No ruling against flex culture in Utrecht after all. Photo Friso Baaij via Unsplash. Teacher Marijn Scholte has lost his (adjourned) court case against Utrecht University and will not be reinstated. He should have raised the alarm sooner, the judge ruled today.
The lecturer accepted the position of teacher at the Faculty of Social Sciences at Utrecht university in 2018 and continued in this position until February of 2022. During this time, his contract was extended once. In February 2022, his contract expired.
In his ruling, the district judge refrains from taking a stand on the fairness of the flex policy. The ruling states that Scholte should have submitted a complaint when his contract was renewed at the end of 2018. He failed to do so and only objected once the university reminded him in January of this year that his contract was set to expire on the first of March. Too late, according to the judge, which means that Utrecht university’s decision remains valid.
Good employment?
The teacher and his lawyer referred to the collective labour agreement and agreements about good employment practices. In light of these agreements, the university should offer him a permanent contract, they say. The judge said that, even if this is the case, the teacher should have lodged a complaint within the organisation first.
There are currently temporary job openings available for teaching staff, but Scholte does not qualify for any of these, as the law requires he be given a permanent contract, and this is against the university’s wishes. The judge feels this is not a legal issue. ‘There is no obligation for either the employer or the employee to enter into an employment contract.’
In the eyes of the judge, the university has not acted with serious culpability, and, as such, Scholte will receive no indemnification. Moreover, he must pay the university’s legal costs of 747 euros within a fortnight.
Protest
The case drew much attention because unions and activists have been protesting against the high number of temporary contracts at universities for years. Particularly teachers who have no research tasks are often employed on a temporary basis. They are also referred to as ‘disposable teachers’. A ruling by the judge could help end the flex culture, they hoped.
