PhD candidate Network of the Netherlands (PNN) held an information meeting on labor law at Wageningen University last Friday. Other universities will follow soon. PNN hopes this will make young researchers sound the alarm bell in case of malpractices sooner.

According to chairwoman Anne de Vries, PhD students often have limited knowledge of labor law. And that causes “quite a lot” of problems. Sometimes they have to spend more time teaching than was agreed without being compensated for lost research time. PhD students already suffer from stress and burn-out related problems more often than their peers. They also do not always receive the transition payment they are legally entitled to when their employment ends. De Vries: “An HR employee at a university literally said the following about that last year: ‘Are PhD students entitled to this now as well? We’re just going to keep quiet about that.’”

Violation

Some faculties expect PhD students to work full-time and refuse to give them a part-time appointment. That too is a violation of labor law, De Vries says. “An employer can only refuse a part-time contract in case of important interests, but that is often not the case. PhD students have the right to stand their ground, but that might jeopardize the relation with their promotor and consequently their career. We need to do more than just give information, but a greater understanding of your rights is an important first step.”

Still, steps have already been taken during the last couple of years. For instance, it has been stipulated that PhD students who go on maternity leave are entitled to an extension of their contract. But they have to apply for such an extension themselves. De Vries: “Obviously, PhD students who aren’t aware of this will not apply.” Last year, it was also stipulated in the collective agreement that a PhD student must be under contract during a period of four years. Nevertheless, some of them are still offered three-year contracts.

Hotline

The PNN advises PhD students to address their faculty first in case of a conflict. If they can’t work it out together, students can report to PNN’s Malpractices Hotline. It worries De Vries that the PNN receives so few complaints from international PhD students. “That’s probably because it’s specifically these students who don’t know their rights, and therefore they are less inclined to seek our help.”