Regulations for sideline jobs and owner interests at UiO

1. Introduction

The purpose of these regulations is to protect the university's reputation and confidence in the integrity of the employees, by facilitating the transparency of potential conflicts of interest and how they are dealt with.

The regulations are founded on Section 1-5 Academic and artistic freedom of the Universities and University Colleges Act (lovdata.no) (Norwegian), the provisions of the Civil Servants Act (lovdata.no) (Norwegian), Section 1.1.4 Extra employment of the central provisions of the Basic Collective Agreement (regjeringen.no) (Norwegain), Section 10.13 Extra employment etc. of the Personnel Handbook for State Employees (lovdata.no) (Norwegian) and the Ethical Guidelines for the Public Service (lovdata.no) (Norwegian).

2. Definitions

¡°Sideline jobs¡± are defined as work performed and assignments and offices held in addition to the employee¡¯s ordinary university position, regardless of whether they are paid or not. Work performed through an undertaking or company that is wholly or partly owned by the employee is also considered a sideline job.

¡°Owner interests¡± are defined as the employee directly or indirectly owning a business, interests in a business, securities or other assets that are suitable for generating income for the employee. 

See the guide.

3. What do the regulations govern?

Firstly, Section 6 and 7 of the regulations ban employees from having certain types of  and owner interests without a prior written agreement with UiO. If employees are uncertain about whether their sideline jobs/owner interests are in breach of the ban, UiO shall be asked before the employee undertakes any sideline job or establishes owner interests.       

Secondly, the regulations require that certain employee groups report sideline jobs and owner interests to UiO¡¯s sideline jobs and owner interests register. What employees this concerns is stated in Section 4. The detailed scope of the notification duty is stated in Section 5. 

4. Who is subject to the regulations?

The regulations apply in principle to all employees at UiO. The notification duty rules in accordance with Section 5 apply, however, only to the following employee categories:

• All scientific staff, including research leaders.
• Other employees who have budget authority.

See the guide.

5. Scope of the notification duty

5.1 The employees mentioned in Section 4 shall, with the exceptions that follow from Sections 5.2 and 5.3, report their sideline jobs and owner interests, respectively, to UiO.

Sideline jobs and owner interests that fall outside of the notification duty can be reported to UiO if the employee so desires.

5.2 The notification duty in accordance with Section 5.1 does not apply to sideline jobs that will undoubtedly not violate the employee's obligations in relation to UiO, including:

1. participation on external assessment committees
2. external examiner activities
3. acting as a referee for an academic journal
4. one-off, less resource-intensive teaching assignments at another institution
5. one-off assignments in connection with continuing and further education courses under the auspices of other parties
6. one-off academic lectures as part of the university's dissemination obligation to society
7. educational activities as an academic expert through participation in the media etc., except where this constitutes regular activities over a long period of time
8. other similar activities of a limited scope and duration that can be considered as part of the university's fulfilment of its social responsibility
9. professional assignments or offices that follow the employee¡¯s main position
10. unpaid assignments or offices of a lesser scope and occasional work for non-profit institutions without compensation
11. assignments or offices that entail disclosure of the employee¡¯s information about the employee's ethnic origin, political views, religion, convictions or trade union membership. This applies correspondingly to assignments or offices that can reveal information about the employee's health, sexual relations or sexual orientation, cf. General Data Protection Regulation, Article 9 1)
12. Assignments or offices in housing cooperatives, athletic clubs, etc.

Exemption from the notification duty for one-off assignments does not apply to recurring assignments for the same principal/employer/intermediary. See the guide.

5.3 Notification duty for owner interests in accordance with Section 5.1 does not apply to owner interests that are undoubtedly not of significance to UiO¡¯s activities. See the guide.

6. Sideline jobs that are banned or require UiO¡¯s approval

6.1 Sideline jobs (cf. definition in 2) as mentioned below that are not permitted without a separate written agreement with UiO:

1. that entail use of UiO¡¯s resources beyond what can be deemed insignificant. Such an agreement shall govern the terms and conditions for use of the resources, including payment (see the guide)
2. that must be performed in full or in part during normal working hours, beyond what can be deemed insignificant (see the guide)
3. that may be in competition with UiO¡¯s activities (see the guide)
4. sideline jobs of a long-term or particularly comprehensive nature (see the guide)
5. that may be suitable for creating doubt about the willingness or ability of the employees to perform their work at UiO in the way that is required by the purpose of the position or university (see the guide).

6.2 Section. 10.13.1 of the Personnel Handbook for State Employees (lovdata.no) (Norwegian) bans state employees from having the following sideline jobs:

1. that are directly prohibited for the employees by statute or regulation,
2. that are directly banned in the regulations, collective agreement or other agreement,
3. that impede or delay ordinary work, unless there is a special order or permission, cf. Section 1.1.4 of the Basic Collective Agreement (regjeringen.no) (Norwegian), Section 7.1.1.1.4 of the Personnel Handbook for State Employees (lovdata.no) (Norwegian), Section 7.2.1.1.4 of the Personnel Handbook for State Employees (lovdata.no) (Norwegian).
4. that entail that the civil servant is engaged in or contributes to disloyal competition with the government organisation in which he/she is employed,
5. that disqualify the civil servant from dealing with his/her tasks more than just sporadically,
6. that mean that the civil servant can easily find him/herself in a conflict of loyalty in relation to the organisation where he/she is employed,
7. that entail that he/she uses organisational information in a disloyal manner,
8. that harm the reputation of the civil service or public employer.

If the employee is in doubt as to whether a sideline job requires the prior consent of UiO, or is subject to the bans in the Personnel Handbook for State Employees, the employee shall submit the question for approval in accordance with Section 10. The employee cannot undertake such a sideline job until approval has been granted. 

See the guide.

7. Owner interests that are banned or require UiO¡¯s approval 

Employees at UiO may not have owner interests that entail placing the employee in a position as described in Section 10.13.1 of the Personnel Handbook for State Employees (lovdata.no) (Norwegian), cf. Section 6.    

In addition, the ethical guidelines for civil servants bans civil servants from owning or trading with financial instruments, when this is incompatible with the legitimate interests of the state employer, or is suitable to weaken confidence in the administration.

If the employee has doubts as to whether specific owner interests is affected by these bans, the employee shall submit the question for approval in accordance with Section 10. Owner interests cannot be established until such approval has been granted. 

See the guide.

8. When a sideline job and owner interest must be reported

In the event of new employment, the employees mentioned in Section 4 who have sideline jobs or owner interests subject to a notification duty shall report this as soon as possible and no later than one month after the start date. The same applies to employees with sideline jobs and owner interests that require a prior agreement in accordance with Sections 6 or 7.

The employees mentioned in Section 4 are obligated to report any new sideline jobs or owner interests as soon as possible. The same applies to employees who acquire new sideline jobs or owner interests that requires approval in accordance with Sections 6 or 7. The employee shall not start any sideline jobs or acquire owner interests until it has been approved, unless otherwise agreed with the employee's immediate superior.

See the guide.

9. Where sideline jobs and owner interests must be reported

Sideline jobs and owner interests must be reported through the self-service portal.

10. Contents of the notification

Notification of sideline jobs and applications for approval in accordance with Section 6 must contain the following information:

1. Registration date
2. Employee's name, title, and department affiliation or place of employment.
3. Name and organisation number of the organisation/company to which the sideline jobs is affiliated
4. Type of organisation: state/municipal employer (not an educational institution), public/private educational institution, foundation, other
5. Start and end dates for sideline jobs
6. The scope of the sideline jobs as a percentage of a full-time position
7. The nature of the sideline jobs, such as teaching, directorship, consultancy assignment, judgeship, etc.

If the sideline job requires UiO¡¯s approval, the employee must also provide any other information that the employee understands to be of significance to UiO¡¯s assessment.

Notification of owner interests and applications for approval in accordance with Section 7 must include the following information:

1. Registration date
2. Name and organisation number of the sole proprietorship or company that the employee has owner interests in
3. Form of ownership: sole proprietorship, interests in a company/other
4. The size of the owner interests interest provided it does not concern a sole proprietorship
5. When the owner interest was established
6. What activities the sole proprietorship or company are engaged in

If the owner interests requires UiO¡¯s approval, the employee shall also provide any other information that may be of importance to UiO¡¯s assessment.

UiO may order an employee to provide additional information about sideline jobs and owner interests.

The information that is stated in the notification will be published in the sideline job and owner interest register, cf. Section 15 of the regulations. The general public will thus have access to the information. If the employee believes that there are grounds for withholding the information, or some of the information, from such publication, then this must be stated in the notification. The point of view should be justified. 

See the guide.

11. UiO¡¯s processing of notifications and applications for approval

• In instances where the sideline job or owner interest requires UiO¡¯s approval, cf. Sections 6 and 7, UiO shall process the application as soon as possible and announce whether approval is granted, or if further processing is required, no later than one month after UiO received the application.
• Correspondingly, UiO shall process applications from employees for exemption from the publication or public disclosure of sideline jobs and owner interests interests, or individual information associated with this. Within one month it shall be announced whether the application has been granted or if further processing is required. UiO shall not publish information until the university has taken a stand on the application and reported the result to the employee.
• A decision on approval in accordance with Sections 6 and 7 and possible exemption from publication or public disclosure shall be carried out by the employee¡¯s immediate superior. For department heads, this entails that the decision will be made by the dean, and for deans and heads of discipline, the decision will be made by the rector and university director in consultation.
• In cases of doubt, whoever has decision-making authority shall submit the application to their immediate superior.

See the guide.

12. Updating sideline jobs and ownerinterests and renewal of approval assessments

• The employees are obligated to report changes to sideline jobs subject to a notification duty, including changes to the nature, scope and duration of the sideline jobs. Correspondingly, the employees are obligated to report changes to owner interests etc., including an increase in or discontinuation of owner interests, without undue delay. Insignificant changes are not subject to a notification duty in accordance with this section.
• If there are changes in sideline jobs or owner interests that require the approval of the university, the employee shall submit a renewed application and account for the changes without undue delay. UiO shall make a renewed assessment within the time limits that follow from Section 11.
• The employees are also obligated to apply for renewed approval without undue delay when there are changes in the employment relationship at UiO that indicates a reassessment of the registered sideline jobs or owner interests.
• Regardless of the aforementioned obligations, the employee shall review and update as required the registered sideline jobs and owner interests when so requested by UiO. It is part of reporting sideline jobs and owner interests that have been discontinued to make any corrections that are required to existing sideline jobs or owner interests, or to confirm that the registered sideline jobs owner interests are up-to-date and adequate.

See the guide.

13. Revocation of previously granted permissions

Previously granted permission for sideline jobs or owner interests may be revoked or changed if the actual circumstances, legislation or guidelines from other agencies change, so that the sideline jobs or owner interests are in breach of the sideline jobs rules or other regulations. The same applies if there is new information entailing that the sideline jobs or owner interests are regarded as being in breach of such regulations. 

See the guide.

14. Registration, processing and removal of Information

• All registered sideline jobs and owner interests will be recorded in UiO¡¯s sideline jobs and owner interests database.
• UiO is the data controller.
• The purpose of the processing is evident from the introduction to these regulations.
• The information will be published as part of the purpose.
• Registration and publication are pursuant to the General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation 2016/679), Article 6 (1) (f), cf. the General Data Protection Regulation, Article 5 and the Personal Data Act of 2018, Section 1. The reason for publication is the fact that UiO wants to assure confidence in the independence of the university and integrity of the employees through transparency, in addition to avoiding conflicts of interest.
• The employees may demand the correction of any erroneous information on themselves.
• Information that is not published in accordance with Section 15, or for which disclosure may be demanded pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, will only be available to the management of the unit and others at UiO who have an objective interest in knowing the information.
• UiO will remove sideline jobs from publication when the employee discontinues his/her employment at the university.  The employees may request the university to exclude sideline jobs or owner interests that have been discontinued from publication, cf. Section 12 above.

See the guide.

15. Publication

Registered sideline jobs and owner interests will be made public with the information that is evident from Section 10, first paragraph, A to G, and third paragraph, A to F, unless UiO at the request of an employee finds that there are grounds for exemption from public disclosure of all or part of the information relating to the sideline jobs or owner interests.

See the guide.

16. Right of appeal ¨C Sideline Jobs and Owner Interests Board

• Brief grounds shall be given for refusal to undertake or continue with sideline jobs or owner interests ¨C including refusal to enter into an agreement as mentioned in Section 6 or 7 ¨C when so requested by whomever it concerns.
• Refusal as mentioned in the section above may be appealed to the Sideline Jobs and Owner Interests Board by the employee.
• The Sideline Jobs and Owner Interests Board will have three members, appointed by the University Board. The chair of the board shall be a lawyer and not employed at UiO. One member will be appointed based on nomination by the trade unions at UiO, and one member will be appointed based on nomination by the university director.
• Appeals that are based on the fact that the processing of personal data has been unlawful may be addressed to UiO as the data controller or a complaint may be filed with the Norwegian Data Protection Authority. The same applies to other objections to the processing.

See the guide.

17. Breach of the regulations

In the event of a breach of these regulations, the provisions of the Civil Servants Act (lovdata.no) (Norwegian) will apply.