The European Charter and Code are a set of general principles and requirements published by the European Commission which together specify the roles, responsibilities and entitlements of researchers, as well as their employers and funders, throughout the European Union.
A UK HE sector working group co-ordinated by UUK and RCUK has produced a mapping of the European Charter and Code against existing legislation, guidelines and good practice in the UK in order to provide a comprehensive gap analysis. This work is intended to help institutions, and policy makers at a national level, to identify actions that might need to be taken to align the UK with the broad principles outlined in the Code and Charter, where this is not already the case and is deemed appropriate and necessary. This document can also be used as a comprehensive reference guide.
The gap analysis demonstrated that in most cases the UK already meets the requirements of the European Charter and Code and no major conflicts with current practice in the UK were identified. Some aspects of the Charter and Code require further clarification and these are highlighted within the gap analysis. The document indicates that there is no major barrier to UK HEIs wishing to adopt the Charter and Code in a more formal way and the report offers suggestions on how these recommendations may be interpreted within the UK context.
The report supports the European Commission’s recognition that adopting the Charter and Code is a commitment to a continuous process by building on existing structures and mechanisms. The UK is keen to continue to engage in a constructive dialogue with the European Commission to take forward these principles in order to make the UK and Europe a more attractive place for researchers.
The European charter for researchers and code of conduct for the recruitment of researchers: a UK HE sector gap analysis 