Postdoc - employment protected by collective agreement

The collective agreement permits fixed-term postdoctoral employment. Fixed-term positions are to be advertised and are normally full-time. They must be for a minimum of two years and a maximum of three years. However, the employment may be extended if there are compelling reasons, such as periods of sick leave, parental leave, clinical duties, work as an elected trade union representative or similar circumstances.

The collective agreement defines a postdoc as an employee who is employed primarily to conduct research and who, no later than at the time of the decision to employ, has completed a doctorate or has a foreign degree deemed equivalent to a doctorate. The doctorate is to have been awarded no more than three years before the end of the application period for the position unless there are specific reasons to justify exemptions.

If you are employed on this fixed-term basis, your contract usually uses the terms KA Postdoktor (collective agreement postdoc) or Central KA (central collective agreement).

Further information

You can find the full collective agreement on the Swedish Agency for Government Employers website (in Swedish).