PhD Candidate in 'Fostering living wages in the EU'

19 Dec 2025
Job Information

Organisation/Company

Tilburg University

Research Field

Juridical sciences » European law
Juridical sciences » Labour law

Researcher Profile

First Stage Researcher (R1)

Country

Netherlands

Application Deadline

26 Jan 2026 - 22:59 (UTC)

Type of Contract

Temporary

Job Status

Not Applicable

Hours Per Week

40.0

Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?

Not funded by a EU programme

Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?

No

Offer Description

Join Tilburg Law School as a PhD researcher at a pivotal moment in EU labour law. With the Adequate Minimum Wages Directive now upheld by the CJEU, this project invites you to investigate the legal tools needed to ensure fair pay, strengthen collective bargaining, and protect vulnerable workers. If you are driven to advance social justice through rigorous legal research, we invite you to apply!

The PhD project

1. Background

In the mid-2010s, after the financial crisis, the EU recognised the need for rethinking protection of low wage workers by ensuring their incomes are sufficient to provide a minimum standard of living. The EU Directive 2022/2014 on Adequate Minimum Wages (AMW) was received as a “watershed” by the European Parliament, marking a reversal in the decades-long debate on the possibilities and limitations of a European minimum wage policy. The AMW Directive seeks to tackle in-work poverty with an increase and upward convergence in minimum wage levels among EU member states. It stipulates several measures, including establishing a framework to ensure an adequate minimum wage, to strengthen the role of collective bargaining in wage setting, and to improve workers’ access to the enforcement of their minimum wage rights. Member states had until 15 November 2024 to transpose the AMW Directive into national law. Recently, on 11 November 2025, the CJEU brought an end to a period of uncertainty about the legality of the AMW Directive by confirming the validity of the directive (with only minor exceptions) in its judgment in Case C-19/23. This important judgment will not only provide new energy to the implementation process of the directive in the member states, but also signals that much needed in-depth research can start into unsolved complexities and ambiguities in this directive and how member states deal with this in their implementation measures.

2. Research project aims

The research project seeks to bridge current gaps in academic work through a thorough study in the field of EU regulation to foster living wages, in view of recent legal developments.

The PhD candidate is able to further develop an own direction and research question within the context of this research aim. Relevant research subjects would entail, for instance:

• An investigation of whether legal tools can ensure that wages are truly “adequate” for all workers: While the directive aims to cover all workers, questions remain regarding specific groups such as (bogus) self-employed workers and whether variations or exclusions (e.g., for young workers) are permissible under the directive’s principles. Also, as the AMW directive provides benchmarks based on full-time employment relationships, the question of how to guarantee a decent standard of living for part-time workers remains. Are member states expected to combine adequate minimum wage levels with income protection schemes such as the socio-fiscal allowances scheme (toeslagenstelsel) in the Netherlands? In this respect, research from a combined social and tax law perspective can offer added value.
• A study of the tools developed by member states to comply with the requirements of the AMW directive to provide state support for collective bargaining on wage formation. This would require comparative legal research of different collective bargaining systems and traditions in a selection of member states.
• An investigation of how the (implementation measures of the) AMW directive addresses the gender dimension of in-work poverty, given the over-representation of women in low-paid jobs and the directive’s ambition to contribute to the fight against gender inequality and the gender pay gap. In this respect, it would be interesting to examine how the AMW directive interacts with another recent EU legislative initiative in the field of wages, namely Directive 2023/970 on gender pay transparency.
• The PhD position is an 80/20 position, which means that 80 percent of your time will be dedicated to research and 20 percent to teaching.

3. Research Program: Connecting Responsible Organizations

This PhD project aligns with the Research Program’s goal of contributing to sustainable society challenges. The Research Program emphasizes (private) regulatory challenges for a just and sustainable society, including the protection of vulnerable people and stakeholders. This PhD project lies squarely within this Research Program, particularly the theme of sustainability and more particularly the sub-topics ‘The weaker party and the law’ (Su1), ‘Responsibility and liability for environmental and (social) human rights impacts’ (Su2) and ‘Protecting workers and other stakeholders in modern organizations’ (Te2).

Where to apply

Website

https://www.academictransfer.com/en/jobs/357217/phd-candidate-in-fostering-livi…

Requirements
Specific Requirements

Tilburg University is curious about how you can contribute to our research, education, impact, and to the team you will be part of. Therefore, we would like to get the best possible picture of your knowledge, insight, skills, and personality. Below you can find the qualifications we consider important for the position.

As a successful candidate:

• You have an LLM degree (or equivalent qualification) in the field of labour law or related area,  including knowledge of European Union law and, preferably, comparative law. As a current master student, you are welcome to apply as long as you will complete your master program before 1 September 2026.
• You have a demonstrable interest in labour law and in the research topic outlined in this advertisement.
• You have strong analytical skills, you are a disciplined worker and have good skills to plan the PhD research over a longer period.
• Apart from an interest in research, you are willing to provide education in the field of labour law. You are able to present your research (results) for educational purposes and you are willing to develop these presenting and lecturing skills during the PhD trajectory.
• You have an interest in teaching and supervising students at bachelor and/or master level (e.g., tutorial groups, thesis supervision);
• You have good organizational and social skills; you can take initiative and you have a proactive work attitude.
• You have a high proficiency (CEFR C2 level) in English, allowing for effective communication and documentation
• You have an excellent written and spoken command of Dutch or you are willing to learn Dutch in order to function in a Dutch speaking working environment. Knowledge of other languages is recommended.
• You acknowledge the importance of scientific integrity;
• You have team spirit: you feel part of a team and express this through collaboration, sharing knowledge and experiences, and contributing to an open, inclusive and diversified work environment at PBLL;
• You show personal leadership: you take responsibility for your work and career and possess a good level of self-knowledge;
• You are willing to perform your work in the Netherlands and are present at the Tilburg University campus during your PhD-trajectory.

International PhD candidates with scholarships below the applicable IND income standard (currently €2,191.80 per month excluding vacation pay) are unfortunately not eligible for this vacancy.

Additional Information
Benefits

Tilburg University offers excellent benefits in a pleasant working environment:

• A position based on 1.0 fte (40 hours per week).
• A salary of minimum €3,059 and maximum €3,881 gross per month for full-time employment, based on UFO profile PhD student and salary scale P. Tilburg University uses a neutral remuneration system based on relevant work experience.
• This is a vacancy for a PhD in accordance with Article 2.3 paragraph 8 sub b CLA DU. You will initially be given a temporary contract for the duration of 18 months to assess your suitability. If suitable, this contract will be followed by a new fixed-term contract.
• Vacation pay of 8% and a year-end bonus of 8.3%.
• Over 8 weeks of vacation leave.
• Hybrid working with home working allowance (€2 p/day) and internet allowance (€25 p/month).
• Reimbursement sustainable commuting: walking, cycling, and public transport.
• An Options Model in which you exchange benefits for things such as additional leave, more pension, a bicycle or personal training at our Sports Center.
• Moving allowance (subject to conditions). 
• Employees from outside the Netherlands may be eligible for the 30/20/10% scheme.
• A pension with ABP; the most sustainable Dutch pension fund.
• Training in personal development, career development, leadership, education, and research or a language course at our Language Center.
• A work culture in which we embrace differences, everyone is welcome and given equal opportunities.
• A green, inviting campus that’s easily accessible by public transport.

For more information, see our website  and the CLA Dutch Universities .

Selection process

The letter selection will take place by March 6th. You will be notified as soon as possible thereafter. The selection interviews will take place on March 17 (afternoon). During the interview, you are asked to give a 5-minute presentation about your research proposal. Candidates traveling from the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany are invited for an on-campus interview; traveling costs can be reimbursed when traveling by public transportation. For candidates living outside these countries, the interviews will take place online, using TEAMS.

The selection committee consists of:

Prof. dr. Mijke Houwerzijl, proposed supervisor

Dr. Ane Aranguiz , proposed supervisor

Prof. dr. Anne Lafarre, Research Program leader

Dr. Inge Graef, Vice-Dean of Research

You will ideally start working for Tilburg University on September 1, 2026.

This vacancy has been published simultaneously internally and externally. In case of equal suitability, our preference is for an internal candidate.

Additional comments

Would you like to know more before applying? Feel free to contact Mijke Houwerzijl, M.S.Houwerzijl@tilburguniversity.edu .

We kindly invite you to apply before 27 February 2026; this can only be done online.

Please address your cover letter to Inge Graef and attach your resume, your masters’ diploma, your master’s thesis and the filled in TIRO application form (which can be found here ). We look forward to your response.

Website for additional job details

https://www.academictransfer.com/357217/

Work Location(s)

Number of offers available

1

Company/Institute

Tilburg University

Country

Netherlands

City

Tilburg

Postal Code

5037 AB

Street

Warandelaan 2

Geofield

Contact

City

Tilburg

Website

http://www.uvt.nl/

Street

Warandelaan 2

Postal Code

5037 AB

STATUS: EXPIRED

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