Consultancy & External work

Approval to engage in University Consulting covered by this policy should be sought in advance, from the College Principal or Vice-President, with the approval of the Head of School.

Application for approval of University Consulting should be made via the Consultancy & External Work Approval System in UCD InfoHub. A separate approval request for each individual piece of work is required.  If a project is extended, additional work is identified or the scope of the project is altered ConsultUCD should be notified and additional approval may be required.

Approval to undertake University Consulting may be given by the College Principal or Vice-President on the basis that:

• The activities are related to the academic and professional interests of the academic staff.
  
• All external activities (both University Consulting and external work) do not exceed 20% of working time.
• The activities do not interfere with the performance of normal academic/research duties and is approved by the Head of School.
• The activities do not give rise to any conflict of interest for academic staff or for the University. For further information refer to the UCD Conflict of Interest policy.
• The activities will not cause reputational damage to the University.
• The activities are managed by ConsultUCD.
• The legal terms are approved by ConsultUCD, with input from UCD Legal should the standard ConsultUCD Terms & Conditions not be accepted.

Academic staff will be reminded of the requirement to seek permission each year through an email from their College Principal or Vice-President.

The approving College Principal or Vice-President may revoke or amend permission for University Consulting work at any stage where, in their opinion, an external commitment is no longer consistent with the contractual duties of the academic staff.

Approval to engage in external work covered by this policy must be sought in advance, from the College Principal or Vice-President, with the approval of the Head of School. Members of staff should note that it is not permitted to carry out private trading or consulting activities from university premises without the express permission of their College Principal or relevant Vice-President, nor to imply any association with the University of a private trading or consulting activity.  This is the case regardless of whether the work is carried out inside or outside working hours.

Approval to undertake private consulting (Devlin Time) and pro bono work may be given by the College Principal or Vice-President on the basis that:

• The activities are related to the academic and professional interests of the academic staff.
• All external activities (both external work & University Consulting) do not exceed 20% of working time.
• External activities do not interfere with the performance of normal academic duties and are recommended by the Head of School.
• External activities do not give rise to any conflict of interest for the individual academic staff or for the University.
• The University acquires no vicarious liability.
  • The staff member has made it clear to the client that they are operating as a private individual and not as an agent or employee of the University.
  • The University will have no responsibility for the work and this has been made clear to the client by the staff member.
• The private address of the member of staff is used for all correspondence. The use of university letterheads or other printed stationery is not permitted.
• Where university facilities are used, the full value must be paid to the University on a basis agreed with the appropriate Head of School and the Bursar’s office.
• The staff member undertakes to make their own declarations of private consulting income for all statutory deductions on a self-employed basis.

When a staff member undertakes any external work in a private capacity, they are not covered by the University’s professional indemnity insurance policy and would therefore be required to carry their own insurance.

Approval to engage in external work covered by this policy must be sought in advance, from the College Principal or Vice-President, with the approval of the Head of School. Application for approval of external work must be made via the Consultancy & External Work Approval System in UCD InfoHub. Staff will be reminded of the requirement to seek permission each year through an email from their College Principal or Vice-President. A separate approval request for each individual piece of external work is required. If an individual piece of work spans more than one calendar year, a separate approval request for each year should be completed.

The approving College Principal or Vice-President may revoke or amend permission for external work at any stage where, in their opinion, an external commitment is no longer consistent with the contractual duties of a member of staff.

Engaging in external work without prior approval is in breach of university policy.

Approval for Private Consulting (Devlin Time), Pro Bono Activity & University Consulting: 

Please refer to the Consultancy and External Work Policy for the definition of these types of activities. Approval to engage in external work must be sought in advance, from the College Principal or VP, with the approval of the Head of School. 

• Step 1: Log in to UCD InfoHub and under the HR tab select 'My Details' and 'Consultancy & External Work'
• Step 2: Select 'My Consultancy & External Work Applications' and  then 'New Application'*
• Step 3: Complete the application form with the relevant details and 'Submit for Approval' 
• Step 4: Your application will be forwarded on to your relevant Head of School / Head of Unit and for approval**. If approved it will be forwarded on to your relevant College Principal / VP for final approval***. You will receive automatic email notifications at each stage of the approval process. Please note, requests for University Consulting are also copied to ConsultUCD. 

Consultancy & External Work Workflow (.pdf) which illustrates the approval workflow associated with the online system. 

* If you are a College Principal the button will say 'New CP Application'

** If you are a Head of School / Head of Unit your application is automatically forwarded onto your relevant College Principal

*** If you are a VP / College Principal your application will be forwarded to the President for approval

Please note if you did engage in Consultancy & External Work and haven't yet sought approval, then you must follow the standard application process online and seek approval from your Head of School, College Principal/VP before making an annual return.

• Step 1: Log in to UCD InfoHub and under HR tab select 'My Details' and 'Consultancy & External Work'
• Step 2: Select 'My Consultancy & External Work Returns' 
• Step 3: The options available on the ‘My Consultancy & External Work Annual Return’ screen will depend on whether you have previously applied and received approval to undertake work in for the previous calendar year. Please complete your Annual Return according to the below guidelines based on your own circumstances, selecting one of the options below:
• I did not engage in Consultancy & External Work in the previous calendar year
  Please click the 'I Confirm' button on the Annual Returns screen.
• I engaged in Consultancy & External Work in the previous calendar year and the work was completed exactly as previously approved
  Please make a return for each piece of work completed by clicking on ‘Completed’.
• I engaged in Consultancy & External Work in the previous calendar year however the number of days completed varied from that previously approved
  Please make a return for each piece of work by clicking 'Edit Days' - enter the correct number of days in ‘Actual Days’ field, enter a 'Comment' and click ‘Confirm’.
• I engaged in Consultancy & External Work in the previous calendar year however I did not seek approval for the work
  You must follow the standard application process online and seek retrospective approval from your Head of School, College Principal/VP first and then return to the My Consultancy & External Work Annual Return to complete your annual return.
• I applied to engage in Consultancy & External Work in the previous calendar year and gained approval, however I did not complete the work.
  Please make a return for each piece of work previously approved but not completed by clicking ‘Not Completed’.