Employment after 69 years of age (info for employees)

A new set of rules will apply from 2025-01-01. 

Affiliation after reaching the LAS age. 

In the first instance, a person who has reached LAS age and will continue to participate in KI's activities must do so through an affiliation with the organisation, for example as professor emeritus/emerita, and then without being employed. Special rules apply to affiliation.

Employment after reaching the LAS age

Employment after reaching the LAS age is not a right for the individual and any re-employment must always be carefully examined on objective and factual grounds based on the needs of the organisation. The assessment must show that it is valuable for the organisation to employ a person who has reached the LAS age. The need and the benefit an employment can bring to KI in the short and long term shall be decisive for the assessment. The need may be justified by special expertise to bridge new recruitment for a certain period of time or for ongoing and externally funded research projects or to be able to represent KI in special contexts.

Competency planning before an employee reaches the LAS age

Long-term planning of the supply of skills in connection with employees approaching retirement age is of great importance for a successful generational change. The regular work on business planning must include planning of the department's/unit's long-term skills supply, which includes objectives for the organization, analysis of the challenges facing the organization and strategies for achieving the objectives. Such an analysis may, for example, mean that the focus of the organization's needs to be changed and measures need to be taken to attract people with other skills profiles. The employment of a person who has reached the age of majority is always a temporary and short-term solution.

In good time before an employee reaches the LAS age, the responsible manager must conduct a dialogue with the employee on how the activities should be adapted to the current conditions. The dialogue must result in a documented plan for how to change skills and/or discontinue current assignments until the LAS age is reached or, where appropriate, a plan for continued assignments.

Implementation 

1. When an employee reaches the LAS age, the employment shall be terminated in accordance with the rules in the Employment Protection Act.

2. In the event that the parties agree on continued employment, points 1-4 below apply. There is no need to apply a tendering procedure.

3. no later than three months before the employment ends, the responsible manager shall make an assessment of whether there is a need for continued employment.

The following applies to all employment contracts concluded with persons who have reached the LAS age:

1. employment after reaching LAS age shall be limited in time for a maximum of one year at a time. Employment takes place on the basis of LAS § 5.

2. the degree of employment shall not exceed 50 per cent of full-time.

3. the person may not hold a delegation as a manager.

4. the terms and conditions of employment shall be regulated in a new employment contract.

5. decisions on employment are made by the head of department after consultation with the dean for the first three years after reaching LAS age. Thereafter, the dean makes decisions on the proposal of the head of department.

Continuation of activities for former teachers 
In addition to what is stated above in paragraphs 1-4, the following applies to former employees under the employment scheme for teachers. If the department considers that there are special reasons for employing a teacher after reaching LAS age, such a decision shall be justified and documented. The following conditions for such employment apply:

a. be funded through its own current and ongoing external appropriations for salary and operating expenses and not be eligible to receive state funding for research through the resource allocation process.

b. be employed in direct connection with previous employment at KI.

c. be able to be a Principal Investigator and have authorisation rights for external grants held by the research group.

d. there must be a plan for skills transfer including mentoring, and

e. those employed as professors can only be employed as senior professors after reaching LAS age.

Assignments as principal supervisor for doctoral students shall not be given to teachers who have passed the LAS age. A prerequisite for such an assignment is that it can be completed before the supervisor's employment ends.
 

Transitional provisions 

Decisions on employment and exceptions regarding scope and management taken no later than 31 December 2024 on the basis of the Regulations for employment after the right to remain in employment has expired (ref. no. 1-869/2019) remain valid after the entry into force of these guidelines. If there is a need for continued employment, the employment shall be re-regulated in accordance with these guidelines. For the period 1 January - 30 June 2025, the head of department may, after consultation with the dean, decide on exceptions regarding scope and leadership according to these guidelines if necessary. Such an exception may only relate to the period 1 January - 30 June 2025.