Courtesy privileges

Courtesy privileges

• Definition

  Courtesy privileges involve granting permission to individuals who have no other formal relationship with Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam to carry out certain activities at the university without requiring any form of compensation from the university except possibly for an expense allowance. 

  Courtesy privileges as referred to in the previous sentence do not apply to trainees/interns, visiting professors, people on sabbatical leave or secondment, because they are working for Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam on a contractual basis. 

  Courtesy privileges may include the following activities: 

  • learning to use advanced equipment
  • the acquisition of certain research or surgical techniques
  • the use of special collections of books and journals for individual research
  • auditing a (highly specialized) part of a programme of study 
  • in connection with completing a dissertation
  • keeping one’s skills up to standard

• No core activities

  The activities that could potentially take place as part of courtesy privileges must not be part of the core activities of faculty employees. The activities may not involve tasks that should be assigned to a regular employee. 

  There may be risks involved in granting courtesy privileges. Things become risky if the guest performs tasks that would normally be done by Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam employees and also does so in a way that hardly differs from a normal work pattern. The guest may assert that there is in fact an employment contract and demand an appropriate salary through litigation. The jurisprudence in these matters concentrates on the factual circumstances and not on whether the parties have made other arrangements. 

  In addition, those who receive unemployment benefits run the risk that these benefits may be withdrawn. In any case, anyone who receives unemployment benefits will have to receive permission from the benefits agency to carry out tasks at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. The activities may not be a barrier to finding and accepting a new job. 

  It is certainly not possible to have someone working as before once the employment contract has come to an end. At the end of the employment contract, it is possible to allow ex-employees to keep up their knowledge or complete a dissertation that is nearly finished, and to allow use of facilities such as a workspace, equipment and so on. Extending courtesy privileges may not affect the usual duration of contract.

• Conditions

  1. The Faculty Board / the director of operations / the head of department will determine whether courtesy privileges will be granted. 
  2. The courtesy privileges is granted by the manager to the relevant person after the manager has carried out a knowledge security check in accordance with the Knowledge Safety Framework VU.
  3. The granting of courtesy privileges will be confirmed to the individual concerned in writing, including a statement of the activities, their duration and the conditions under which the courtesy privileges have been granted. 
  4. The activities may not involve tasks that should be assigned to a regular employee. 
  5. The activities should fit within the activities of the faculty / division. 
  6. The presence of the guest must not hinder the normal work of the regular employees. Furthermore, the spatial and financial implications (not fees!) must be acceptable.  
  7. The guest must follow all instructions in the interest of smooth operations. To this end it is important that someone within the work unit is designated under whose supervision the guest may conduct his activities. 
  8. If the guest receives an unemployment benefit, then courtesy privileges may only be granted if the guest has secured permission from the benefits agency for carrying out the activities. Furthermore, the guest must have every opportunity to search for regular employment. 
  9. Individuals to whom courtesy privileges are granted will be made aware of the rules and guidelines on intellectual property rights at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. If the activities that the individual is to engage in are of such a nature that this passage should in fact not apply, then the Innovation Exchange Amsterdam may be consulted about deleting this passage in specific cases.

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