Scholarships & funding

ERC LawAtWork PhD Scholarship – The Rule of Law at Work: Breach of Workers’ Rights and Public Faith in the Rule of Law

Information on the School/Research Group 

The LawAtWork research group is led by Professor Ruth Dukes and funded by the European Research Council (ERC Advanced Grant No. 101198387). Ruth is Professor of Labour Law at the University of Glasgow. The LawAtWork research group is engaged in an ambitious programme of research on employment law enforcement and compliance across the European Union. The group uses state of the art interdisciplinary methods to understand why breach of employment law occurs and to test the hypothesis that widespread bre4ach may erode public faith in the rule of law. In addition to the PI, the group comrpises on senior researcher, Dr Eleanor Kirk, three postdoctoral researchers and two phd students. The group is embedded in the School of Law, where it enjoys close contacts with other labour law and LPR researchers. Group members also have the opportunity to join the cross-College interdisciplinary research network, GLEW (Glasgow Labour, Employment and Work).

Supervisory Team

Prinicipal Supervisor: Professor Ruth Dukes

Secondary Supervisor: Dr Eleanor Kirk

Project details

This project assesses the damage done to people’s faith in the rule of law when employment rights are frequently or routinely breached. It combines library-based study of the rule of law, private power and public perception, with empirical study of workers’ experiences and attitudes in three countries: Germany, Italy and the UK. A key point of focus lies with identifying dominant understandings of the meaning of the rule of law and how these have changed over time. While the precise methodology remains to be decided, the empirical part of the study will likely comprise both focus groups with workers in sectors where breach is known to be widespread (at least one sector each in Germany, Italy and the UK) and surveys of workers in a wider variety of sectors.

Applicants must meet the following eligibility criteria:

• Applicants will have a good Undergraduate or Masters degree (or overseas equivalent) in law, sociology, industrial relations or human resource management.
• Applicants will have a demonstratable interest in employment law, work relations and the principle of the rule of law

Please note that all applicants must also meet the entry requirements for the Law, PhD. 

Additional information

Fluency in either Italian or German, in addition to English, is desirable but not essential. The four-year term reflects the fact that the student will be expected to participate in the joint work of the LawAtWork research group.

Number of Scholarships

1

Value

The scholarship is available as a full-time +4 (4 year) PhD programme only. The programme will commence in October 2026. The full funding package includes:

• An annual maintenance grant (stipend) at the UKRI rate
• Fees at the standard home or international tuition fee rate
• Students can also draw on a Research Training Support Grant, usually up to a maximum of £940 per year 

How to apply

Applicants must apply via the Scholarships Application Portal (please see Scholarships Application Portal - Applicant Guide for more information).The funding opportunity is under 'College of Social Sciences Postgraduate Research Funding > COSS-26-004') uploading the following documentation:

• ERC LawAtWork PhD Scholarship (Rule of Law at Work) application form (in Word format)
• Academic transcripts (All relevant Undergraduate and Master’s level degree transcripts (and translations, if not originally in English) – provisional transcripts are sufficient if you are yet to complete your degree).
• Contact details for two referees (where possible your referees should include an academic familiar with your work (within the last 5 years). Both referees can be academics but you may include a work referee, especially if you have been out of academia for more than 5 years). Please note, a CoSS PGR Funding Reference template will be sent to your referees for completion)*. Note that no member of this project's supervisory team can act as your referee. Please see CoSS PGR Funding Reference request guide for further guidance
• Curriculum Vitae (CV) (academic where applicable)

*Please note that when you enter your referees contact details on the Scholarships Application Portal and send the reference request, your referees are expected to provide their references by the closing date of the Scholarship (below). It is strongly recommended you complete this as soon as possible, as late or incomplete applications will not be considered.

Application Closing Date: 16 March 2026

References due no later than 23 March 2026

Selection process

Applications will be assessed by the project team. Shortlisted applicants may be requested to attend an Interview.

All scholarship awards are subject to candidates successfully securing admission to a PhD programme in the School of Law. Successful applicants will be invited to apply for admission to the relevant PhD programme after they are selected for funding.

For more information contact: Ruth.Dukes@glasgow.ac.uk