Ancillary activities (nevenwerkzaamheden)

The definition of ancillary activities used by the University of Twente is all paid and unpaid work that you perform that is not part of your job at the University. Examples include an employment contract with another employer, supervisory board membership or an advisory role for an external organization, activities for start-ups or as an entrepreneur or other type of independent professional.

Non-business ancillary activities that in no way affect the University of Twente’s interests, do not need to be reported. Examples include a board position at your child’s school or sports club.

Management positions and advisory positions that are directly linked to your University of Twente position are not considered ancillary activities. This also applies to activities in the context of contract research or contract education in which the University of Twente is a partner, and that are subject to your employment with the UT. These activities are part of your job at the University of Twente. Activities such as participation in a scientific committee or consultative body, editorial work and reviewing articles are generally not considered ancillary activities. Neither are lectures and other ad hoc work you do in the context of your employment with the UT for third parties. It is sufficient to make working agreements with your supervisor in writing regarding these activities.

If you would like to start or continue to perform ancillary activities, you should always ask permission. The scope of your employment with the University of Twente and the scope of your ancillary activities are irrelevant. You must also always report changes in ancillary activities.

You can request permission by registering your ancillary activities via MyHR AFAS – My HR – Personal Details – Ancillary Activities. If you have any doubts about whether an activity could be considered an ancillary activity, then you are advised to report it.

If you intend to set up a spin-off company and/or you want to participate in an existing spin-off company, then you must always report this through MyHR AFAS – My HR – Personal Details – Ancillary Activities. In order to assess how the spin-off activities relate to your position at the University of Twente, clear agreements need to be made for spin-off activities. These agreements vary depending on the spin-off company’s development stage. This is why you should always review 'The explanatory notes' before reporting your activities for a spin-off company.

You will likely receive permission to conduct ancillary activities that do not have an adverse effect on your performance in your position at the University of Twente and that are not detrimental to the university’s interests. This permission can be requested for a maximum of four years. If you would like to continue these ancillary activities after this time, then you will need to request permission again. You can only request permanent permission for ancillary activities if your main employment is elsewhere.

Society demands transparency and integrity from organizations in the public domain. The University of Twente aims to meet these demands. It has been agreed with the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science and the UNL (Association of Universities of the Netherlands) that the UT will provide external parties with insight into ancillary activities for which permission has been granted. This concerns information about the nature of the ancillary activities and the institution for which this work is being performed. All professors should also include their ancillary activities on their profile page. Ancillary activities for which permission has been granted are automatically shown on the people pages of the University of Twente.

Review and discussion of ancillary activities

Because of the great importance of integrity and transparency, we ask you to annually check the current situation of your ancillary activities registrations and to adjust them where necessary. If you have not registered any ancillary activities, this will automatically be regarded as a declaration that you do not engage in any ancillary activities.

annual review

In your annual review, you will also discuss with your manager whether the agreements you have made regarding your ancillary activities are still up to date and sufficient, or whether they require adjustment.

You can read the rules for ancillary activities in the Sectoral scheme covering ancillary activities. These regulations apply to all Dutch universities.

Yes, all activities that are not part of a job at the university are considered work carried out for third parties. However, not all work carried out for third parties needs to be reported. 

Work carried out for third parties that does not need to be reported is work that clearly has no relation to the employee's work for the university and that is obviously not detrimental to the interests of the university and; 

• that does not threaten the effective and full performance of the employee's university duties and 
• that is performed outside working hours, and 
• for which no payment of any kind is received.   

Such work may include a membership to an amateur sport club board or school board. If you are unsure whether certain work carried out for third parties should be reported, please contact your superior.  

The tasks and activities that you are expected to perform as an employee are based on the duties assigned to you by the employer. Your classification in the job profile of the University Job Classification System (UFO) is derived from this. Please see your supervisor or the HR-adviser of you faculty or department if you have any questions about your duties or your UFO job profile. The scheme also applies to specific people who are not employed with the University: e.g. a professor occupying an endowed chair The duties of these persons include agreements made with them regarding specific tasks to be performed.   

Is participation in an academic committee or consultative body considered to be work carried out for third parties? 

 Not automatically, as these are tasks that fall under your university duties. There can sometimes be ‘grey areas’, however, so in case of doubt it would be advisable to request permission anyway so that the Dean (for academic staff) or Director (for support and administrative staff), possibly supported by HR, can help identify any potential risks with respect to conflicts of interest or academic integrity. If participation is assigned to you, this shall be considered part of your job in any way and not work carried out for third parties. In any event, ensure that activities such as participation in committees or consultative bodies are mentioned on your publicly accessible web page.  

Is editing work (including as editor-in-chief) and reviewing articles considered to be an ancillary activity?  

Not automatically, as these are tasks that fall under your university duties. There can sometimes be ‘grey areas’, however, so in case of doubt it would be advisable to request permission anyway so that the Dean (for academic staff) or Director (for support and administrative staff) supported by HR, can help identify any potential risks with respect to conflicts of interest or academic integrity. If this work is assigned to you, this shall be considered part of your job in any way and not work carried out for third parties. In any event, ensure that activities such as editing work are mentioned on your publicly accessible web page.  

Work you perform elsewhere is considered work carried out for third parties. This means that you will require permission for this work and (if you are a professor) it must be mentioned on your publicly accessible web page. This may seem counter-intuitive since an appointment elsewhere will be your main activity. Permission and disclosure are essential for safeguarding the academic integrity of the university. For these activities, you must comply with the provisions in the scheme and request permission, if applicable, and these ancillary activities must be disclosed. If you are a professor, the kind of you ancillary activities and the organization you work for will be showed automatically on people pages.

No. In order to avoid unnecessarily burdening parties engaged for such a short period, work carried out for third parties does not need to be reported in principle (unless the university has specified otherwise) except where the activities involved: 

• pose a risk to the academic, organisational and/or business interests of the university or;
• form an obstacle to the effective and the complete performance of the employee in question's duties at the university or; 
• are detrimental to the reputation of the institution or; 
• can result in a conflict of interests with the university.   

You yourself are responsible for making this decision. If in doubt, you are advised to contact your supervisor or university contact person.   

No earnings do not automatically mean no obligation to report the work carried out for third parties. There are considerations besides money that may adversely affect the academic or other interests of the university or the proper performance of your job (e.g. excessive demands on your time).   

For example, the incorporation of a legal person or being engaged as an administrator, supervisor or shareholder of another organization may also warrant reporting to the university as such an engagement may involve a deferred remuneration or a possible conflict of interests.   

You request permission and report work carried out for third parties by using MyHR AFAS – My HR – Personal Details – Ancillary Activities.

The procedure is as follows: You discuss with your supervisor the work for third parties that you are going to perform or the changes to (aspects of) the work for third parties that you are already performing. You must have this discussion before you commence the work or the changes occur. You then report your work carried out for third parties via MyHR AFAS – My HR – Personal Details – Ancillary Activities. Your supervisor advises on your report. The competent authority will either grant or refuse permission for the work carried out for third parties that you have reported or the competent authority will grant conditional permission. This decision will be stored in your personnel file. In the situation where you disagree about this decision you must discuss this with your manager. If the dispute continues, you can start a formal disputes procedure.

During the last stage of the selection procedure (when parties also endeavor to reach agreement on the employment conditions), managers are expected to investigate whether the candidate performs any potentially problematic work for third parties. Making the new staff member aware that the ancillary activities have to be reported via MyHR AFAS – My HR – Personal Details – Ancillary Activities at the start of their employment is part of the intake or the employment conditions interview.

In the interest of safeguarding the university's academic integrity, it is essential that you be as transparent as possible when reporting any work carried out for third parties. For this reason, it is essential that you seek permission for all work carried out for third parties, including minor jobs. Try to report such work as far in advance as possible and always keep your publicly accessible web page up to date.  If it is not possible to seek permission in advance owing to special circumstances beyond your control, it is essential that you report the work as soon as you can. If your request is rejected, you must cease the work for third parties. 

The university will always grant permission for the performance of elected positions in public administration, such as on the municipal council for example. Taking up such positions is your democratic right. Nevertheless, these positions must be reported.   

Yes, if you receive remuneration for your work for third parties, this work must be reported to the university. (Article 14 of the scheme.) Additional earnings are also understood to mean deferred earnings (Article 3), such as shares and other financial interests. The primary objective of the duty to report is to identify possible conflicts of interest; it is not the case that reported additional earnings automatically benefit the university.   Earnings, including additional earnings, can be divided into three categories. Depending on the category, earnings may accrue to the employer, to you or be divided:

• Earnings that are not related to your position at the university accrue to you.
• Earnings that are directly related to your position at the university, and for which work is performed during working hours, accrue to the university.
• Earnings that indirectly arise from your position at the university may be fully or partially added to the budget of the department or accrue to the employee in question following consultation with the employee in question, at the employer's discretion. This shall be specified further in the conditions for granting permission to perform work for third parties.  Agreements about which earnings and how much earnings will be added to the budget of the department or accrue to you and in what way this happens will be made in writing and included in your personnel file.