Contents on this page:

• Postdoc
• Associate senior lecturer

Postdoc

Postdocs are governed by a collective agreement that applies to the entire higher education sector. There is an old agreement that was valid until the end of January 2022. As of 1 February 2022, a new agreement for the employment of postdocs at higher education institutions applies.

Both the new and the old agreement can be read in their entirety on the Agency's website (see the link to the agreement on fixed-term employment as a postdoc in the right-hand column).

Fixed-term employment as a postdoc is regulated by a national collective agreement. The employment is part of the promotion of future competence supply.

A postdoc must have completed a doctoral degree, or a foreign degree deemed equivalent to a doctoral degree. During the period of employment, a postdoctoral researcher shall mainly conduct research and develop their independence as a researcher and create conditions for further qualification.

Teaching position

The postdoctoral position at Lund University is a teaching position. This means, among other things, that they are covered by the Working Time Agreement for Teachers. Read more about teaching positions in Lund University's employment regulations and in the Working Hours Agreement for Teachers, which can be downloaded in the right-hand column of this page. 

The employment refers to full-time work and teaching can be included with a maximum of 20 per cent during the period of employment.

Completed doctoral degree

The eligibility requirement of a completed doctoral degree means that the degree must be completed no later than the date of the employment decision and it is therefore important to inform all applicants of the deadline for sending proof of a doctoral degree. If there is no proof of a completed doctoral degree, the university may not make a decision on employment.

In order to be employed with the support of the agreement, those who have completed a doctoral degree no more than three years ago, calculated from the deadline for applications, shall be considered. If there are special reasons, the degree may have been awarded earlier. Special reasons include illness, parental leave, positions of trust in trade union organisations, service in national defence, clinical service or service/assignments relevant to the subject area. What is meant by service/assignments relevant to the subject area needs to be clarified in the call in order to be considered special reasons.

All applicants will be assessed on the basis of merit and expertise and applicants with older doctoral degrees cannot be eliminated on this basis alone. Fulfilling the timeframe of a maximum of three years is considered a merit in the evaluation of the overall competence.

Duration of employment

A postdoc is employed until further notice, but for a period of at least two and at most three years. An appointment may be extended if this is required to fulfil the purpose of the appointment, but the total period of employment may not exceed three years.

However, the contract may be extended beyond the three years if there are special reasons. Special reasons refer to leave due to illness, positions of trust in trade unions, service in national defence, or other similar circumstances, as well as clinical service or service/assignments relevant to the subject area.

Special reasons also refer to parental leave during employment. In the case of parental leave, the employee must be offered the opportunity for an extension corresponding to at least the extent of the leave.

Note that a person who has previously been employed at Lund University as a postdoc for more than one year cannot be employed as a postdoc again in the same or related subject area at the university.

In case of posting abroad

If the employer, as part of the merit system, decides to post a postdoctoral researcher abroad (URA), the postdoctoral researcher shall be granted leave under the agreement on fixed-term employment as a postdoctoral researcher without a separate decision. This is included in the agreement in view of the fact that there is no entitlement to leave from a fixed-term contract.

Please note that the employment period is ongoing and that the URA does not give the right to extension.

Read more about expatriation (URA) via the link in the right column.

Transitional rules

For those employed under the older agreement (valid until 31 January 2022), the older agreement applies in its entirety.

If the employment extends beyond 1 October 2022, it can be extended so that the total period of employment amounts to a maximum of three years in order to fulfil the purpose of the employment. During the extension period, the new contract applies. 

If you have any questions, please contact your nearest HR function.

Associate senior lecturer

On 16 February 2018, the University Board decided to adjust Lund University's Appointment Regulations and incorporated the new time-limit basis in the Higher Education Ordinance for merit-based employment, associate senior lecturer.

The new merit-based position, associate senior lecturer, was introduced in the Higher Education Ordinance as a step in a nationally recognised career path. Lund University was one of the universities that already had a merit-based position, assistant senior lecturer with the right to promotion (through a local collective agreement).

The major difference from the previous merit-based position in the Higher Education Ordinance (which, through a local collective agreement, gave Lund University the opportunity to apply for promotion) is that the new position of associate senior lecturer is aimed at people at the beginning of a teaching career and requires that the time between the doctoral degree and the merit-based position be shortened from the previous seven years to five years. The appointment can now also be limited to between four and six years, compared to the previous maximum of four years.

Extension

The employment contract may be extended (renewed) for a maximum total of two years if, for special reasons such as illness or parental leave, it is necessary to fulfil the purpose of the employment contract. The period of employment must be stated in the information on the vacancy and be based on the eligibility requirements for promotion. It is important that the positions are open and transparent, which means that they must be advertised nationally and often also internationally. All research recruitments must be published in Euarxess. External assessors will continue to be involved in the recruitment process in order to attract the best qualified candidates and to promote mobility and gender equality.

Promotion

The associate senior lecturer may apply for promotion to senior lecturer no later than six months before the end of the employment contract. After the application, they will be promoted to a permanent position as a senior lecturer, if they are qualified for such a position and are deemed suitable in an assessment according to the assessment criteria set out in Lund University's employment regulations and the possibly supplemented assessment criteria in the advertisement.

Read more about teaching positions in Lund University's employment regulations, which can be downloaded in the right-hand column.  

For announcements made before 1 April 2018, the older provisions still apply, including the agreements that Lund University signed with the local parties, see the three lowest agreements in the right-hand column.