PhD Studentship: Classifying and Understanding Remedies in Comparative Labour Law

Supervisory Team: Professor Aristea Koukiadaki and Dr Elaine Dewhurst

Funding: This is an EPSRC funded project. Studentship funding is 3.5 years to commence in October 2024 and covers tuition fees and an annual stipend (£19,237 per annum for 24/25 entry).  

About the Project

Classifying and Understanding Remedies in Comparative Labour Law (CURE) is a 5-year comparative project, originally funded by the ERC and guaranteed by UKRI, based at the Department of Law, University of Manchester and led by Professor Aristea Koukiadaki. The project sets a new intellectual agenda and direction in comparative labour law by examining the concept and function of remedial rules and institutions. The 5-year project adopts a multi-dimensional, comparative and multi-method research design to evaluate how the juridical concept of remedies has evolved across different dimensions of the employment relationship in a set of different national systems (i.e. France, Greece, Poland, Sweden and the UK). Data collection and analysis will include legal doctrinal and empirical (i.e. legal computational and qualitative) methods.

A PhD studentship is provided to work on the case of the UK, supervised by Professor Aristea Koukiadaki and Dr Elaine Dewhurst. The primary focus of the PhD studentship will be to work on key aspects of the UK case study, including identifying, collecting and analysing relevant legal and empirical data on the concept and function of remedial rules and institutions in British labour law. The PhD student will work with the project team, consisting of five postdoctoral scholars (four in Law and one in Computer Science/Data Analytics) and another PhD student (in Computer Science/Data Analytics). The PhD student will be expected to develop and complete a doctoral thesis on remedial rules and institutions in British labour law. He/she will be based in The University of Manchester Law School (part of the wider School of Social Sciences), which is internationally recognised for contributing high quality research across diverse legal fields and providing excellent undergraduate and postgraduate teaching. 

Eligibility criteria

Academic entry qualification

Bachelor's (Honours) degree in a cognate subject at 2:1 or above (or international equivalent); and Master's degree in a cognate subject, with an overall average of 65% or above, a minimum mark of 65% in your dissertation and no mark below 55% (or international equivalent).

English language

International applicants must provide one of the following:

• IELTS test minimum score - 7.0 overall, 7.0 in writing, 6.5 in other sections.
• TOEFL (internet-based) test minimum score - 100 overall, 25 in all sections.
• Pearson Test of English (PTE) UKVI/SELT or PTE Academic minimum score - 76 overall, 76 in writing, 70 in other sections.
• To demonstrate you have taken an undergraduate or postgraduate degree in a majority English speaking nation within the last 5 years.
• Other tests may be considered.

Desirable requirements:

• Postgraduate dissertation on labour law or cognate area (e.g. private law, human rights) topic.
• Experience in using socio-legal or empirical legal methodological approaches.

Application procedure

The application deadline will be Midnight (BST) on 26/07/24. All supporting documents must be received by the deadline and sent as a zip file to HUMS.doctoralacademy.admissions@manchester.ac.uk, using ‘CURE Aristea Koukiadaki’ as the email subject.

 The application must include:

• An up to date academic CV, detailing your education and qualifications; employment history; publications; and any other relevant information.
• A copy of your Bachelor’s and Master’s academic transcript and degree certificate. If your Master’s degree is pending, please provide an interim transcript.
• Supporting statement of a maximum of 500 words indicating why you would like to undertake this studentship and explaining how your focus, experience, and skills link to the research outlined above.
• Example of a piece of academic writing produced by you of up to 5,000 words (you may consider submitting two shorter pieces if these deal separately with conceptual and empirical analyses). This may be an academic essay or chapter(s) from a dissertation, in which case, an abstract or introduction outlining the context/aims/research questions of the study must also be included.
• Two academic references from individuals who can assess your suitability for PhD study and specifically relate their comments to the advertised project.

If you have any questions about the project or would like to discuss this further, please contact Dr Aristea Koukiadaki (aristea.koukiadaki@manchester.ac.uk)

Formal interviews: Interviews are expected to take place week commencing 5 August 2024.

Equality, diversity and inclusion is fundamental to the success of The University of Manchester and is at the heart of all of our activities. 

We know that diversity strengthens our research community, leading to enhanced research creativity, productivity and quality, and societal and economic impact. 

We actively encourage applicants from diverse career paths and backgrounds and from all sections of the community, regardless of age, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation and transgender status. 

All appointments are made on merit. 

The University of Manchester and our external partners are fully committed to equality, diversity and inclusion.