The Rectorate and the Employee's Council for the academic university staff have signed a company agreement on academic careers at the University of Graz. It will be legally binding on March 1, 2022 and can be found here (in German): BRwiss: Betriebsvereinbarungen (uni-graz.at).
Since the resolution of the amendment to the University Act last May, which also had far-reaching effects on personnel law, the negotiations have been intensified and have now been brought to a successful conclusion. The core of the agreement are the newly regulated job descriptions, for each of which clear objectives, but also corresponding framework conditions - such as a standard contract period or a share of working time for own research - have been defined.
For university assistants without a doctorate, the completion of a relevant doctoral degree was anchored as a central goal of the employment relationship. In future, at least 30 per cent of the agreed working time will be available for this purpose. In addition to clearly defined working conditions, this also ensures that these employment periods do not have to be taken into account for the maximum permissible fixed-term period pursuant to § 109 UG. In the case of pre-docs in the job descriptions "project staff member" and "project assistant", this can be regulated in the employment contract with the consent of the project management. At post-doctoral level, basic standards are also established for university assistants with regard to the duration of the contract and the extent of employment, as well as a working time share for own research amounting to 40 percent of the agreed working time.
In the area of (senior) lecturers and (senior) scientists, the introduction of the job description "(senior) lecturer with extended research tasks" significantly increases flexibility with regard to involvement in research and teaching tasks. In this area, the proven instrument of the development agreement will be retained. However, the successful implementation of development agreements will be rewarded in the future by granting a sixth week of leave and a bonus payment.
Overall, the company agreement was streamlined and adapted to the changed legal framework. The company agreement will come into force on 1 March 2022 and will be available on the intranet.
This English summary can be found here: Intranetnews - Karriere machen // Making a career (uni-graz.at).