The European Charter for Researchers and Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers were adopted by the European Commission as a Recommendation to the Member States. The 'Charter & Code' address researchers as well as employers and funders in both the public and private sectors. The Charter provides a framework for the career management of researchers, while the Code promotes open and transparent recruitment and appraisal procedures. Together they are aimed at developing an attractive, open and sustainable European labour market for researchers.
To facilitate the implementation of the Charter & Code, guidance is provided by the "Human Resources Strategy for Researchers incorporating the Charter & Code". This mechanism is put into action on a voluntary basis, and is as simple as possible, avoiding cumbersome procedures and respecting the variety of situations across institutions.
The 'HR Excellence in Research' logo is awarded
to research institutions and funding organisations that have
been acknowledged by the European Commission for
having made significant progress in implementing
the Charter & Code.
List of acknowledged institutions by country
Researchers, as all other categories of workers, are increasingly confronted with issues concerning their social security and pension rights. What happens when they move, what can and cannot be transferred, what is regulated at EU level and what is regulated at national level, can be found from the information here.
Non-EU national, or also called "third country national" researchers have several possibilities to enter the European Union for work. The Scientific Visa Package, adopted in 2005, aims to facilitate third country researchers' entry conditions. The Blue Card Directive is more recent, and deals with the entry into the EU for the purposes of highly qualified employment.
EURAXESS Rights aims at better employment and working conditions for researchers throughout Europe, thereby helping to enhance the attractiveness of European research careers. One of the cornerstones of EURAXESS Rights is the implementation of the European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers, guided by the Human Resources Strategy for Researchers. Other important areas requiring further work are the implementation of the Scientific Visa Package (within the context of Entry conditions) and issues related to social security and pensions for (mobile) researchers.
