Full guide to Consultancy Policy May 2006 Page 1 - University of ...

2.4 Eligibility to consult – job categories
Staff in the Education, Research and Enterprise (ERE) job family:
Academic staff may engage in consultancy under the 30-day rule through any of the
four valid channels (Private, School-based, Unit-based and or Service company-based)
Research and teaching staff may also consult under the 30-day rule subject to the
following criteria, namely:
• the consent of the Head of School had been given;
• they are engaged through a University-based channel (i.e. School-based, Unitbased
or Service company-based) and
• the work does not remove core funding which otherwise would be received by
the School or its trading unit; and
• the work is marginal rather than core to the research programme of the
School; and
• any funding body financing the post of the person wishing to consult does not
object to their doing so.
Enterprise staff (including those employed in industrial or advisory units) may of course
engage in University-based consulting if they have been employed in consulting roles,
this is part of their normal duties. Normally they may only do so through the Unitbased
consulting channel of the unit to which they belong. Private consulting is not
permitted
Staff outside the ERE family
Staff at level 4 or above may, with advance permission use up to 15 days of their paid
annual leave for external private consultancy.
Also, for staff in this category, external paid work which individuals might engage in
outside of normal hours which has no relationship to or relevance for the University can
be conducted privately with consent in advance, which after application would be,
provided by the Secretary and Registrar.
Staff at level 3 or below can assist on a consulting assignment. They may do so
provided the work is through one of the University-based consulting channels (School,
Unit or Service company-based). Providing assistance on private-based consulting is
not permitted during their normal working hours at the university.
2.5 Consent from Head of School or Director Professional Services
All consulting activity through all channels must be reviewed and receive prior consent
from HoS/DoPS before commitments to clients can be made. The purpose of this
review is to ensure that:
• that the proposed work will not undermine other university priorities or
obligations (e.g. research, teaching commitments)
• the use of School facilities and resources (if any) have been declared and
approved, including financial requirements on the recovery of costs
• any risks (e.g. IP leakage, conflicts of interest, high risk activities or
business sectors, etc) are given due consideration
• the beneficiaries of the anticipated revenue has been declared and
approved
• the channel through which consulting is to be conducted is appropriate
The HoS/DoPS will be free to decide on the appropriate and practical way to manage
the review process.
For research and teaching staff in the Education, Research and Enterprise (ERE) job
family, further conditions must be satisfied as described in section 2.4 above.
The staff category benefit from
changes in forme r consultancy
rules which have now been
extended to research and
teaching staff.
If there is any conflict with a
research sponsor’s policy, then
the core funding of the
research grant or contract will
over-ride the ability to
undertake consultancy. This
may not just be exclusively of
employment, but also noncompetition
clauses.
Collaborative work with other
Units or Schools may be
permitted o r desirable under
the guidance and approval of
the Heads of School/Unit.
Compared to previous policy,
this is new.
Given that annual leave for
staff at Level 4 and above is 30
days leave plus 8 Bank
Holidays plus six customary
University closure days (a total
o f 42) and the working time
regulations require staff to
have four weeks paid holidays
(20 days) this can still be
accommodated with up to 15
days leave spent consulting.
A checklist summarising these
and other relevant points is
contained in the appendix and
may be of assistance to Heads
of School when conducting the
review.
Where appropriate the
HoS/DoPSC 1 may decide to
delegate this review and
consent provided controls are
diligently exercised. Further
suggested guidance on this is
offered in the appendix.
In Schools/Units where
consulting activities forms an
essential part of the financial
model , it is unlikely that Heads
of Schools will consent to
consulting through other
channels in order to safeguard
School o r Unit revenues.
Full guide to Consultancy Policy May 2006 Page 10