Student or employee?

Swedish institutes of higher education are regulated by the Higher Education Act. The act contains overarching regulations about organisation and the structure of study programmes, but in other respects it is fairly brief. The government provides additional and more detailed guidelines in the Higher Education Ordinance (HEO). Most of the central regulations governing third-cycle (doctoral) studies can be found in chapters 5 (Employment of Doctoral Students) and 6 (Courses and Study Programmes).

According to chapter 1, section 4 of Higher Education Ordinance, a doctoral student is someone who ‘who has been admitted to and pursue higher education studies at third-cycle level’. This means that doctoral students are first and foremost students who should be devoting themselves to their studies. But ‘pursuing’ studies at third-cycle level also requires the completion of a degree of activity or assignment which should be reported each term by the faculty. The assignment is registered in the study documentation system Uppdok.

Doctoral student activity

A student’s level of activity can vary over time for different reasons, but it is vital that the doctoral student is familiar with what he/she is to report as the level of activity forms the basis of the evaluation of certain degree papers and employment conditions. One example is the right to employer’s health care. All doctoral students are required to report their activity irrespective of form of study funding.

The fact that there are a number of different ways that doctoral students can fund their studies can be confusing. Is a doctoral student a ‘student’ or ‘employee’ and where can you turn if you have questions? The answer depends among other things on whether or not the doctoral student is employed on a studentship. Simply put, all doctoral students are ‘students’ while some are both ‘students’ and ‘employees’.

Other authorities’ requirements

It is important for doctoral students to familiarise themselves with the requirements of other authorities such as the Swedish Social Insurance Agency [Försäkringskassan] and the Swedish Public Employment Office [Arbetsförmedlingen] in order to know what to do if for some reason their theses are delayed or need to be discontinued. The personnel department is not always able to answer the questions of individual doctoral students, as it not only depends on whether they are employed by Uppsala University but also if they have worked there before, for how long, what their income was, etc. Knowing what kind of social security net you have is important for all doctoral students to know, but it is particularly important for doctoral students without any form of employment.