Guide to the Regulations for sideline jobs and financial interests at UiO

General principles for assessments

Introduction

UiO is generally positive towards sideline jobs. Sideline jobs can contribute to the professional development of UiO employees, give employees practical experience and insight into the value to their innovative capabilities, and their ability to make university research and teaching relevant to the needs of society. Certain sideline jobs also represent professional recognition, or provide a unique opportunity to give or receive impulses, which will strengthen UiO¡¯s authority and the ability to assert itself in international competition. Moreover, some sideline jobs could contribute to profiling and legitimising the university's activities.

Employee's right to hold sideline jobs and financial interests is not regulated solely by UiO's regulations. As a state enterprise, UiO's employees are, inter alia, subject to the Civil Servants Act (lovdata.no) (Norwegian), Basic Collective Agreements for the civil service (regjeringen.no) (Norwegian) and Ethical Guidelines for the Public Service (regjeringen.no) (Norwegian). In addition, there are various other regulations that may impose constraints on the employee's right to undertake such activities. For example, UiO has its own ethical guidelines for the procurement of goods and services, and there are also ethical research guidelines for science and technology.?

The purpose of this guide is to supplement the regulations on sideline jobs and financial interests where necessary, and to describe how the regulations are to be interpreted and applied at UiO.?

Section 4 of the regulations:?Who is subject to the regulations??

Section 4 of the regulations establishes that the regulations as such apply to all employees at UiO. This means, for example, that the prohibitions set out in Subsections 5.1 and 5.3 of the regulations, as well as the requirements for prior approval for certain types of sideline jobs and financial interests in Subsection 5.2, apply to all employees.?

According to the guidelines of the Ministry of Digitalisation and Public Governance for the registration of civil servant's sideline jobs and financial interests (regjeringen.no) (Norwegian), the obligation to register sideline jobs and financial interests may only be imposed on employees in certain positions, based on an assessment of UiO's areas of responsibility and tasks, as well as the function and role of the employee's position. At UiO, the registration obligation therefore applies only to the employee groups referred to in Section 4 of the regulations. For administrative staff, the registration obligation only applies if the employee has budgetary authority.?

Section 5 of the regulations:?Principles for sideline jobs and financial interests

As a general rule, employees are, in their free time, entitled to hold sideline jobs and financial interests. Fore more details on what sideline jobs are accepted, reference is made to the Recommendation from the Working Group of the Regulation of External Work (pdf) (Norwegian).?

The right is, however, not unlimited.?

Section 5 of the regulations contains a reference to certain types of sideline jobs that UiO employees are not permitted to hold, in accordance with the rules set out in Section 9.7.1 of the State Personnel Handbook (SPH) (regjeringen.no) (Norwegian). In addition, there's an equivalent prohibition on employees holding financial interests that would place them in any of the positions described in SPH Section 9.7.1 (regjeringen.no) (Norwegian) and Subsection 5.1 of the regulations. In other words, employees are also not permitted to hold financial interests that would result in disqualification more than just sporadically, entails that the employee may easily face a conflict of loyalty with UiO, harms UiO's reputation, etc. The prohibitions on sideline jobs and financial interests are absolute.?

If an employee is uncertain whether a planned sideline job or financial interest falls under the prohibitions, an application must be submitted to UiO, and the activity may not be undertaken unless the application is approved. If UiO determines that the sideline job or financial interest falls under the prohibitions, UiO cannot grant approval. Otherwise, the activity should normally be approved. This provision applies to all employees at UiO.?

Subsection 5.2 of the regulations governs which sideline job and financial interests are not permitted unless approved through a written agreement with UiO. It is therefore not sufficient for the employee to merely report such activities. Each employee is responsible for assessing whether their sideline job/financial interest falls under the application and approval requirement. If the employee is uncertain, UiO should be contacted. This provision applies to all employees at UiO.?

Below is a concise overview of the categories described in Subsection 5.2.?

Subsection 5.2 letter A requires a written agreement for sideline jobs that involve the use of UiO's resources beyond what can be deemed insignificant. Such resources may include, for example, equipment, laboratories, models, collections, database, and premises. If such sideline jobs are to be permitted, it should have academic relevance for UiO and must not interfere with UiO's own operations. An agreement specifying the terms of use, including any payment, must be drawn up. The payment should normally be at market rates.?

Subsection 5.2 letter B requires a written agreement for sideline jobs that, in whole or in part, are assumed carried out during normal working hours. If an employee is to be permitted to spend more time carrying out sideline jobs than can be deemed insignificant, the employee's immediate superior is required to determine that the loss of work time will not have a significant negative impact on the employee's performance.?

For sideline jobs that exceed 20 percent of normal working hours, it is normally required that the employee has a balanced teaching account and qualified academic production or the equivalent, that is not below the faculty average, or that the sideline job is deemed sufficiently valuable to UiO to nevertheless justify approval.?

Furthermore, the timing of the sideline job should be taken into consideration. For example, it will be of importance whether performance of the activities interfere with teaching plans etc.?

Subsection 5.2 letter C requires a written agreement for sideline jobs that may be in competition with UiO's activities.

A sideline job involving collaboration with, or teaching at, other research or educational institutions is generally encouraged and can bring UiO significant benefits and impulses. However, if it is likely that such would directly undermine UiO¡¯s ability to succeed with parallel projects in competition for research funding, allocations, awards etc., or would otherwise have a significant negative impact on other established objectives for UiO¡¯s activities, it may nevertheless be denied.

Side line jobs should be denied if it impedes or significantly hampers UiO¡¯s or Inven2¡¯s (inven2.com) ongoing efforts to realise the commercial value of patents, intellectual property rights, and other work results. Such commercialisation may include services such as courses and analytical activities, as well as products and methods. Where UiO decides to develop its activities or exploits its rights in new areas, and this comes in clear conflict with existing, approved sideline jobs, an assessment shall be made as to whether the sideline jobs affect UiO¡¯s competitive position or trust in a way that warrants discontinuation of the activity. Reference is also made to Section 1.1. of the Internal Guidelines for the Management of Activities Financed by Contributions and Commissioned Research at UiO (uio.no) (Norwegian), which, among other things, stipulates that activities fully or partially funded by external sources should, as a general rule, be organised internally at UiO.

Subsection 5.2 letter D requires a written agreement for sideline jobs of a long-term or particularly extensive nature.?

A fixed and long-term association with a single actor/entity may give rise to doubts regarding the employee's trust and integrity, for example by potentially influencing the employee to be less open about new knowledge to UiO's disadvantage.

UiO should exercise caution in permitting permanent employment, partnerships, board memberships, or long-term agreements with actors/entities that operate largely within the employee's field of work, with the exception of institutions that have agreements with UiO regarding academic collaboration and shared employments.?

In some cases, the duration of the sideline job may be uncertain at the time of approval. If it later becomes apparent that the sideline job will be longer than initially anticipated, Section 12 of the regulations may provide ground for revoking approval.?

Subsection 5.2 letter E requires a written agreement for sideline jobs that may rise doubts about the employee's willingness or ability to perform their duties at UiO in the manner required by the position and UiO's objectives.?

Typical situations that may rise concern about an employee's willingness to perform their work in accordance with the interests of UiO include sideline jobs in which the principal/client has a clear or significant interest that could potentially influence or affect the outcome of the employee's ongoing research/scientific work at UiO.?

Correspondingly, UiO should exercise caution in allowing the same principal, client, employer or intermediary to repeatedly engage the employee in tasks that, in total, have a significant impact on the employee's personal finances, in cases where the employee is in a position to influence the outcome of legal proceedings, permits, allocations or other individual matters in favour of the principal/client, or where the work promotes the product or service development of one competitor over others.?

There may be a gradual transition between matters subject to letter E and those prohibited under the rules on certain types of sideline jobs in SPH Section 9.7.1 (regjeringen.no) (Norwegian) and Subsection 5.1, letters A to H. For example, employees may not hold sideline jobs that "entails that the employee may easily face a conflict of loyalty with the organisation in which they are employed". If a sideline job falls within this borderline area between activities requiring UiO's approval under the regulations and the prohibitions in SPH and Subsection 5.1, approval should not be granted.?

Academic staff and administrative staff with budgetary authority who have sideline jobs/financial interests as described in letters A to E above are also required to register these activities in accordance with the obligation set out in Section 6 of the regulations.?

Section 6 of the regulations:?Reportable sideline jobs and financial interests

The registration obligation applies exclusively to academic staff and administrative staff with budgetary authority.?

Unlike in Subsection 5.2, this is purely a registration obligation and does not require the employee to apply to UiO for prior approval with an agreement. However, if the sideline job or financial interest fall under Subsection 5.2 letters A to E, the employee must also apply for prior approval with an agreement from UiO.?

As a general rule, all sideline jobs in legal entities with an economic purpose, as well as financial interests, must be registered unless it is clear that they pose no risk of conflicts of interest or involve the processing of special categories of personal data (sensitive data) (eur-lex.europa.eu). The registration obligation also applies to the employee's sole proprietorship and shares in companies, including indirect ownership through a sole proprietorship or other companies.?

Subsection 6.1, letters A to M, provides a non-exhaustive list of examples of sideline jobs that are exempt from the registration obligation. No equivalent list is provided for financial interests, including ownership interests, but in general many such interests are not subject to registration. For instance, shareholdings in publicly listed companies are generally exempt, as are shareholdings or other forms of ownership that have no connection to the employee's work, responsibilities or other involvement at UiO.?

The processing of special categories of personal data is prohibited under Article 9 (1) of the General Data Protection Regulation (eur-lex.europa.eu). Sideline jobs or financial interests that could disclose information about an employee's racial or ethnic origin, health, political opinions, religion, philosophical beliefs, trade union membership, sexual life, or sexual orientation are exempt from the registration obligation. For instance, holding a position in a religious organisation is not subject to the registration obligation, regardless of whether the organisation has an economic purpose.?

Sideline jobs/financial interests that are generally exempt from the registration obligation may, in certain cases, still require prior approval and an agreement from UiO under Subsection 5.2 of the regulations. For example, external examiner activities (letter B) are exempt from registration, but if the scope becomes very extensive, prior approval from UiO may still be required under Subsection 5.2, letter D. However, this will only occur in exceptional cases - as a general rule, those exempt from registration will not require prior approval and an agreement under Subsection 5.2.?

Section 7 of the regulations:?When to apply for approval and register sideline jobs and financial interests

Subsection 7.1 firstly governs the timing for when newly hired employees must submit an application for approval of sideline jobs or financial interests under Subsections 5.1 to 5.3 of the regulations. The application must be submitted no later than one month after commencing employment. It is, however, also natural for UiO to address this matter during the job interview prior to employment.?

Secondly, the subsection governs when other/current employees must submit such applications. Applications should be submitted as soon as possible, and employees must not undertake the sideline job or acquire the financial interest before UiO has granted approval and a an agreement has been concluded.?

Subsection 7.2 firstly governs the timing for when newly hired academic staff and administrative staff with budgetary authority must register sideline jobs and financial interests subject to the registration obligation. It is, however, also natural for UiO to address this matter during the job interview prior to employment.?

Secondly, the subsection govern when other/current academic staff and administrative staff with budgetary authority must register such subject to the registration obligation. Staff as mentioned must register these as soon as possible.?

Section 9 of the regulations: Contents of the application and registration

Section 9 of the regulation sets out the information that must be included in a notification for the registration of sideline jobs/financial interests, as well as in an application for prior approval from UiO.?

Information submitted under Section 6 will in general be made public through publishing on UiO's webpage, unless any of the information is exempt from disclosure in accordance with Section 13 of the Regulations.?

Section 11 of the regulations: Changes in sideline jobs and financial interests, and renewed assessments of approval

Section 11 of the regulations covers both changes to sideline jobs/financial interests subject to the registration obligation, as well as changes in terms of the employment that warrant a renewed assessment.?

The provision also imposes an obligation on the employee to apply for renewed approval of sideline jobs or financial interests that require approval under Subsection 5.2 of the regulations in the event of any changes. In addition, the employee is obliged to report significant changes to sideline jobs or financial interests subject to the registration obligation under Section 6 of the regulations.?

Under the provision, the employees are also required to review and, if necessary, update their registered sideline employment and financial interests. This includes reporting when activities have ended, making any corrects, and, upon request by UiO, confirming that the information registered is accurate/correct and complete, cf. Article 5 (1) (d) of the General Data Protection Regulation (eur-lex.europa.eu).?

Section 12 of the regulations: Revocation of previously granted permissions

Section 12 of the regulations sets out UiO's right to revoke previously granted approvals under Section 5 of the regulations in its entirety. Such revocation may occur even it entails disadvantages or costs for the employee who may have acted in reliance on the approval.?

Section 13 of the regulations: Publication of sideline jobs and financial interests subject to registration?

Pursuant to Section 13 of the regulations, the general rule is that sideline jobs and financial interests are made publicly available through publishing the overall overview on UiO's webpage, with the information specified in Section 9.?

Section 14 of the regulations: Privacy and data protection

Section 14 of the regulations ensure compliance with the information obligations under the General Data Protection Regulation.?

Pursuant to the third bullet point of Subsection 14.2 of the regulations, UiO shall, on its own initiative delete information on sideline jobs and financial interests from the register and public disclosure once there is no longer a risk of conflicts of interest, unless specific circumstances justify postponing erasure.?

For instance, there will no longer be a risk of conflicts of interest wen the sideline job or financial interest has ceased, or where the employee no longer holds duties or responsibilities that entail a genuine risk of conflicts of interest. Erasure shall also take place when the employee's employment with UiO ends.?

In some cases, however, it may be necessary to retain the information for a limited period of time after, for example, the employee's employment has ended or the employee has been assigned new tasks, if the risk is still present.?

The information may also be retained for archiving purposes even if it is deleted from the overall overview and register of sideline jobs/financial interests, cf. Article 6 (1)(e) of the General Data Protection Regulation (eur-lex.europa.eu) and Section 8 of the Personal Data Act (lovdata.no) (Norwegian).?

Section 15 of the regulations: Right of appeal and complaints

If UiO denies an employee permission to hold sideline jobs or financial interests, or requires that such activity or interested be terminated, the decision may be appealed to the Sideline Jobs and Owner Interests Board.?

Decisions concerning the publication of personal data on sideline jobs/financial interests may not be appealed by the employee to the Sideline Jobs and Owner Interests Board. Complaints regarding processing of personal data may be submitted to UiO and/or the Norwegian Data Protection Authority.?

Section 16 of the regulations: Breach of the regulations

An employee who, for instance, violates a prohibition, the registration obligation or the obligation to apply for approval will be in breach of their duties. Such a breach may give rise to measures by UiO pursuant to the provisions of the Civil Servants Act.?