The research grant is a contractual form provided for by Article 22 of Law 240/2010, as part of special scientific training plans linked to research projects, and aimed mainly at young researchers. The contract does not give rise to rights with regard to access to the University’s roles.

The minimum duration of a check is 12 months, with the possibility of renewal, and over the course of your academic career you can use it for a maximum of 6 years, consecutive or not.

The minimum amount is Euro 19,367.00, which also includes a percentage of INPS charges borne by the grantee. Payment is disbursed by the University in monthly instalments in arrears, usually by the 27th of the following month.

Intellectual and industrial property rights to the results you achieve as part of your work belong to the University, without prejudice to your right to be recognized as the author or inventor.

Tax and contribution treatment
Research grants are exempt from tax levy and are burdened only with INPS social security withholding.
Social security charges are 2/3 borne by the University and 1/3 borne by you. The amount indicated in the signed contract refers to the gross taxable amount per person and therefore does not include the 2/3 share that the University pays to INPS. The share borne by you is automatically paid by the University each month to the INPS – Separate Management Social Security Fund, to which you are required to register.

The C.U. (Single Certification) for the tax year is sent to the e-mail address you provided when you signed the contract. If you do not hold any other employment contracts, you will normally not have to make any further contributions. At the end of the contract, you also have the possibility to access unemployment benefits (Art. 15, Legislative Decree No. 22 of March 4, 2015). Please remember to always inform the Research Office of any changes in your residence or bank details.

Activities compatible and incompatible with holding a research grant
During your employment with the University, you may engage in some selected work activities, while others are declared by current regulations to be incompatible with holding a research grant.
Your Scientific Officer must always be informed in advance since further work activity is subject to authorization by your home Department.

Incompatible activities
– be in the service of Public Administrations, unless proof of placement on unpaid leave for the period of the allowance and any renewals has been made;
– Participation in undergraduate, doctoral fellowship or medical specialization courses in Italy or abroad;
– cumulation with scholarships awarded in any capacity, except those granted to supplement, with stays abroad, the research activity;
– Being a private employee;
– be tenured staff at universities, public research and experimentation institutions and agencies, the National Agency for New Technologies, ENEA, ASI, and institutions whose postgraduate degree is recognized as equivalent to the PhD degree.

Compatible activities
– teaching assignments and supplementary teaching activities, the cost of which does not burden the University funds (e.g: master’s degree, specialization courses, etc.);
– limited subsidiary supplementary teaching activities (max 40 hours per academic year) at the proposal of the Department and at no cost to the University budget;
– participation in profit examination committees, as an expert in the subject;
– professional activities or self-employment, compatible with the existing research activity and subject to the authorization of the Department to which the person belongs, after consultation with the Scientific Director.

Termination of the employment relationship
The employment relationship may be terminated for serious and material default, pursuant to Article 1460 CC, by the check holder.

Compulsory maternity leave and optional parental leave
In case of maternity leave, it is possible to take 5 months of compulsory leave as provided by the current legislation.
The leave period is administratively equivalent to a temporal suspension of the contract.
The suspension months generally start from 2 months prior to the expected date of delivery and extend for 3 months after delivery (2+3). It is also possible to take advantage of the 1+4 or 0+5 month suspension mode. In any case, it is necessary to contact the Research Office at least 20 days before the completion of the seventh month of pregnancy.
Early suspension may also be requested, which must be accompanied by the doctor’s authorization.

During the 5 months of compulsory leave, the University suspends the payment of monthly installments since INPS will pay the allowance to which you are entitled during the entire period of absence. To this end, it is necessary that, in addition to submitting documentation proving the state of pregnancy, you submit an application for maternity leave to the relevant provincial INPS office, which, after verifying that you meet the requirements, will pay for 5 months an amount corresponding to 80% of the average salary received in the last fiscal year.
The expiration of the contract is automatically extended by the University for the days corresponding the mandatory interruption. Since INPS pays only a partial portion of the salary you would have received during the 5-month suspension, the University supplements this allowance up to the full amount. For this, you will need to give the Research Office copies of the INPS notices from which the amount disbursed is shown so that the offices can correctly calculate the amount to supplement the amount paid by INPS.

What to do to receive maternity allowance
1. Notify the Research Office of your pregnancy status (usually within 20 days of the completion of the 7th month of pregnancy) by submitting the medical certificate bearing the expected date of delivery and the certificate prepared by the University’s competent physician (contact the Research Office for information).
2. To apply for postponement of the effective date until the date of delivery, you must attach to the certificate your statement to postpone the start of the leave, verified health and working conditions.
3. After delivery, notify the Research Office of your child’s date of birth by attaching a copy of the birth certificate.
4. Upon completion of leave, notify the Research Office in writing of the exact date of return to duty.

Optional parental leave
The legislation allows you to request additional months of optional parental leave to be taken within one year of your child’s birth. The procedure for requesting this is the same as that followed for mandatory suspension. The installments will be suspended but in this case the University will not provide supplementation over what INPS will pay in the form of allowances only in the cases provided for by the regulations.
The new expiration date of the existing contract will be postponed for a maximum of 12 months (365 days) from the original expiration date. The Research Office will inform you about the new expiration date. Currently, it is not possible for research grant holders to compete for household allowances.
On the University website under Research>research grants > forms for grant holders can be downloaded to submit applications.

Insurance
During the work period you will be covered by insurance related to any injuries resulting from your work. You can contact the Infrastructure and Safety Department to open any accident paperwork and view the text of the insurance. Third Party Liability Insurance is provided.

Safety
In carrying out your work at the university, it is necessary to comply with safety regulations and to be aware of the procedures put in place by those responsible for safety in case of danger. You can contact the Infrastructure and Safety Area for this purpose.

Missions for research activities
It is possible that, for the realization of your research, it is necessary to carry out activities outside the ‘ordinary place of service (which coincides with the municipal territory in which the University is located) and therefore you must go on a mission in Italy or abroad. Missions must be authorized in advance by the Scientific Officer, under penalty of non-recognition, and therefore reimbursement, of expenses incurred and lack of insurance coverage.

The mission request must indicate:
– the reason for the mission
– the duration
– the location
– means of transportation used
– the code of the project funds on which to charge the mission costs

For the manner in which the missions are carried out, please refer to the relevant Regulations that can be found at Transparent Administration > General Provisions > General Acts.

The Missions Office will be available for any clarification.

Services

E-mail account.
The University will activate an email account @uniroma4.it. For this purpose you will be contacted by our Information Technology and Intranet Management Unit.

Timesheet
If you are involved in an externally funded research project, usually with European funds, you may need to complete a timesheet of your activities. The Research Office will provide you with the form you can use, and the necessary directions for completing it.

Workstation.
The assignment of a workstation is determined by your Scientific Officer consistent with available space and resources and as directed by the Department of Exercise, Human and Health Sciences.

Library
In addition to book lending, the University Library offers you various services, including access to:

– full-text of articles from subscription periodicals
– bibliographic and/or full-text databases: Sportdiscus, PsycArticles, Scopus, Web of Science, Journal Citation Reports, Pubmed.
The Library also offers the document delivery service through which it is possible to request articles from other Italian libraries.
To make a request for articles, it is necessary to register, from the Library’s web page, with the NILDE (Network Inter-Library Document Exchange) service.

For any information you can contact the Library at biblioteca@uniroma4.it.

Training
The University Language Center offers research grant holders the opportunity to enroll in language courses organized by the Center by applying the subsidized rate with 50% reduction.

Meetings
At various times during the year, the Research Office organizes information days on topics related to scientific research, particularly on specific internal and national funding calls.

Administrative support
The Research Office offers support for the submission of project proposals under national and international calls for proposals.
The Technology Transfer Office also makes its expertise available in order to facilitate the meeting between researchers and industrial representatives in the area and the development of spin-offs and patents.

Non-tenured PI
The University offers non-tenured researchers the opportunity to participate in external calls for funding.
In case of funding award, the PI will be contracted with a research grant through direct call, as provided by the Internal Regulations.