Dear All,

I have retired from teaching, so am not personally involved in this in any way.  This whole discussion has arisen out of a series of misunderstandings:

1.  This is not a post being advertised by Oxford University. This is  - presumably (I haven't asked him) - sabbatical cover for some of (and it is only 'some of') the duties of the German Fellow *in College* - in other words, half a job. Everyone in a permanent post at Oxford has two employers, so none of the tasks for the other employer (the University) such as examining or formal lecturing or Faculty administration are included. Nor would someone in a fulltime post expect to get away with only 8 hours a week. This is a light College load and the person appointed could take on some more hours for another college at the same time if they wished.

If you think of it as pay for half a job and that only helping with Admissions for one week outside of 3 x 8 weeks is required, then it would certainly enable a PhD student to write up their thesis, for instance, and is better than anything they will get from the AHRC.

2. Housing allowance is offered. Any prospective candidate should ask what this is. I don't know, as I am not a Fellow of Queen's, but it will certainly add a sizeable chunk to the salary and will not be taxable. Getting a hot meal twice a day is again not to be sneezed at. It means you meet other members of the College, rather than munching your overpriced sandwich in front of your computer. The other allowances will probably include at least a book allowance.

3. If you want to know what the allowances are before applying, why not ask?  You do all seem to be on email and maybe you even have access to a phone!