Personal relationships at work and conflicts of interests

Frequently asked questions

• I am perfectly capable of separating work from my private life. Why do I have to report a personal relationship in some situations?

  A personal relationship can conflict with a professional relationship, and this can lead to a conflict of interests and a risk that the people concerned or third parties will have an unfair advantage or disadvantage as a result. For example, conflicts of interests can occur in financial situations, in employees’ career progression or in their access to confidential information. Even the appearance of a conflict of interests can have a negative effect on aspects such as positive collaboration and how safe people feel in the organisation. 

  VU Amsterdam aims to create a safe working and studying environment for all our employees, students and visitors. We expect employees to remain constantly aware of potential integrity risks caused by personal relationships at work and to notify the university of these relationships if they could appear to cause a conflict of interests.

• Who needs to abide by this integrity code for conflicts of interests involving personal relationships at work?

  All VU Amsterdam employees, including colleagues who have an employment contract with the university, people connected with the university through courtesy privileges, external doctoral candidates, temporary employees and people with a secondment contract. 

  The integrity code also applies to prospective employees engaged in a recruitment and selection procedure. 

  In the case of a personal relationship between a student and an employee, it is the employee who should notify the manager of the relationship. 

• Which personal relationships do I need to report?

  The integrity code applies to all personal relationships, including (but not limited to) romantic relationships, family relationships and friendships. It can be difficult to decide exactly which personal relationships could lead to the appearance of a conflict of interests in a given situation. 

  A romantic relationship between a manager and a subordinate clearly requires measures to be taken, but a family connection can also lead to problems, for instance in commercial matters such as allocating contracts. Good friendships between colleagues promote a positive working environment, but if an employee is part of a friend’s doctorate committee, that presents a conflict. 

  We expect employees to be constantly aware of potential integrity risks caused by all forms of personal relationships at work, and to notify the university of these relationships if they could appear to cause a conflict of interests. The assessment of a risk of conflicts of interests must not focus exclusively on the current working situation, but also on potential scenarios in the future. For example, in a future labour dispute with a colleague or manager: who would be involved in mediation, and could a personal relationship give the appearance of a conflict of interests at that time? 

• Who should I notify of a personal relationship if there is a risk of a conflict of interests?

  Employees notify their manager of the personal relationship. If one of the people concerned is the other’s manager, the manager’s immediate superior should be notified. In the case of a personal relationship between a student and an employee, the employee notifies the manager of the relationship. 

• When should I report a personal relationship?

  As soon as there could appear to be a conflict of interests. That moment will be different for each situation and for each personal relationship. We expect employees to act responsibly in this area. Employees also have a duty to notify the university if circumstances change in such a way that a personal relationship could lead to a conflict of interests, for example if an employee changes role. We expect employees to notify their manager even if they are not sure whether there could be a conflict of interests. 

  The university must always be notified of romantic and family relationships (and measures will always be taken) in the following cases:

  1. a personal relationship between employees in the same hierarchical structure
  2. a personal relationship between employees who are not in the same hierarchical structure but where one of the employees has a role in the evaluation, assessment or approval of the other
  3. a personal relationship between an employee and a student who also have a professional relationship: a relationship in which the employee has a role in assessing or making decisions about the student, such as advising, supporting, assessing, supervising, making decisions and/or providing administrative or technical support
  4. a personal relationship between employees and external partners of the university, in which the employee has a role in authorisation, evaluation or supervision
  5. situations with a significant integrity risk, such as a personal relationship between actors in a process of financial approval or between employees when one of them is appointed to the Board.

  If a friendship or other kind of relationship could lead to an integrity risk in the above situations, the employee is also expected to notify the university of this relationship.

• What measures can my manager take?

  Different situations will require different measures to tackle potential conflicts of interests. The principle is always to create a socially safe working and studying environment, and to remove integrity risks. The manager includes the employees concerned in the conversation about possible solutions and measures. 

  These measures may include: transferring an employee to a different unit or department within the university; changing managers; moving duties elsewhere; or other consequences in line with employment law. In extreme cases, the measures may include dismissal. Measures must always be taken in the situations described above that are subject to the notification requirement. The above approach must also be taken if an employee did not notify the university in time of a personal relationship involving an integrity risk, in which case the manager will also discuss the most suitable measures.

• What happens after the manager is notified?

  The first step is a conversation between the manager and the people concerned, to discuss the situation, to find out if any measures need to be taken and to decide what those measures should involve. Employees are expected to help find a solution. The manager may consult the HR Advisor and the employment lawyer. 

  The manager then decides which measures to take, where possible in consultation with the people concerned. If the people concerned do not cooperate with a solution, the measure may be imposed without their consent. 

  All reports and any further communication will be treated in confidence. If measures are taken, they will be confirmed in writing. It will also be noted that the reason for the measures arises from a personal relationship at work which has led to a conflict of interests, or to the appearance of such a conflict. It is usually not necessary, and therefore not permitted, to give details of the nature of the relationship. However, this may become necessary due to the seriousness of the situation or the measures taken. 

  An employment lawyer is always consulted (through the HR Advisor) when a measure is being considered. The proposed measures are reported to and reviewed by HR/Occupational Health, Safety and Environment. The purpose of this review is to provide an extra check for suitable measures and, as far as possible, for similar measures in comparable situations. When a measure is taken, the privacy lawyer is also consulted. The manager takes into account the privacy rights of the people concerned, the right to object and the right to a fair hearing. All email correspondence relating to the notification, the measures, the relationship and records of the relationship is encrypted, for example using Zivver.

• How does VU Amsterdam process correspondence about measures taken?

  If measures are taken due to the integrity risk of a personal relationship, this is recorded. The correspondence is included in the employee’s personnel file (in accordance with Collecting and processing employees' personal details) which can only be accessed by authorised colleagues. The correspondence is deleted at the end of the retention period: one full calendar year following the end date of the employee’s employment. If the employee later returns to work at VU Amsterdam, the notification requirement for personal relationships with a possible integrity risk applies. 

  If an employee believes that the correspondence can be deleted from the personnel file before the end of the retention period, the employee can submit a request to the manager or the HR Advisor. This may apply if circumstances have changed, or if the employment contract has ended. In the absence of compelling reasons to retain the correspondence in the file, the manager or HR Advisor will instruct the HR Service Desk to manually delete the correspondence. If a deletion request is rejected, the employee has the option to submit a complaint to the Executive Board.

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