Austria proposes reform of university chain contracts

The Austrian Ministry of Science has released a draft proposal to reform the controversial “chain contract” regulations at universities. The current University Act contains a complex exception to general labor law that allows for the repeated succession of fixed-term contracts without objective justification.

The new draft proposes using the completion of a doctorate as a threshold. While pre-doctoral staff, student assistants, and researchers on third-party projects may continue to receive multiple fixed-term contracts—limited to a maximum of four to six years depending on the category—no further fixed-term employment would be permitted once a doctorate is obtained.

Additionally, the proposal includes a provision for existing staff. Employees who already hold a doctorate and have been employed under fixed-term contracts at a university for more than six years would be transitioned to permanent employment as of a specified cutoff date. The Universities Conference (uniko) has expressed interest in maintaining more flexibility for institutions.