Academics ‘face decreasing job security’

Job security is “no longer the norm” for higher education staff in Europe, a report for the European Commission has found.

Data from higher education authorities and other research indicate that academic job security in Europe is decreasing, according to the Commission’s Eurydice report on the modernisation of higher education, which was published on 15 June.

The report found a wide variation between countries in terms of how often fixed-term contracts and indefinite contracts were offered to staff. In France, Malta and Turkey about 80 per cent of academics are employed on indefinite contracts. By contrast, in Austria, Estonia, Finland, Germany and Serbia less than 30 per cent of academics have these more stable contract types.