Employment outside of normal public sector duties requires Departmental approval.

Principle

Outside employment should in no way interfere with or compromise an employee of the department in the exercise of their professional duties and obligations.

Scope

Applies to all employees of the Department of Justice.

Statement of Policy

Guidelines

Outside employment is not permitted where the work arises from, or is associated with, the employee’s official duties unless it is in the interest of the department (e.g. some lecturing activities).

Employees who, in the course of their official duties, have access to information not available to the public are not permitted to engage in any outside employment to which this information might be relevant.

The department is to have first call on the services of the staff member.

Outside employment should not affect the efficiency of an employee or in any way affect the performance of their duties.

Outside employment should be performed wholly in the private time of the employee concerned.

An employee should be in a fit and proper state when reporting for work so that clients are not put at risk. An appropriate rest period of eight hours should be in place between working for an outside organisation and commencing work with the department.

Application for approval

Permission to engage in outside employment must be obtained prior to engaging in such employment.

Applications to engage in outside employment should be submitted to the manager indicating:

• the nature of the work/employment;
• the name and address of the employer;
• the place of employment;
• the actual hours and days of the week to be worked;
• a declaration that the proposed employment will not unduly interfere with the employee’s ability to perform their duties; and
• other information sufficient to enable an appropriate assessment of the application.

Outside employment will generally not be permitted where:

• the nature and timing of the outside employment would be detrimental to the performance of any departmental role;
• the work arises from or is associated with the employee’s departmental role;
• the work could involve an actual, potential, or perceived conflict of interest.

Employees who are unsure whether their activities are within the scope of this policy should discuss their situation with their manager to ensure that they are in compliance with this policy.

The manager will submit the application to the business unit manager with a recommendation.

The request for approval to engage in outside employment should be declined if it can be suggested there is a possibility of conflict of interest.

Initial approval will be for a period of one year with further approvals required on an annual basis. Any approval provided by the manager will be for the specific employment being undertaken by the employee. If there is any change (for example, a new employer or new role) to the employee’s outside employment then a new application must be submitted.

Approval lapses automatically should the employee receive a promotion, transfer, temporary assignment or secondment to other duties within the department. Employees should reapply for approval in these instances.

Definitions

Outside employment refers to a staff member engaging in any employment or business in addition to their Departmental employment.

Compliance

Failure to adhere to the provisions outlined in this policy may result in disciplinary action.

Policy Status

This policy is issued under the authority of the Director, People and Culture, Department of Justice. It is reviewed and updated by People and Culture.