Additional activities
Staff members of the University of Groningen (UG) regularly perform ancillary activities. The UG greatly encourages its staff to develop activities outside their position, for example to disseminate knowledge, provide services to society, or help others in the private or professional domain. On this page, you will find information about notifiable ancillary activities, about how the UG strives for transparency, and an overview of professors' ancillary activities.
According to the UG, ancillary activities are any employment duties and activities performed by a staff member outside their ‘position and/or assigned duties’ at the UG. This includes:
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an employment contract with a different employer
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a committee membership or advisory post at an external organization, and
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activities as a new or established entrepreneur or independent professional.
Transparency is key. That is why UG staff members have to ask permission to carry out ancillary activities. Their supervisor and the management/faculty board will then establish whether the ancillary activity conflicts or interferes with the work the staff member carries out at the UG.
The basic principle is that a UG staff member must register all ancillary activities. Only unpaid tasks or activities that are in no way related to your work at the University do not have to be reported, e.g. a position in a school board or treasurer of a music society or sports club. When in doubt, the staff member should always check with their supervisor.
In order to carry out ancillary activities, a staff member has to ask permission from the UG as their employer prior to the start of these activities. On My University, you can find out how to ask for permission and how ancillary activities should be registered.
Among the reasons to deny permission for the ancillary activities is the protection of trust in academic integrity, industrial secrets, the interests of the University, the health and safety of the staff member, and to prevent a violation of the Working Hours Act.
If the management/faculty board/Board of the University grants permission, the staff member may start performing the ancillary activities. If the ancillary activities have been approved, they will automatically be published on the staff member’s profile page (MePa) under the heading 'Ancillary activities'.
Additional agreements have been made with the Minister of Education about the transparency of the ancillary activities of professors. All universities publish a standardized list of professors' ancillary activities. The UG’s list is updated daily based on the registrations in Shared Services.
Ancillary interests involve a financial interest (equity interest) in a business. Reporting and registering these is done via the ancillary activities form in Shared Services. Having an equity interest in a business related to the UG or the UMCG is subject to conditions and first has to be approved by the Board of the University.
Are you a staff member? More information about the Regulations on Ancillary Interests
Depending on the category it belongs to, ancillary income will benefit the University, the staff member involved, or it will be shared between the two of them:
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Ancillary income that is evidently not related to the involved staff member’s position at the University.
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Ancillary income that, directly or indirectly, arises from the position at the University will, after consultation between the staff member involved and the University, wholly or partially benefit the University/department or the staff member involved.
Reimbursements and the maximum legal remuneration of volunteers do not qualify as ancillary income.
For more information, read the articles about ancillary activities on the website of Universities of the Netherlands (UNL)
You can read the rules for ancillary activities in the Sectoral regulations on ancillary activities. These national regulations apply to all universities. The frequently asked questions apply to the UG.
If you have any questions about ancillary activities, please contact HR Services via the contact form.
If you are a UG staff member and you would like to know more about what ancillary activities mean to you, please visit MyUniversity.
| Last modified: | 01 July 2024 2.09 p.m. |