The Competitive Hiring Process Code of Charles University

Under sections 9 (1) (b) and 17 (1) (f) of Act No. 111/1998 Sb., to regulate higher education institutions and to change and amend other laws (the Higher Education Act), as amended, the Academic Senate of Charles University has adopted the following Competitive Hiring Process Code of Charles University as an internal regulation:

Article 1 General Provisions

1. Vacancies for members of the academic staff¹ at Charles University (“the University”) are filled through a competitive hiring process (section 77 (1) of the Higher Education Act).²

2. Other vacancies (for posts or offices) at the University are also filled through a competitive hiring process, if stipulated in an internal regulation of the University, a faculty, or other unit (“the faculty”), or if determined by the Rector, a dean at a faculty, or a director of another unit (“the dean”).

3. In the case of a competitive hiring process for vacancies filled under a special regulation³, the Rector or the dean agrees on the procedure for launching the competitive hiring process with the body vested with the power under the special regulation.

4. The establishment and filling of a position of extraordinary professor is governed by a separate Rector’s directive and this Competitive Hiring Process Code is not applicable.

5. When filling vacancies, including after the completion of the competitive hiring process, the principles of personal data protection must be followed.⁴

6. The University professes the principles of an open, transparent, and substantive competitive hiring process in accordance with the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers.⁵

Article 2 Launching a Competitive Hiring Process

1. A competitive hiring process is launched by the Rector, or by a dean, for a vacancy at a faculty (“the person launching a competitive hiring process”).

2. The vacancy notice must detail the eligibility criteria, in particular:

   a.	The designation of the workplace and the post;
   b.	Qualifications and other requirements;
   c.	The date on which the vacancy is to be filled or on which it is to be newly filled;
   d.	The mode and deadline for the submission of application;
   e.	The list of documents to be submitted by the applicant.

3. The person launching a competitive hiring process must proceed in such a way that an excessive administrative burden is not imposed on the applicants.

4. The vacancy notice must be published in the Czech and English languages, in justified cases also in other languages, in the publicly accessible section of the University website when the competitive hiring process is launched by the Rector, or in the publicly accessible section of the faculty website when the competitive hiring process is launched by the dean, no later than 30 days before the end of the deadline for the submission of applications. The competitive hiring processes launched by a dean must also be immediately published in the publicly accessible section of the University website.

5. The vacancy notice must be published in electronic format at the same time in other (non-University) websites whose focus matches the target group of applicants, usually euraxess, researchjobs, etc. This does not apply to vacancies with weekly working hours of up to 16 hours (inclusive).

6. The applicant sends the documents in writing in printed or electronic format.

Article 3 Selection Commission

1. Within the deadline for the submission of applications, the person launching the competitive hiring process appoints the members of a selection commission (“the Commission”) and a chair thereof. The person launching the competitive hiring process may be a member or the chair of the Commission. The chair is a member of the Commission; the chair convenes its meetings.

2. The person launching the competitive hiring process may appoint a permanent selection commission to be expanded as appropriate in accordance with other requirements of the competitive hiring process.

3. The Commission must have at least three members. The members of the Commission may include, apart from members of the academic staff, other employees of the University, or other persons.

4. When establishing the Commission, the person launching the competitive hiring process must seek to ensure a high professional level and moral integrity of the members of the Commission and balanced membership, if possible.⁶ If justified, he may appoint members of the Commission from among practitioners from the public or private sector.

5. Delegated representatives with an advisory voting right may participate in the work of the Commission:

   a.	In the case of competitive hiring processes launched by the Rector, a delegated representative of the Academic Senate of the University;
   b.	In the case of competitive hiring processes launched by a dean, a delegated representative of the academic senate of the faculty.

6. A person whose impartiality may be questioned due to the person’s relationship to an applicant may not be a member of the Commission. If a person who is a member of the Commission does not comply with this requirement, the person launching the competitive hiring process must be immediately informed and a new member of the Commission must be appointed. In the case of a permanent selection commission, a new member is appointed only for a specific competitive hiring process.

7. The Commission always includes a member representing the workplace for which the competitive hiring process is being launched, usually the head of the workplace.

8. In the case of competitive hiring processes for vacancies assigned to pay bands AP3 and AP4⁷ it is recommended that the Commission membership include also an expert with long-term international experience.

9. The Commission has a quorum if at least three members are present, however the majority of all members of the Commission must always be present.

10. The Commission members must be informed of the procedure for the competitive hiring process and the criteria for the selection of candidates.

11. Members of the Commission must keep confidential the facts disclosed to them in relation to the competitive hiring process.

Article 4 Procedure for the Selection Commission

1. The chair of the Commission has the right to eliminate applicants who clearly do not meet the criteria of the competitive hiring process. The chair informs the Commission of the elimination. The chair leaves the decision on contentious cases up to the Commission.

2. In the first round of the competitive hiring process, the written documents submitted by applicants are evaluated. Based on the evaluation of documents the Commission decides on the advancement of selected applicants to the second round. The Commission informs without delay the applicants who were not selected for the second round, usually no later than 30 days after the day on which the Commission evaluated the documents.

3. The next step in the competitive hiring process usually consists in the Commission inviting the selected applicants for the second round, an interview. The second round does not have to form part of the competitive hiring process for vacancies with weekly working hours of up to 16 hours (inclusive). The interview must always form part of competitive hiring processes for managerial posts. If interviews are not held in a competitive hiring process the Commission decides on the basis of evaluation of written documents. Paragraphs 6 to 13 apply by analogy.

4. The Commission may invite the applicant to give a public lecture at the University or a faculty. The applicants must be informed in advance of this possibility in the published criteria in the vacancy notice.

5. The interview may be carried out, in justified cases upon request of the applicant, using information or communication technologies. Every applicant must be informed of this possibility. The chair of the Commission decides on such request of an applicant.

6. The Commission’s decision on the applicants who meet the criteria of the competitive hiring process is based in particular on the submitted documents and on the results of the interviews with the applicants and possibly on the public lecture. When evaluating the eligibility of the applicants the Commission may request that the applicants submit additional documents to those requested in the vacancy notice.

7. When evaluating the applicants, the Commission takes into account their educational and creative activities as well as other aspects of their expertise such as for example ability to popularise their subject, mobility, management skills, etc.

8. Without undue delay, the Commission uses the findings to evaluate the applicants, identifies the applicants who meet the criteria of the competitive hiring process (“suitable applicants”), and determines the ranking.

9. The Commission takes a decision by secret ballot; a resolution is adopted if a simple majority of the members of the Commission present voted in its favour. Each member of the Commission has one vote.

10. The Commission draws up minutes of its meeting and the results. The minutes include a ranking of applicants, with a justification, such as the strengths and weaknesses of the applicants. The minutes are signed by the chair and other members of the Commission present; if any of them object to the course of the competitive hiring process or its outcome, they indicate their objections next to their signatures. The minutes are not published.

11. In justified cases the chair of the Commission may decide to use remote voting (in writing). In such a case the chair of the Commission submits to the members of the Commission the documents in electronic format, informing them of the deadline by which they must express their opinion in writing on suitable and unsuitable applicants and on the ranking of the suitable applicants. To decide that an applicant meets the criteria of the competitive hiring process it is necessary that a simple majority of all members of the Commission vote in his favour. The chair of the Commission then informs of the results of the voting in minutes which are signed by the chair. The chair has a duty to disclose the minutes to other members of the Commission.

12. The Commission may conclude that some or all applicants are unsuitable for the vacancy. This conclusion and a justification thereof forms part of the minutes.

13. The chair of the Selection Commission submits the results of the meeting to the person launching the competitive hiring process without delay.

Article 5 Decision Taken by the Person Launching the Competitive Hiring Process

1. The person launching the competitive hiring process makes a decision on the basis of documents received from the Commission. In justified cases the person launching the competitive hiring process may hire another suitable applicant than the applicant evaluated by the Commission as the best applicant. The person launching the competitive hiring process must justify such a decision.

2. Without delay, usually no later than thirty days after the date on which the Commission informed the person launching the competitive hiring process of its findings under Article 4 (13), the person launching the competitive hiring process publishes under Article 2 (4), first sentence, in the publicly accessible section of the website, his decision on the completion of the competitive hiring process with the selection of an applicant or by stating that no applicant was selected. Within the same time limit, the person launching the competitive hiring process notifies individual applicants of whether or not they were successful in the competitive hiring process.

3. If an applicant requests it, within two weeks of the notification under paragraph 2, the person launching the competitive hiring process informs the applicant of the strengths and weaknesses of his participation in the competitive hiring process.

4. If there is no suitable applicant, the person launching the competitive hiring process may decide to hold a new competitive hiring process.

5. In justified cases the person launching the competitive hiring process may extend the deadline for submission of applications or interrupt or cancel the competitive hiring process. He must notify the Commission of his decision including the justification thereof, and publish it in the publicly accessible section of the website under Article 2 (4), first sentence.

Article 6 Transitional Provision

A competitive hiring processes commenced under the Competitive Hiring Process Code of Charles University of 14 December 2016, will be completed under the Competitive Hiring Process Code of Charles University of 14 December 2016 in the wording effective before the date of effect of this Competitive Hiring Process Code.

Article 7 Final Provisions

1. The Competitive Hiring Process Code of Charles University of 14 December 2016 is hereby repealed.

2. This Code was approved by the Academic Senate of the University on 21 June 2019.

3. This Code comes into force on the date of registration by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports.⁸

4. This Code becomes effective on 1 January 2020.