Abstract

Temporary positions and contracts are taken as inevitable in university careers, and discussions around them tend to focus on the wrong aspects, such as third-party-funding. Based on my former experience as an employee’s representative – outside the university - I will give an overview of why temporary positions are often not allowed in most sectors outside the academic world, why there is actually no such thing as a “permanent” position, and why the universities keep on clinging to temporary positions for most of us. Additionally, I will show that the infamous university law does not – in contrast to common belief - contain any restrictions on contracts, but instead explicitly allows universities to circumvent the social security net available in other employment sectors for up to eight years. Finally, I will give some recommendations on how to deal with this in your career and how to make the best out of the situation. There will be room for discussion afterwards – for example for the question on how this impacts the quality of scientific research.