The PhD Candidates Network of the Netherlands (PNN) welcomes the Dutch Supreme Court's decision in the case brought by 44 MD/PhD scholarship candidates against the University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG). The Supreme Court has confirmed that the relationship between these PhD candidates and UMCG must be classified as an employment contract. Chair Benthe van Wanrooij responded: “PNN has long opposed the unfair treatment experienced by PhD candidates in this experiment. This ruling finally confirms that doctoral research must be recognized as work.”
The PhD candidates involved were enrolled as ‘students’ under the framework of the doctoral education experiment. As a result, they did not receive an employment contract with associated salary and benefits, but only a scholarship. Before and after this period, PhD candidates with comparable profiles were hired as employees. In practice, these scholarship candidates performed the same research work and bore the same responsibilities as their employed peers, yet received significantly lower compensation, accrued no pension, received no holiday allowance, and had no protection under the collective labor agreement (cao).
Van Wanrooij emphasized: “Doing a PhD is work. These PhD candidates performed labor for UMCG and were expected to meet nearly all obligations of regular employees. It is unacceptable that they were treated under inferior conditions.”
The doctoral education experiment began in 2016 and ended in August 2024. During this period, approximately 1,500 scholarship PhD candidates were appointed at the University of Groningen and UMCG. No other institutions joined the experiment with so many PhD candidates. PNN has consistently spoken out against the unequal treatment embedded in this system and is now considering, together with its partners, whether and how other former scholarship PhD candidates can seek recognition of their work.
PNN calls on current and former scholarship PhD candidates who were part of the experiment to fill out the form . The data will be used to coordinate possible next steps.
About PNN
Promovendi Netwerk Nederland (PNN) is the national advocacy organization for doctoral candidates in the Netherlands. PNN works toward fair working conditions, equal treatment, and improved status for doctoral candidates within the Dutch academic system.
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Note for editors:
For questions or further information, please contact:
- Benthe van Wanrooij, voorzitter PNN
E-mail: chair@hetpnn.nl
Telefoon: +31 6 15 47 05 56
