lly; The universities must set up assessment committees to assess the candidates’ academic qualifications within research, teaching, communication, etc., as well as job requirements stated in the job advertisement; The rector* can offer the job vacancy without advertising it if there is a particularly qualified candidate. *In Denmark, the universities use this title for the head of the university. It corresponds to the title as chancellor or vice-chancellor. Professional status Academic staff working in higher education is employed on collective agreement terms. Employment contracts can be either fixed-term or indefinite depending on the position. Previously, it was quite common that academic staff was employed as civil servants. However, the civil servant status is being phased out which means that today, only a very limited number of academic staffs are employed as civil servants. Salaries Academic staff is employed according to the collective agreement for academics between the Ministry of Finance and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations. Specific rules apply for academic staff employed on an hourly basis such as teaching assistants and part-time lecturers. The salary system consists of an annual basic salary and allowances based on qualifications, areas of responsibility, and results. Allowances are negotiated at central and local level. Employees are placed in the basic salary system according to their education and length of service. The basic salary system has seven** steps, where level one is the minimum amount and level eight is the maximum amount. Level DKK (per year) EUR (per year) 1 261,000 35,016 8 347,571 46,630 **Level three was removed in 2008 In addition to their salary, academic staff receive a fixed percentage of their salary for their pension. This is regulated by the collective agreement. The employer pays the pension contribution to a pension scheme which is managed by a pension company. Working time and holidays At business ac