles, enterprises not covered by the Universities and University Colleges Act can also employ people in such positions. However, the enterprise will generally not have legal authority under the Universities and University Colleges Act and its regulations to temporarily employ someone on a fixed-term basis. A temporary employment in a PhD candidate or postdoctoral fellow position at an enterprise not subject to the Universities and University Colleges Act could therefore be illegal. See more about legal and illegal temporary employment here.
This also means that the individual employee is not covered by the rights and obligations that follow from the regulation. This is unfortunate, and Forskerforbundet is working to ensure that all who legally employ people in PhD candidate or postdoctoral fellow positions, regardless of sector, are also required to follow the regulation.
The right to employ PhD candidates and postdoctoral fellows on a fixed-term basis is also authorised in the State Employees Act (§ 9 (1) d) and § 10 (2)). The prerequisite is that the provisions in the employment regulation for these positions in the higher education sector are followed. State research institutes can therefore legally employ PhD candidates and postdoctoral fellows.
Private research institutes and health trusts must enter into their own collective agreement with a nationwide trade union to be able to legally employ PhD candidates and postdoctoral fellows. The employers' association Abelia (research institutes) has entered into such an agreement with Forskerforbundet.