The European Charter for Researchers and Code of Conduct for the recruitment of researchers launched in 2005 aim to give individual researchers the same rights and obligations wherever they may work throughout the EU. They address researchers as well as to employers and funders in both the public and private sectors. They are crucial elements in the European Union’s policy to make research an attractive career.
The Charter and Code set out 40 general principles around the roles, responsibilities and entitlements of researchers, employers and funders with regard to research careers.
Institutions and employers adhering to the Code of Conduct are committed to being a fair, responsible and respectable employer with a clear intention to contribute to the advancement of the European Research Area. The European Commission maintains a list of organisations which have endorsed the principles of the Charter and Coder from 41 countries and international organisations.
The Human Resources Strategy for Researchers (also known as HRS4R), introduced in 2010 is the mechanism through which the European Commission seeks to ensure that concrete steps are put in place by institutions to enhance working conditions for researchers across Europe as set out in the European Charter and Code.
