The solution below applies to two groups of situations:

• Employee and long-term personal care provided to a child

• Student (especially if studies were not interrupted) and parental leave or long-term personal care provided to a child

How a career break can now be documented

For these cases, the following pair of documents can be used:

• A sworn statement by the applicant confirming that they personally cared for a child until the start of compulsory preschool education and that this care was the reason for the career break. The statement must include the child’s name, surname, and date of birth.

• A copy of the child’s birth certificate, ID card, or passport showing the date of birth.

This combination of documents is fully acceptable according to the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (MŠMT) and meets the requirements stated in the Specific Rules (Chapter 8.2.2 – unit “Contribution for childcare or care for a close person”).

What this means for you

Thanks to this clarification, it is now possible to document a career break even in cases where no other official documents exist.

It remains the case that proof of receiving parental allowance is not considered a relevant document by MŠMT. However, the period during which applicants cared for a child, but were no longer on maternity or parental leave, can legitimately be documented with a sworn statement and a copy of the child’s birth certificate.

Yes, it definitely makes sense. The call will be open until November 3, 2025, at 12:00 PM, and all applications submitted by this deadline will be evaluated.

No, the evaluation process will begin only after the application deadline, i.e., after November 3, 2025.

Yes, the grant competition will be single-round. However, if the allocation for return grants is not exhausted, the management of Charles University may decide to announce another round, although this is not expected.

The applicant may decline the return grant, which will allow the next application in line to be considered.

The principal investigator of the return grant is not authorized, during the implementation of the return grant, to receive other funding for identical activities financed from different sources. Specifically, he/she may not act as a principal investigator (e.g., in specific university research, GA ČR Return Grants, etc.) in another grant with the same focus, nor participate in mobility with the same objective funded from another source. It is not permitted to combine the costs of the return grant under this call with support provided within the GA ČR Return Grant project group, for which financial resources are provided by GA ČR.

The return grant application must be submitted only in English, and the entire grant administration throughout the implementation period will also be conducted in English.

The start and end dates of the grant competition are set to ensure that even three-year grants can be implemented after the evaluation process. A significant postponement of the grant competition schedule would severely limit the possibility of implementing three-year grants.

The Rector's Measure announcing the grant competition should be available by the end of September, but no later than October 1, 2025. We are currently finalizing the preparation of the Applicant Methodology (working title), which will include all conditions and rules contained in the Rector's Measure, as well as practical advice and recommendations, and further explanations of certain obligations. We aim to publish this methodology on the project website (https://opp.cuni.cz/OPP-145.html) by September 26, 2025, at the latest.

Eligible applicants for the grant competition are principal investigators of research projects, i.e., researchers returning to a research career after a career break, who meet the following criteria:

The applicant (i.e., the principal investigator) can be a PhD student.

A PhD student is a person enrolled in a doctoral study program (full-time or part-time) at Charles University.

This requirement relates to the date of submission of the return grant application in the IS Věda system. The applicant must provide documentation confirming that the career break ended no more than 12 months before the application submission date.

A career break is a period of at least 180 calendar days (no maximum duration is set), during which the applicant was unable to fully engage in R&D activities due to maternity or parental leave, long-term caregiving, or long-term illness.

• The average workload in R&D during the career break must not exceed 0.3 FTE.

• In any given month, the workload must not exceed 0.5 FTE.

Therefore, parental leave can be considered a career break if the above conditions are met. The career break ends when the applicant fully returns to their R&D activities.

Yes, you can. However, as of the date of application, the career break requirement must be met – a minimum of 180 calendar days. Furthermore another condition must be met that at the time of submitting the return grant application, the applicant is currently on a career break (this must be documented by confirmation from the relevant authority or similar, or a document from the faculty’s HR department), or no more than 12 months have passed since the end of the career break to the date of application submission.

The costs for the unit activity “Return Grant – Principal Investigator” primarily include personal costs for the principal investigator and flat-rate costs. The specific amount of flat-rate costs is not fixed; it is included in the rate set by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (MŠMT) per productive hour of the principal investigator. This rate is the same for all applicants, differing only based on whether the principal investigator is classified as a junior or senior researcher according to the call definition.

All applications submitted by the deadline will be evaluated in a two-round process. The first round will assess formal criteria and eligibility. Applications accepted in the first round will proceed to the second round, which will evaluate the substantive content. In this round, applications will be assessed by two reviewers selected based on their expertise to match or closely relate to the research focus of the return grant.

The flat-rate costs included in the unit cost for the principal investigator may cover, for example, expenses for materials, minor equipment, translations, conferences, etc. The amount ranges from CZK 75 to CZK 94 per hour, depending on whether the principal investigator is classified as junior or senior. For a full-time workload (1.0 FTE), this corresponds to approximately CZK 11,000–14,000 per month.

Example:

• Principal Investigator = Junior, rate: CZK 575 per productive hour

• 575 × 180 = CZK 103,500/month

• A flat rate (expenses for consumables related to research, etc.) will be CZK 13,500 per month.

• Then CZK 90,000 remains for personnel costs.

• That means: CZK 90,000 / 1.3522 (social security and health insurance contributions) = CZK 66,558 gross salary.

For help with calculations, we recommend contacting faculty coordinators.

Investments are not allowed within return grants.

Yes, you can still apply for the return grant.

It is permitted for a researcher on a career break to simultaneously perform R&D activities at Charles University under an employment contract with a maximum of 0.3 FTE per month, averaged over the number of months of such work. However, the workload in any given month must not exceed 0.5 FTE.

The month in which the researcher begins R&D work at Charles University during the career break is counted from the start date of the work. The month in which the researcher ends this work is counted until the end date.

Increasing your workload is not a requirement for submitting a return grant application. On the contrary, there is a maximum allowed workload in R&D during the career break, which is 0.30 FTE.

During the implementation of the return grant, the principal investigator must have a workload of 0.50 to 1.00 FTE for the grant.

No, it is assumed that the postponement of the implementation would be tied to the end of the career break, meaning that the grant implementation would begin immediately after the career break ends. In that case, the rule applies that the permitted workload in R&D at Charles University during the career break is on average a maximum of 0.3 FTE, and in no month may the workload exceed 0.5 FTE.

Members of the supporting expert team must be employees of Charles University. During the grant implementation, employment contracts or agreements (DPČ) for these team members must be documented.

If by “participants” you mean members of the supporting expert team, then yes — personal costs for this team are part of the return grant application. The supporting expert team must have their work on the grant specified in an employment contract, i.e., with an allocated workload. Costs for the supporting expert team are calculated and reported using so-called productive hours.

This means that extraordinary bonuses are not allowed.

No, this is not possible.

Other members of the supporting expert team may include professional, technical, or other relevant staff who contribute to the implementation of the return grant under the leadership of the principal investigator. These individuals are not returning from a career break.

Specifically, this may include:

• Ph.D. students (enrolled in full-time or part-time doctoral programs at a university),

• Technical staff (those who ensure the operation of infrastructure or perform specialized tasks related to the grant, but do not conduct research — administrative and research staff are not considered technical staff),

• Researchers (those who create or expand knowledge, typically by designing or conducting activities involving the development of new knowledge, processes, methods, and systems, and applying scientific concepts and theories. For this call, researchers must have at least a master’s degree and be employed by the institution, working in R&D).

No, these two types of costs are tracked separately in the return grant.

• The flat rate is calculated based on the productive hours of the principal investigator (ranging from CZK 75 to CZK 94/hour depending on junior/senior classification, i.e., approx. CZK 11,000–14,000/month for a 1.0 FTE).

• Costs for the supporting expert team are reported based on their allocated workloads.

However, it is possible to replace the team member with a new one or redistribute their workload among remaining team members. If a team member is not replaced, no costs are incurred for that person, and therefore such costs cannot be claimed.

The mentor is not funded from the grant and will be approved by the faculty as part of the implementation of the mentoring scheme at Charles University. According to the mentoring scheme, the mentor is not remunerated and therefore does not need to have a workload at Charles University.

The stated maximum workload of 0.2 FTE is informative, intended to help the principal investigator plan realistically, knowing that the mentor will not be fully available but will provide expert guidance and methodological support during the research and achievement of the grant’s goals.

There is no requirement that the mentor must be from a different department than the principal investigator. However, minimum qualification requirements are set for mentors:

• Must be a senior researcher (more than 7 years since obtaining a Ph.D. or equivalent),

• Must have adequate experience in the field of the return grant.

The mentor provides methodological and expert support, may assist with planning project steps, but is not the project leader and is not funded from the return grant.

Yes.

The mentor’s role is to provide methodological and expert support to the principal investigator. They are not the project leader and do not directly participate in the research or outputs of the return grant. Therefore, they should not be listed as a co-author on publications.

There are no restrictions on the mentor’s institutional affiliation. However, the mentor must meet the minimum qualification requirements:

• Senior researcher (more than 7 years since Ph.D. or equivalent),

• Adequate experience in the field of the return grant

It will be documented during the grant implementation, specifically in the activity reports. The documentation will include:

• A sworn statement by the principal investigator that they personally care for a child (before compulsory preschool education) or a close person in long-term poor health (as defined by §3(c) of the Social Services Act),

• The statement must include the name, surname, and date of birth of the child,

• A contractual document between the university and the principal investigator specifying the approval and amount of the care allowance, which will be paid regularly.

In case of an on-site audit, the following documents may be required:

For child care:

• Copy of birth certificate, ID card, or passport showing the child’s date of birth,

• Document confirming preschool enrollment or use of child care services (with date of birth).

For care of a close person:

• Document confirming provision of care services,

• Application for care allowance,

• Decision granting care allowance,

• Sworn statement submitted to the Czech Social Security Administration (ČSSZ) confirming shared household,

• Decision granting long-term nursing care,

• Doctor’s confirmation that personal care is still necessary after nursing care ends.

Yes, the care allowance for a child can be claimed for children under 5 years old who have not yet started compulsory preschool education.

The allowance is a motivational component of the return grant budget. It is intended to cover expenses incurred by the principal investigator due to:

• Personal care for a child (excluding maternity/parental leave) who has not yet started compulsory preschool education (i.e., under 5 years old by the end of August of the calendar year when compulsory education begins), or

• Long-term personal care for a close person in poor health (as defined by §22(1) of the Civil Code and §3(c) of Act No. 108/2006 Coll. on Social Services).

The allowance is granted after returning from a career break, when the principal investigator resumes R&D activities and can no longer provide care themselves.

The allowance is granted for each calendar month in which the conditions are met and the grant is being implemented.

No, this call is intended for research-focused return grants. The care allowance is only a supplementary activity and cannot be claimed independently.

No, that would be duplicate funding, which is not allowed.

If you mean mobility expenses themselves, then no — each activity is funded according to its own unit cost rules.

If you mean expenses for child or dependent care during mobility abroad, the rules for the care allowance do not explicitly specify this. The key is to meet the eligibility criteria for the allowance.

The care allowance is granted for each calendar month in which the conditions are met and the grant is being implemented.

Mobility is a motivational element supporting a faster restart after a career break. Its goal is to provide motivation, inspiration, and exchange of experience from international research environments.

Mobility must have a factual and logical connection to the research being conducted. The proposal will be evaluated as part of the return grant assessment.

The principal investigator will travel to a foreign institution based on a memorandum, invitation letter, or similar document between the Czech and foreign research institutions.

After completing the mobility, the principal investigator must submit a Mobility Report.

To be eligible for unit costs, the principal investigator must work at least 4 hours per day during the mobility.

Conference costs are included in the unit cost calculation for the “Return Grant – Principal Investigator” activity.

Mobility is only allowed for the principal investigator. For other team members, this activity is not an eligible expense under the return grant.