MSCA-funded fellows (either in Doctoral Networks, Postdoctoral Fellowships or COFUND) cannot be seconded within a Staff Exchanges project.
The only way fellows can participate in a Staff Exchanges project would be to suspend their fellowship while on secondment to avoid double funding.
If it is taken directly from the employees’ salary, then it should be deducted from the Living allowance. Moreover, all health insurance and social security contributions, including all benefits arising from the collective bargaining agreement, should be covered within the Living allowance.
The beneficiary could declare the actual working time on a pro rata basis for the respective month, excluding the strike day(s) from the final cost statement. This would ensure that there is no discrepancy between the salary paid and the EU contribution reimbursed to the beneficiary. The Project Officer should of course be informed.
A company can be opened, but the researcher will have to negotiate part-time work with the host organisation and the project officer to be able to devote time to the company.
Moreover, the MSCA PF contract (full-time-equivalent) will not be accepted as eligible by auditors if the researcher has an additional contract with their own company.
The start date of the project must not be later than 1 September of the year following the year of signature of the grant agreement. For example, for grant agreement signed in 2027, the latest start date is 1 September 2028. Further information is available on page 7 of the Information note for Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellows in postdoctoral fellowships - Publications Office of the EU.
The beneficiary should follow the internal labour rules as well as national / regional laws. The Project Officer will guide the beneficiary on how to proceed. However, the termination of the fellow’s contract will also put an end to the Grant Agreement, and the beneficiary will have to restore the remaining funding to the European Commission.
For MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships, the costs related to secondments, non-academic placements (NAP), and - where applicable - the outgoing phase of Global Fellowships (e.g. researcher travel costs, course or conference attendance expenses, etc.) must be covered by the Research, Training and Networking (RTN) contribution, provided that these activities are eligible, foreseen in the Grant Agreement, and carried out within the allowed duration.
Consequently, there is no flexibility to exclude or withhold reimbursement of such costs solely on the basis of their duration, as long as the activities comply with the maximum lengths set out in the Work Programme and are included in the Grant Agreement (Description of Action). The absence of a specific duration limit for Postdoctoral Fellowships in the MSCA Financial guide should therefore be understood as allowing coverage for the full eligible period, rather than implying that reimbursement is optional.
On p. 36 of the MSCA Financial guide, it is written that:
“The research, training and networking contribution covers costs related to the training and research expenses of researchers/staff members as well as costs related to the transfer of knowledge and networking activities (e.g. costs for participation in conferences, trips related to work on the action, training or language courses, seminars, lab material, books, library records, publication costs, visa-related fees, even if incurred before the recruitment date) as well as:
− MSCA-DN: additional costs arising from each secondment of six months or less, which requires mobility from the place of residence (e.g. travel and accommodation costs)
− MSCA-PF: additional costs arising from secondments, non-academic placements and outgoing phase in MSCA-PF GF.”
The NAP can take place in the same country as the beneficiary, but in the non-academic sector. A good planning and thorough discussion between the researcher and beneficiary prior to submission of the proposal would clarify these issues. The beneficiary can also extend the contract with their own funds after the end of the Postdoctoral Fellowship.
The timing of secondments is more flexible, as long as the activities in the Annex 1 – i.e. those already evaluated by independent experts – are fulfilled.
For visa or other administrative matters, the Global fellows can spend at the beginning of their outgoing phase up to 3 months at the beneficiary premises (this is considered as part of the secondment and counts towards the maximum period). If these 3 months are not enough to obtain the necessary visa or make proper arrangements, the beneficiary has to suspend the fellowship and pay the fellow from their own funds until the MSCA researcher is able to move to the host of the outgoing phase. Mobility to the outgoing phase is an eligibility matter, like the mandatory 12-month return phase.
In Postdoctoral Fellowships, a sick leave of less than 30 consecutive days does not trigger the long-term leave allowance, hence whether the host institution must bear the cost depends on what the employer normally does under national law.
It is possible, although not mandatory, to suspend the project for a period of less than 30 days, but that time period will not be covered by the long-term leave allowance.
As long as the long-term leave allowance and suspension are not triggered, the standard living allowance + mobility allowance (and other standard unit costs) remain eligible under the project.
MSCA PF uses unit costs, and the living and mobility allowances must indeed be used for the benefit of the researcher. However, this does not mean that the full unit-cost amount must be paid as salary in every circumstance and fully top up the sick leave allowance.
National employment legislation and employment contracts always apply. The MSCA rules do not override these legal entitlements, and the beneficiary must not bypass the sick-leave process.
The risks have been already indicated at the Grant Agreement Preparation phase and, therefore, are automatically displayed in this tab. No more risks can be added at this stage of the flow.
However, in the continuous reporting module, the coordinator should update the risk section (materialisation / mitigation). If a new risk has occurred, they would need to add an Unforeseen risk.
If an amendment took place, it is no longer considered as a deviation.
The budget for the non-academic placement is managed by the beneficiary, which has to provide a contract of employment to the fellow covering the whole duration of the project (standard duration + NAP). Beneficiaries are encouraged to sign partnership agreements to regulate their internal relationship with the Associated Partner for the NAP. The partnership agreement(s) must comply with the Grant Agreement. In the proposal forms, the duration of the NAP and the corresponding budget are on a separate line to differentiate between standard duration (spent by the researcher at the Beneficiary) and the duration of the NAP (spent at the NAP institution by the researcher under contract from the beneficiary).
No, it is provided to all MSCA Postdoctoral Fellows and Doctoral Networks fellows for each month worked. It covers only personal costs incurred by the fellows.
MSCA rules allow this. On p. 31 of the MSCA Financial Guide it is stated that:
“The mobility and family allowances are due to the researchers for each month worked.
Mobility and family allowances can be paid to the researcher in various ways, for example as:
− part of their salary
− flight tickets for private travels, directly purchased or reimbursed by the beneficiary (work-related travels must be paid under category B.1 ’Research, training and networking contribution’)
− rental costs, directly paid or reimbursed by the beneficiary.
Any form is acceptable, provided that:
− both sides agree
− it is allowed under national law and
− there is no underpayment.”
Yet, the Host Institution should ensure that this method of payment is autorised by national rules and by the internal rules of the organisation.
In case of joint custody, the fellow is still eligible for family allowance.
Fellows can check this document which states that teleworking is not allowed.
The requirement is that the fellow works at the premises of the Host Institution. In the Model Grant Agreement, page 96, first paragraph, it says that the Host has the obligation to “host the researchers at their premises (or at the premises of other participants in the action)”.
The purchase of a laptop is one of the most common expense items encountered in RTN.
On p. 36 of the MSCA Financial Guide it is written that the research, training and networking contribution covers costs related to the ... transfer of knowledge and networking activities (e.g. costs for participation in conferences, trips related to work on the action, training or language courses, seminars, lab material, books, library records, publication costs, visa-related fees, even if incurred before the recruitment date) as well as ... additional costs arising from secondments, non-academic placements and outgoing phase in Global Fellowships.
