# German academic employment and research law reforms > Live situation record from CLSTR: https://clstr.news/situations/german-academic-employment-and-research-law-reforms > Updated: 2026-09-23T11:39:51.000Z. Sources: 11. Developments: 2. In Germany, academic employment and research regulations are undergoing significant scrutiny and legislative change. A coalition of 16 organizations, including the union ver.di, has demanded the complete abolition of the Wissenschaftszeitvertragsgesetz (WissZeitVG). Proponents of this reform argue that current laws facilitate precarious employment, noting that four out of five early-career researchers without professorships are on temporary contracts. An online petition for these reforms has reached nearly 70,000 signatures. Concurrently, the Bundestag’s research committee has approved a reform of the Scientific Freedom Act (Wissenschaftsfreiheitsgesetz). This measure aims to increase international competitiveness by expanding exemptions from the ‘betterment prohibition’ (Besserstellungsverbot). This allows project-funded non-profit research institutions—including new additions such as the German Center for Astrophysics and the Berlin Institute of Health at Charité—to offer more competitive salaries. The reform seeks to attract scientific talent by reducing bureaucratic hurdles and allowing the use of European Union funding for these purposes. ## Timeline ### 2026-09-23: Germany approves reform of Scientific Freedom Act The German Bundestag committee approved a reform of the Scientific Freedom Act to allow non-profit research institutions more flexibility in paying staff to improve international competitiveness. 6 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/germany-approves-reform-of-scientific-freedom-act ### 2026-09-09: German academic coalition demands abolition of WissZeitVG law A coalition of 16 organizations is demanding the abolition of Germany's Wissenschaftszeitvertragsgesetz to end precarious fixed-term employment for 80% of early-career researchers. 5 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/german-academic-coalition-demands-abolition-of-wisszeitvg-law --- Cite as: German academic employment and research law reforms. CLSTR, https://clstr.news/situations/german-academic-employment-and-research-law-reforms