Predoctoral contract

conflictive issues and pending challenges since the last reform

Abstract

In recent decades, there has been a process of laborization of young researchers, who demanded to leave pre-doctoral scholarships behind and be equipped with an authentic catalog of labor rights. In 2011, the Science Law created the pre-doctoral contract, whose regulatory development did not reach until Royal Decree 103/2019, of March 1, which approved the Statute of pre-doctoral research personnel in training (EPIF). However, the EPIF still does not respond to one of its main demands: the right to compensation upon termination of the pre-doctoral contract. Law 17/2022, of September 5, modifies the Science Law by incorporating important changes in the pre-doctoral contract, including a new right to compensation for expiration of the agreed time. This paper analyzes the dysfunctions of this contractual modality, those generated by the new reform and the contentious issues that still exist.