A researcher from Ukraine wants to apply for the 2022 call for a Postdoctoral Fellowship and their employment contract included part-time research activities only in parts. Given the circumstances in Ukraine, it is missing on both sides – the employer and the researcher. What should be done in this case?

In cases where it is materially impossible to provide an employment contract due to exceptionally difficult circumstances (e.g. situations of war or armed conflict, natural disasters, etc.), an official letter from the employer, duly signed and stamped, stating the start and end dates, and describing the tasks performed by the employee could be accepted instead of the employment contract. In the particular case mentioned, it would be important to highlight that, in addition to the above, the letter should specify and quantify the time spent outside the main research activity so that the time spent not working in research could be deducted from the FTE experience in research.