Your Concordat rights

The 2008 Concordat for the Career Development of Research Staff sets out clear standards that members of research staff can expect from the institution that is employing them.

Signatories to the Concordat include:

• Universities UK (the universities umbrella body)
• Research Councils UK
• The Higher Education Funding Councils for England and Wales
• The Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council
• The Department for Learning and Employment, Northern Ireland
• A number of learned societies and large charities.

If you work in an institution that is funded and managed by any of these bodies, you have a right to expect that the institution will adhere to the principles of the Concordat.

The principles of the Concordat

The Concordat sets out seven basic principles which should underpin the employment of research staff:

1. the importance of recruiting and retaining researchers with the potential for excellence
2. the value of researchers as employees
3. the importance of equipping researchers with the skills to be effective and adaptable workers, not just in their current post, but in their ongoing careers
4. the importance of supporting researchers’ personal and professional development
5. the need for researchers to engage pro-actively with opportunities for development
6. the promotion of equality and diversity
7. the need for regular review and improvement of working conditions to ensure that the UK can make research an attractive and sustainable career.

What these principles mean for researchers

The Concordat principles mean that recruitment to research posts should be open and transparent. If you have the skills to apply for a post, you should have the opportunity to apply. There should be no favouritism or discrimination in the recruitment process.

Researchers should get proper support to settle into an institution. There should be a proper induction process to help you settle into your job and your new working environment. Probationary periods should be used to give you a time of ‘protected development’ so that you are not ‘thrown in at the deep end.’ You should be able to get support from a mentor in your institution. You should also have a Professional Development Review process which ensures that your long-term career goals can be supported.

Institutions should listen to the voice of researchers. Research staff should be represented on relevant departmental and institutional committees and be allowed to form Research Staff Associations. You should not be excluded from discussions that concern academic staff and you should have opportunities to make your concerns known.

The contribution that researchers make to the intellectual life of the institution should be properly recognised. This means that, where appropriate, you should be able to take part in bids for new research funding. Your intellectual property should be safeguarded and not automatically assigned to the institution or your Principal Investigator. You are entitled to due recognition on publications, grant applications and in efforts to commercialise your research.

Institutions must support the long-term careers of research staff. It is no longer acceptable for institutions to consider researchers on fixed-term contracts as disposable commodities, to be hired and fired at the start and end of each period of grant funding. Universities and research institutes “should ensure that the development of researchers is not undermined by the instability of employment contracts.” Specific recommendations include:

• actively seeking to redeploy researchers once contracts end
• providing bridging funding to enable researchers to continue in their post between periods of grant funding
• providing open and transparent mechanisms for promotion of research staff
• providing training to enable experienced researchers to move into research leadership roles.

Universities and research institutes vary widely in how they implement the recommendations of the Concordat. Most researchers will be able to identify strengths and weaknesses in their own institutions. Bear in mind that one of the Concordat principles is that institutions should be regularly reviewing and improving their practices – so if you can see an area in which your institution is falling behind, you may want to encourage your local Research Staff Association or your trade union to take up your concerns.

Sources of support

Vitae’s Researcher Development Framework is intended to help institutions meet their obligations under the Concordat. The Framework can also be used by individual researchers as a means of reviewing your career to date and planning for the future.

The UK Research Staff Association provides a forum for issues of concern to researchers across the UK. It engages with institutions and research funders to promote best practice and encourage wider adoption of Concordat principles, and has input into research policy development at a national level.

The University and College Union (UCU)  is a trade union with negotiating rights for researchers in UK universities. It is constantly lobbying university managers for improvements in opportunities for staff on fixed-term contracts, and produces a ‘Researchers’ Survival Guide’ as a simple guide to what you can expect from your institution.