APPENDIX 19
Memorandum submitted by the Institute
of Physics
The Institute wholeheartedly welcomes the Government's
increased recognition of the problems and concerns relating to
the employment of post-doctoral researchers (PDR) on short-term
contracts. The explicit statement made in the Excellence and Opportunity
White Paper (2000), the support for the Research Careers Initiative
(RCI) by Lord Sainsbury and the specific recommendations in the
recent Roberts' Report, have formed a foundation from which we
hope the long-standing problems faced by PDRs can be addressed.
The Institute fully endorses the pertinent recommendations
cited in the Roberts' Report, on industry secondments, improved
career paths and enhanced salaries for PDRs. The Roberts' Report
has addressed all the major issues concerned with the supply and
quality of science and engineering graduates and government needs
to indicate its support for the recommendations quickly so that
momentum is not lost. The Institute is looking for full funding
of all the proposals with new money, not least enhanced salaries
for PDRs.
In addition, it is hoped that the European Community
Directive on fixed term work (subject to consultation and implementation
by the DTI), which aims to limit the number and extent of repeat
of short-term contracts, will see the terms of employment for
PDRs improve under the proposals. However, the Institute was concerned
to note that last year's DTI consultation on the proposed implementation
of the Directive concentrated on fixed-term staff employed in
business, and had overlooked the university and higher education
sector, which employs a significant number of fixed-term workers.
PDRs compose a significant proportion of the public sector workers
that the consultation stated make up half of the fixed-term contract
workers in the UK, and most of the proposals highlighted in the
consultation applied to PDRs.
The Institute is of the view that the RCI Concordat
has brought some certainty and flexibility for staff and HEIs
in what is an essentially unstable environment, and it has helped
with the retention of good PDRs. However, the good practice measures
highlighted by the Concordat need to be adopted by more universities
and the signatories to the Concordat need to implement still further
its measures and become more fully engaged in RCI's activities.
In addition, PDRs need greater awareness of the outcomes of RCI
initiatives and the Concordat, as many still seem to be unaware
of both.
The Institute has been active in highlighting
the issues pertinent to PDRs on short-term contracts and commissioned
a study in July 1999 entitled, Career Paths of Physics Post-Doctoral
Research Staff, which aimed to identify the main business sectors
and occupations in which physicists who had undertaken one or
two PDRs were employed, and to seek views of this group on the
value of their PDR experience. Out of 448 former physics PDRs
(who commenced their first PDR position between 1988-93), only
1.3 per cent were unemployed. Of those employed 47 per cent worked
in higher education, 35 per cent worked in the private sector
(particularly manufacturing) and 17 per cent worked in the public/voluntary
sector.
The key findings and recommendations of the
study were:
— of the 47 per cent of PDRs employed
in HEIs, only 1 in 5 secured a faculty post. A serious concern
was that there is a lack of awareness amongst PDRs of whether
a permanent faculty post can be secured, thus, there is a need
for better career guidance and better management of expectations
amongst those taking up PDR positions for the first time;
— one of the most surprising findings
of the study was that 1 in 4 PDRs has spent more than six years
in a PDR position, thus, the Government must encourage the consideration
of alternative options of employment in the long-term interests
of such career PDRs; and
— PDR research experience was viewed
as making an important contribution to career development. However,
half of those now employed in the private sector complained of
the mismatch between the skills provided by PDR research and the
skills required for their jobs, thus, more time should be made
available for PDRs to engage in a broader range of career development
activities.
As a follow up to the study, in November 2000,
the Institute held a policy seminar on Contract Research, where
the aim was to ascertain what the Government and other organisations
were doing to address the problems experienced by PDRs on short-term
contracts. A copy of the report of the seminar is enclosed. The
main conclusions from the seminar were that government was taking
the problem seriously, as are the universities, but the overall
feeling was that there was still a problem. Despite the fact that
the PDRs present at the seminar had a commitment to scholarship
and a love of physics, many had and would experience financial
difficulties when it comes to applying for mortgages, being unable
to start families and so on.
24 June 2002
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