Engaging a PDF
University Policies
Best Practices
Postdoctoral Registration System
Engagement of International PDFs
Registration at the Postdoctoral Office
Teaching Appointments
University Policies
Faculty members who wish to engage a Postdoctoral Fellow are encouraged to review the Revised Engagement Details on the Provost's website and also to become familiar with the official policies for postdoctoral fellows established by Governing Council.
Best Practices
While the Vice-provost's office has established the ground rules for engaging a PDF, there are a number of best practices that faculty and staff should keep in mind when engaging or renewing a PDF.
1. As trainees, PDFs are not employees of U of T and so should not be engaged using the terminology of "part-time" or "full-time". PDFs are understood to be fully engaged in their research; if funding is not available for a year or the research project itself will not be of long duration, a shorter fellowship period should be considered.
2. PDFs should not be engaged prior to a successful defence although, in some instances, PDFs may be engaged prior to meeting all their degree requirements. Letters of engagement should stipulate that all requirements for the degree must be completed by a certain date (usually within six months of the start date of the fellowship); otherwise, the offer should be considered null and void.
3. Because of immigration issues, it may not be possible to engage international postdoctoral fellows prior to the completion of all degree requirements. In most cases, the Canadian embassy will issue a work permit only when the applicant can supply a statement from their home institution attesting to the fact that the individual has met all degree requirements. The point at which such a letter can be provided will vary greatly among institutions; at U of T, we will issue such a letter only after a defended and corrected thesis has been submitted to the electronic repository.
4. PDFs should be engaged with at least the minimum funding of $27,500. This funding may be obtained by the PDF as an award or fellowship, through the supervisor's operating grants, or through departmental funds (or any combination thereof). PDFs must NOT be self-funded (i.e. here on their own private funds). Care must be taken to ensure that PDFs who have obtained funding from an external agency, within or without Canada, meet the minimum funding requirement in Canadian dollars. Money obtained through a teaching appointment should NOT be considered as part of the minimum funding amount.
5. In the case of an international PDF whose engagement is renewed, OHIP will not be extended until the PDF can produce the new extended work permit. It takes at least four months from the application date to receive the new work permit, so renewal letters should be given to international PDFs as far in advance as possible. PDFs can continue their research in Canada on "implied status" if they applied 30 days prior to the end date of their original work permit, but they may not be able to re-enter the country on such a status if they leave Canada during this period (for example, for a conference or over the December holiday) or receive health care, as mentioned above.
Postdoctoral Registration System (PRS)
All on-campus PDFs, regardless of the source of their funding, and all off-campus PDFs paid through U of T payroll, must be registered in the Postdoctoral Registration System (PRS). The person responsible for postdoctoral matters at the unit level (eg. business officer or graduate administrator) may access the database through their UTOR ID and password; if you are unsuccessful in accessing the database, email the Postdoctoral Office (postdoctoral@sgs.utoronto.ca). Ideally, no more than two people in any department would have access to this database.
Engagement Letters
Engagement letters will be generated automatically once all relevant information is entered onto the Postdoctoral Registration System (PRS). Once all signatures have been obtained (supervisor, chair and postdoctoral fellow), the database should be re-entered and the engagement confirmed. This step will initiate an exchange of information overnight between the PRS and UTORAUTH; UTORIDs will be assigned through this process. Letters to obtain library access may be requested by PDFs the day following a confirmation in the PRS, up to one week ahead of the start date of the engagement.
The engagement letters should not be adjusted! Our legal counsel has reviewed them carefully to make sure they contain appropriate information and language. Please contact the Postdoctoral Office if you think a change is necessary.
Reports
The Report feature on the PRS should be run at least once a term. Please report any anomalies in your unit's profiles to the Postdoctoral Office. Anomalies include overlapping engagement dates, incorrect start and end dates, incorrect stipend amounts, and incorrect statuses (for example, the status shows completed when the PDF is still engaged, or the engagement has not been confirmed).
Minimum Stipend
The minimum stipend is $27,500 plus the health benefit of $504 (single coverage for one year). A copy of the engagement letter, countersigned by the postdoctoral fellow, should be forwarded to the dean of the faculty. These procedures apply for all PDFs who began their fellowship after January 1, 2008.
Engagement of International PDFs
International PDFs must provide proof to the Canadian embassy from their home institution that they have finished their doctoral requirments. PDFs who are unable to produce this proof may be unable to obtain a work permit.
More information for international PDFs is available under Being a Postdoctoral Fellow.
Registration at the Postdoctoral Office
PDFs must visit the Postdoctoral Office to enrol in UHIP (if international), enrol in the Green Shield benefit (if paid through U of T payroll), pay the $200 annual registration fee, and obtain a letter to access University of Toronto Libraries' system. Letters for library access should not be issued by units. PDFs should be advised to vist the office upon their arrival after they have been confirmed in the database.
Teaching Appointments
Departmental Chairs and faculty are requested to review the CUPE 3902 Collective Agreement prior to engaging a Postdoctoral Fellow. PDFs who undertake duties such as teaching responsibilities while engaged at the University will fall under the provisions of the collective agreement; union dues will be deducted on earnings for the teaching portion of the postdoctoral activities. If teaching responsibilities are a requirement of an external grant or award, the PDF would still fall under the CUPE 3902 collective agreement for the teaching portion of his/her engagement; in this instance, Labour Relations should be contacted regarding posting provisions. Please consult the CUPE 3902 Collective Agreement (PDF) and/or contact Labour Relations for further information.
Teaching appointments are separate from the postdoctoral engagement and the remuneration from such appointments is not calculated as part of the minimum stipend amount.