View current

Secondary Employment and Internal Work Procedure

This is the current version of the approved document. You can provide feedback on this document to the Enquiries Contact - refer to the Status and Details tab from the menu bar above.

Section 1 - Purpose and Scope

(1) The University acknowledges that Staff may wish to undertake secondary employment for a variety of reasons, including augmenting their income or to enhance their personal or professional development. The University has an obligation to manage the risks associated with secondary employment, including the establishment of the necessary governance mechanisms to register and monitor secondary employment.

(2) Internal work includes the provision of work or service to or for an Organisational Unit other than the unit to which the staff member reports where no external client exists. The University has an obligation to appropriately manage the remuneration of its staff.

(3) This Procedure details UQ’s requirements for secondary employment and internal work, and should be read in conjunction with the Consultancy, Secondary Employment and Internal Work Policy and the Consultancy Procedure.

(4) All actual, perceived, and potential conflicts of interest must be disclosed and managed in accordance with the Conflict of Interest Policy, the Conflict of Interest for Members of Staff Procedure and the Disclosure of Interests Relating to Commercialisation Procedure (supporting procedures).

(5) This Procedure applies to all University Staff unless stated otherwise.

Top of Page

Section 2 - Process and Key Controls

(6) Academic staff on contracts of 12 months or longer and professional staff HEW 8 and above undertaking secondary employment (Private Practice) are required to complete an annual registration in the Secondary Employment Register.

(7) The secondary employment requirements do not apply to casual staff or affiliates.

(8) Internal work requires the relevant approval prior to the work commencing.

Top of Page

Section 3 - Key Requirements

Secondary Employment

(9) Secondary employment includes any work that is undertaken using a staff member’s specialised skills that does not use the University’s name or resources in any way. It includes the following types:

  1. Additional Academic Employment: engagement in academic positions, including the receipt of allowances or stipends, at academic institutions other than UQ. Excluded from this definition are paid engagements with external entities in the service of the discipline as defined under Academic Consultancy in the Consultancy Procedure.
  2. Private Practice: All external work related to the staff member’s professional identity, where the University is not a party to the arrangements, and University resources are not used. Work completed by a staff member acting in their professional ‘practicing’ capacity, such as a clinician, lawyer, journalist, engineer, architect, IT or business professional.
  3. Directorships: Directorships include all paid or unpaid company directorships, and all similar types of governance positions involving custodianship, duty of care and responsibility in relation to external legal entities.

(10) Registration of secondary employment must occur at least annually, or where circumstances change, using the online Secondary Employment Register.

(11) Private Outside Work, which does not utilise the specialised skills that UQ has employed a staff member for and is not associated with the University in any way, falls outside the definition of secondary employment, and is not required to be registered.

(12) Staff earn the proceeds of secondary employment in their private capacity. Staff will however not be eligible to earn the proceeds of work in their private capacity where the position with the entity was obtained as a result of the staff member’s position at UQ (e.g. positions on boards of UQ controlled entities, colleges, or other associated entities).

(13) UQ is not responsible for any of the administrative, financial or contractual arrangements relating to the secondary employment, including the provision of insurance.

Approval

(14) Staff may undertake secondary employment without approval, with the exception of the following activities which require approval from the Provost (for Academic staff) or the Chief Operating Officer (for Professional staff), on the recommendation from the relevant Level 3 Authorised Officer in accordance with the Human Resources Sub-delegations Schedules:

  1. Additional Academic Employment;
  2. Paid employment or Directorships of another entity that utilises UQ intellectual property that the staff member has contributed to; or
  3. Directorships of a publicly listed company.

Internal Work

(15) Wherever possible, internal work should be carried out within the staff member’s existing workload. If it cannot be accommodated within load, staff are eligible for consideration for recognition and reward under the University of Queensland Enterprise Agreement 2021-2026 (or as amended or replaced) and UQ policies, subject to the necessary HR Authorisations for approval and with consideration of total existing remuneration packages.

(16) Staff are not permitted to derive personal income from internal work through payments from the client UQ organisation unit nor may staff have funds from the client UQ organisational unit transferred to a consultancy account for internal work.

(17) If the work is substantial in nature, an internal fee for service arrangement, at cost, may be negotiated between operational units. For minor/incidental work, it is expected there would not be any internal charge.

(18) Internal work includes the following activities:

  1. Internal Clinical Practice: is clinical practice in University owned health care clinics conducted as part of the staff member’s allocated workload. (Generally the expectation would be that the University will support clinical practice within workload allocations if required in order to maintain clinical/ professional registration, if this is a requirement of the position). 
    1. This work is transacted through the University and uses the University’s name and resources. Internal Clinical Practice is available to staff who need to maintain clinical or professional credentials for their position at UQ.
    2. Clinical practice in non-University owned health care clinics is excluded from this work type, refer to Private Practice (clauses 9-14).
    3. Fees earned in undertaking Internal Clinical Practice are utilised to fund the clinic operations. No Personal Payments or transfers of funds to an individual’s consultancy account is permitted.
  2. Research Infrastructure Services are internal services provided by University-owned and operated equipment and infrastructure.
    1. This work is transacted through the University and uses the University’s name and resources.
    2. This work forms part of the operating staff member's duties of employment to the University.
    3. Fees earned in undertaking internal Research Infrastructure Services are utilised to fund the operating unit’s operations. No personal payments or transfers of funds to an individual’s consultancy account is permitted.
  3. Collaborative Research Services are internal services provided by a University staff member into another staff member’s research project.
    1. Unless specifically budgeted for and contractually approved, staff are not permitted to charge their services to a research project as a consultancy fee.
    2. Services provided into a research project are deemed to be research services. These costs are managed in accordance with the Contract Research and Grants Financial Management Procedure. Transfers of UQ research funds into individuals’ consultancy accounts are therefore not generally permitted.

(19) Internal work excludes collaborative service teaching, work which is part of the normal service expectation and work which is minor or incidental to the normal workload.

Approval

(20) Internal work requires the approval of the relevant Level 5 Authorised Officer (or above) in accordance with the Human Resources Sub-delegations Schedules prior to undertaking the work.

Transitional Arrangements

(21) Any current secondary employment requiring approval under this Procedure must be approved in accordance with this Procedure.

(22) Any current secondary employment that represents a conflict of interest will be required to be disclosed and managed appropriately in accordance with the Conflict of Interest Policy. This may include immediate cessation of the activity.

(23) Any current secondary employment activity not approved under the previous ‘Outside Work and Business Interests for University Staff Policy’, and that is not consistent with the key requirements of secondary employment under the Consultancy, Secondary Employment and Internal Work Policy, must be ceased immediately.

(24) Where a current secondary employment activity has been approved under the previous ‘Outside Work and Business Interests for University Staff Policy’, and is consistent with the key requirements of secondary employment under the Consultancy, Secondary Employment and Internal Work Policy, the activity may continue under the conditions that activity was approved for the approved period, or up until 31 December 2020 (but not beyond) if approval extended beyond this date. 

Top of Page

Section 4 - Roles, Responsibilities and Accountabilities

Provost

(25) The Provost is required to approve certain types of secondary employment for academic staff in accordance with this Procedure.

Chief Operating Officer

(26) The Chief Operating Officer is required to approve certain types of secondary employment for professional staff in accordance with this Procedure.

Level 3 Authorised Officer

(27) The Level 3 Authorised Officer in accordance with Human Resources Sub-delegations Schedules has responsibility within their relevant organisational unit to:

  1. Make recommendation to the Provost on the approval of certain types of secondary employment in accordance with this Procedure.
  2. Monitor the Secondary Employment Register to ensure compliance with this Procedure and the Conflict of Interest Policy.

Level 5 Authorised Officer

(28) The Level 5 Authorised Officer in accordance with Human Resources Sub-delegations Schedules has responsibility within their relevant organisational unit to:

  1. Manage and approve internal work in accordance with this the Consultancy, Secondary Employment and Internal Work Policy and this Procedure.
  2. Ongoing review of Secondary Employment Register entries for the relevant organisational unit and follow-up and resolution of any items that require further management in line with the Conflict of Interest Policy or any other UQ policy or procedures.

Human Resources Division

(29) Human Resources Division are responsible for the provision of periodic reporting to Heads of Organisational Units of the information disclosed in the Secondary Employment Register.

Staff

(30) Staff are required to:

  1. Declare and manage potential, perceived or existing conflicts of interest in accordance with the Conflict of Interest Policy.
  2. Ensure work relating to secondary employment duties does not adversely impact on primary work duties.
  3. Register at least annually, or where circumstances change, secondary employment activities in the Secondary Employment Register.
Top of Page

Section 5 - Monitoring, Review and Assurance

(31) This Procedure will be reviewed on a triennial basis by the joint procedure owners, Provost and Chief Human Resources Officer, to ensure its ongoing relevance and effectiveness.

Top of Page

Section 6 - Recording and Reporting

(32) The Integrity Unit will manage reporting processes for conflicts of interest that are identified as a result of staff undertaking secondary employment and internal work, in accordance with the Conflict of Interest Policy.

(33) Secondary employment registration and approvals occur within the Secondary Employment Register.

Top of Page

Section 7 - Appendix

Term Definition
Affiliates Academic title holders, visiting academics, affiliate title holders, Emeritus Professors, adjunct and honorary title holders, Industry Fellows, and conjoint appointments
Organisational Unit A UQ school, faculty, institute, centre or division, or part thereof.
Personal Payment Refer to Consultancy Procedure.
Staff Continuing, fixed-term and research (contingent funded) and casual staff members.