Science - October 13, 2005
PhD researchers will get sick pay
PhD researchers (AIOs) who become pregnant or chronically sick during their research period will probably receive full compensation for the delay they incur. At present PhD researchers are at the mercy of the arrangements made by the individual chair group, and these differ considerably.
When time is lost, the employment contract that the AIO has from the university has to be extended. Jellema: ‘The university is compensated for the absence of the AIO, but this is based on the salary. As the salary of researchers rises during the research period, the university will have to fork out more money if the period is to be compensated for in full.’
The Human Resources Department is currently working on arrangements to guarantee the extension for current AIOs. The arrangement has to be approved by the executive board, but the latter has indicated that it is in favour of such an arrangement. The situation should be clear by November. / JH