Policy on Outside Work (Academic Staff)

All members of staff may take:

• reasonable time off to carry out duties as a trade union officer
• up to 18 days off in a year to act as a magistrate or local councillor
• time off if adopted as a parliamentary candidate
• an additional day’s paid leave for volunteering activity

This policy applies to members of the academic staff of the University and forms part of their contract of employment. All members of the academic staff undertake a combination of teaching, research, enterprise and administration, as set out in their contract of employment, as required by, and to the satisfaction of, their head of department. Members of the academic staff are in addition encouraged to undertake other activities, related to teaching, research and enterprise (some of which will in any event normally amount to core academic activity). However they should not allow these other activities to interfere with the basic responsibilities of their posts. These activities may include the following:

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Normal expectation of the role

 1. . Presenting academic papers outside the University

 2.  Giving lectures and seminars outside the University

 3.  External examining

 4.  Editing academic journals or a book series

 5.  Reviewing books

 6.  Refereeing academic articles

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Additional academic activity

 7,  Acting as a QAA reviewer or a member of an RAE panel

 8.  Acting as a member of a research council

 9.  Acting on the board of a research charity

10.  Serving on a research committee of a government department

11.  Acting on QUANGOs or similar bodies

12.  Sitting on the governing body of another educational institution

13.  Serving a learned or professional association

14.  Acting as an expert witness in civil or criminal proceedings

15.  Writing popularising books within the relevant discipline

16.  Writing text books in the relevant discipline

17.  Providing information and interviews to the media on topics within the discipline

18.  Writing and presenting a television or radio series

19.  Writing regular articles for newspapers or magazines

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Further activity

20.  Holding executive directorships

21.  Holding non-executive directorships

22.  Working for a spin-out company (one based on the University’s intellectual property), in which the member of staff may hold shares

23.  Undertaking external consultancy

24.  Undertaking private clinical medical work

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There are three central principles limiting outside work: it must not impair the quality of the member of staff’s work, it must not bring the University into disrepute and it must not put the University at financial risk. If any such related activities are taking or are likely to take a substantial amount of time, such that they are likely to conflict with basic academic duties, or are likely to involve a conflict of interest with the University, the member of staff must notify them to the head of department and seek permission to undertake them. A head of department will ask permission from the dean, a dean or pro-vice-chancellor from the Vice-Chancellor, and the Vice-Chancellor from the Chairman of Council. In addition, members of staff must similarly notify and ask permission to undertake any activities in the five categories 20 to 24 inclusive, above.

Such permission must not be unreasonably withheld. Reasons for withholding permission might be¹ that:

• The activity or activities in question will impair performance of the member of staff's basic responsibilities, for example because of an unrealistic time commitment or because of absences from the University
• An unacceptable conflict of interest will result, for example, between the members of staff's responsibility to the University and his or her interests in a spin-out company; this policy should be read in conjunction with the Conflict of Interest Policy and it is the individual’s responsibility to consider whether or not there is a perceived or actual conflict of interest and to discuss the matter with his or her head of department
• There will be difficulties with research funders, for example as the result of exclusivity clauses
• The activity is likely to bring the University into disrepute

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Executive directorships are likely to pose particular problems, because of the time that will be involved and possible conflicts of interest.

Permission may be given subject to fulfilment of certain conditions. Such conditions might include one or more of the following:

• The member of staff should submit to the scrutiny of the University any contract between him or her and an outside person or body (subject to any relevant legal considerations)
• The member of staff should address issues of insurance, liability and disclaimers
• Action should be taken to deal with an existing or potential conflict of interest
• Advice should be sought from the Office of Research and Enterprise Development on ownership and exploitation of intellectual property
• The University, faculty or department should be fully recompensed for the use of the University’s staff or facilities
• The member of staff may not involve any of the University’s staff or students or use University facilities
• The University, faculty or department should share remuneration from the activity, perhaps through a discretionary account
• The member of staff should change to part-time employment

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If the member of staff is dissatisfied with refusal of permission, or with any conditions imposed on permission, he or she may appeal. Appeals will lie from a decision of a head of department to the dean, and from a dean to the Vice-Chancellor. Thereafter there will remain the right to bring an appeal to Council. At each stage, written reasons for upholding or refusing the appeal must be given.

Where work in categories 18 to 24 inclusive, as listed above, is not undertaken through the University, the member of staff should be careful that he or she does not inappropriately hold himself or herself out as the agent or representative of the University, nor as doing the work in the course of his or her employment with the University. In particular, without permission from the head of department, dean or Vice-Chancellor, for such work the member of staff should not normally use a University email account, the University’s headed notepaper or the University’s address.

Advice on spin-out companies and outside consultancy is available from the Office of Research and Enterprise Development, the Insurance Officer and the Finance Office.

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¹ Subject to reasonable consideration being given to the difficulty of altering any arrangements currently in place.