Concurrent Employment and Appointments

What is “concurrent employment” or a “concurrent appointment”?

If you are an Employee, Academic Staff Member (including a sessional), Appointee, Student Employee, or Volunteer Appointee and you hold another job or appointment outside of the university for which you receive remuneration, that external position would be considered concurrent employment or a concurrent appointment.

When must concurrent employment or appointments be reported?

• When the Code of Conduct becomes effective on July 1, 2019, you will be required to report concurrent employment and appointments that are not exempt from the policy.

• Thereafter, concurrent employment and concurrent appointments for which you are entitled to receive remuneration must be reported to the SLT Member responsible for your unit, department, or faculty, or to the Chair of the Board of Governors, the Chancellor or the Chair of the Alumni Association Board, as applicable, prior to accepting the appointment or employment.

• Honorariums are not considered remuneration so if you receive an honorarium for an appointment, that appointment would not be considered a paid appointment.

• The reporting requirement is subject to several exceptions listed in the section below.

Who are the Senior Leadership Team Members (SLT Members)?

The SLT Members are: Vice Presidents, Deans, Vice-Deans, Associate Vice Presidents, Vice Provosts, General Counsel, University Secretary, Executive Director Hunter Hub, Director Continuing Education, Director School of Public Policy and the Registrar.

The only SLT Members with signing authority for Academics are: Vice-Dean (Large Faculty) or Dean of a Faculty (or equivalent in the case of an academic unit other than a Faculty), an Associate Vice-President, a Vice-President, a Vice-Provost, the Provost and Vice-President Academic, or the President, including a person appointed as “acting” in any of those positions and during an associated administrative leave.

Do I have to report unpaid appointments?

No, you do not have to report unpaid appointments so long as the appointment does not give rise to an actual or perceived Conflict of Interest.  If the appointment does give rise to an actual or perceived conflict, then you must submit a Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form to your SLT Member, or to the Chair of the Board of Governors, the Chancellor or the Chair of the Alumni Association Board, as applicable.

Are there exceptions to the general rule that I must report concurrent employment and appointments?

Yes, there are several exceptions to the reporting requirement which are broken down in more detail below.

What do I do if I am exempt from the reporting obligation but my concurrent employment or appointment gives rise to an actual or perceived Conflict of Interest?

Notwithstanding the exceptions, if the concurrent employment or appointment gives rise to an actual or perceived Conflict of Interest, you will have to report it by submitting a Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form to your SLT Member or to the Chair of the Board of Governors, the Chancellor or the Chair of the Alumni Association Board, as applicable.

Academic Staff Members (including sessionals, adjuncts, and other Appointees)

What are the reporting exceptions specific to Full-time Academic Staff Members?

• If the university knows, at the time an Academic Staff Member is hired/appointed to a full-time position at the university, that the Academic Staff Member is being concurrently or jointly hired/appointed to a position at another organization or holds a position at another organization, their position at the other organization does not need to be reported.

• If an Academic Staff Member (including a sessional), Postdoctoral Scholar or Appointee receives income through a research grant, the research work is considered concurrent employment. If the research grant is administered through the university, the research work does not need to be reported; if not, it must be reported and approved.

Examples

• You are a full-time Academic Staff Member in the Cumming School of Medicine.  At the time of your appointment two years ago, you did not have concurrent employment.  You are now considering setting up a practice as an independent medical expert.  This is concurrent employment that you would have to report and have pre-approved.
  • If you had already established the independent medical expert consultancy prior to joining the university and the university knew of that work at the time of your appointment, you would not have to report that concurrent employment.

What are the reporting exceptions for Academic Staff Members (including sessionals) who do not hold full-time positions (including adjuncts and other Appointees)?

• If the university knows, at the time an Academic Staff Member (including a sessional) or Appointee is hired/appointed to a part-time position at the university, that the individual is being concurrently or jointly hired/appointed to a position at another organization or holds a position at another organization, their position at the other organization does not need to be reported.

• Any concurrent employment and any paid appointment of an Academic Staff Member (including a sessional) or Appointee (including an adjunct) who does not hold a full-time position at the university does not need to be reported if:
  • their position at the university is unpaid;
  • their concurrent employment/appointment is with another post-secondary institution in Alberta or elsewhere;
  • they teach no more than two courses a semester at the university; or
  • their concurrent employment/appointment requires them to be a member of a specified professional association listed in Appendix A of the Code of Conduct.

If I have an unpaid appointment with the university, must I report my concurrent employment or paid appointment?

No, if your position with the university is unpaid, you do not need to report your concurrent employment or paid appointment.

As a part-time Academic Staff Member (including a sessional), if my concurrent employment requires that I be a member of a professional association (for example, I’m working as a practicing lawyer, doctor, engineer, actuary, teacher, social worker) do I have to report?

No, if your concurrent employment or appointment requires that you be a member of a specified professional association listed in Appendix A of the Code of Conduct, you do not have to report your concurrent employment/appointment.

I work part-time at the university and teach at another post-secondary institution. Do I have to report my other teaching?

No, if your concurrent employment is with another post-secondary institution, you are not required to report it.

Student Employees

What reporting exceptions are specific to Student Employees?

• Any concurrent employment and any paid appointment of a Student who is an Employee of the university does not need to be reported if the concurrent employment or paid appointment is in the retail, hospitality or service industries.
• If a Student Employee receives income through a research grant, the research work is considered concurrent employment.  If the research grant is administered through the university, the research work will be deemed to be pre-approved; if not, it must be reported and approved.
• A reminder that Students only have to report concurrent employment or paid appointments if they are employed by the university.

Examples

• You work as a Student Employee in IT services. You also work on the weekends as a server at Earls. Because your concurrent employment is in the service industry, you do not have to report your concurrent employment.
• You work part-time at the university in the Finance department and you also work at an accounting firm. You do not have to report your work at the accounting firm because the work is in the service industry.

Employees (including Postdocs)

What reporting exceptions are specific to other Employees (non-academic staff members and non-students)?

• Any concurrent employment and any paid appointment of an Employee who is not an Academic Staff Member and not a Student (that is, an individual who is a MaPs, AUPE, non-academic SLT employee), does not need to be reported if the concurrent employment/paid appointment requires them to work no more than 20 hours per week and those hours are not scheduled during the Employee’s normal working hours at the university.
• If a Postdoctoral Scholar receives income through a research grant, the research work is considered concurrent employment.  If the research grant is administered through the university, the research work does not need to be reported; if not, it must be reported and approved.

Examples

• You work as a caretaker in Facilities and in your off hours you work at a store or as a caregiver.  As long as you work no more than 20 hours per week at the store or as a caregiver, and those hours don’t conflict with your job at the university, you do not have to report your concurrent employment.
• You work as an event planner at the university and have a side business planning and running events on the weekend. While you might work less than 20 hours per week running events on the weekend, you would still have an obligation to report your concurrent employment because it could result in an actual or perceived Conflict of Interest.

Volunteer Appointees (including Board of Governors, members of a Board of Governors committee, members of the Senate or of the Alumni Association Board of Directors)

Are there any exceptions to the reporting requirement for volunteer appointees?

No, there are no exceptions to the reporting requirement for members of the Board of Governors, of Board of Governors committees, of the Senate, or the Alumni Association Board of Directors. 

Academic Staff Member (including sessionals), Employees, and Appointees

How do I report my concurrent employment or paid appointment?

Report your concurrent employment or paid appointment by completing a Disclosure of Concurrent Employment and Appointment Form.

Why do I have to report my concurrent employment or appointment?

You must report so that the university can determine if the employment or appointment would result in any actual or perceived Conflict of Interest.

Who reviews my concurrent employment and appointments?

• The SLT Member who has the management responsibility for the faculty, department or unit in which you are a member. 
• The concurrent employment or appointment will be reviewed in accordance with the Procedure for Conflict of Interest.

What happens if my SLT Member determines that it does not give rise to an actual or perceived Conflict of Interest?

The SLT Member must approve the concurrent employment or appointment in writing.

What happens if my SLT Member believes there is a perceived or actual conflict?

The SLT Member must ensure that an appropriate plan is put in place to manage the Conflict of Interest.

What if it is determined that the Conflict of Interest cannot be appropriately managed?

The Employee, Academic Staff Member (including the sessionals), or Appointee must take steps to eliminate the actual or perceived Conflict of Interest and the steps taken to do so much be documented and agreed to by the SLT Member.

Board of Governors

Do members of the Board of Governors and members of Board committees have to report their concurrent paid employment and appointments?

• Yes. Members of the Board of Governors must report in writing any concurrent employment or appointment to the Board Chair but do not need to have any concurrent employment or appointment pre-approved. 
• Members of a committee of the Board who are not also members of the Board must report in writing any concurrent employment or appointment to the Chair of their committee.
• Honorariums are not considered remuneration so if you receive an honorarium for an appointment, that appointment would not be considered a paid appointment. 

How do I report my concurrent employment or appointment?

The Conflict of Interest Declaration Form for the Board of Governors has been updated to include disclosure of concurrent employment or appointments. Please contact the Secretariat to obtain the Conflict of Interest Declaration Form.

Who reviews reported concurrent employment and appointments for members of the Board and members of Board committees?

• The Board Chair must review each report submitted by a Board member to determine if the concurrent employment or appointment creates an actual or perceived Conflict of Interest.
• The Chair of a Board committee must review each report submitted by a committee member (who is not also a Board member) to determine if the concurrent employment or appointment creates an actual or perceived Conflict of Interest.

What happens if the Board Chair or Chair of a Board committee believes there is a perceived or actual conflict?

The Chair must ensure that an appropriate plan in place to manage the Conflict of Interest.

What are some examples of things I might do to manage the conflict?

The Board of Governors’ Code of Conduct in section IV. Rules Governing Conflicts of Interest, provides guidance for managing conflicts of interest.

What if it is determined that the Conflict of Interest cannot be appropriately managed?

You must either resign from the Board of Governors or the committee of the Board or take steps to eliminate the actual or perceived Conflict of Interest and the steps taken to do so must be documented and agreed to by the Chair of the Board or committee.

Members of the Senate and of the Alumni Association Board of Directors

Do members of the Senate and Alumni Association Board of Directors have to report their concurrent paid employment and appointments?

• Yes, members of the Senate must report their concurrent employment and appointment to the Chancellor.
• Members of the Alumni Association Board must report any concurrent employment or appointment to the Chair of the Alumni Association Board. Honorariums are not considered remuneration so if you receive an honorarium for an appointment, that appointment would not be considered a paid appointment. 

How do I report my concurrent employment or appointment?

Report your concurrent employment or paid appointment by completing a Disclosure of Concurrent Employment and Appointment Form.

Why do I have to report my concurrent employment or paid appointment?

You must report so that the Chancellor or the Chair of the Alumni Board, as applicable, can determine if the employment or appointment would result in any actual or perceived Conflict of Interest.

What happens if the Chancellor or the Alumni Association Board Chair determines that it does not give rise to an actual or perceived Conflict of Interest?

The Chancellor or the Chair must then approve the concurrent employment or appointment in writing.

What happens if the Chancellor or the Alumni Association Board Chair believes there is a perceived or actual conflict?

The Chancellor or the Chair must ensure that an appropriate plan in place to manage the Conflict of Interest.

What if it is determined that the Conflict of Interest cannot be appropriately managed?

You must either resign from the Senate or Alumni Association Board or take steps to eliminate the actual or perceived Conflict of Interest and the steps taken to do so must be documented and agreed to by the Chancellor or the Chair of the Alumni Association Board, as applicable.