Union members did not want such an arrangement, as they felt it did not reflect the nature of academic work or their status as professionals, was probably unenforceable, and would lower morale in the workplace. There is, however another principle that the Union wanted recognised. The Union needed to represent the interests of all staff, including many who were concerned that they were doing tasks that would have been done by others in their element had those colleagues not been doing paid outside work. This concern was raised with respect to class teaching, postgraduate supervision, and administrative tasks. The Work For Outside Bodies Policy is designed to protect all staff from excessive workloads by ensuring that Heads of Element monitor what is happening in their areas.
Similar agreements are either in place or under development in many unis around the country.
Instead, our external clients become the unnecessary beneficiaries of university-subsidised expertise. Finally, the Union would remind members that exemptions can be negotiated - approach your Head of School if you believe your work falls outside the policy. There are of course other arguments put by management in support of the WFOB policy, such as the need to comply with competition laws. Our purpose here has been to give a union perspective on the policy. The union remains disappointed with how this policy was implemented, a process that demonstrates how essential it is for management to keep consulting with staff and the union on policy issues.