Close personal relationships

As a public-sector employer, Aarhus University must ensure that the objectivity of our decisions cannot be called into question. With clear guidelines, we can provide the best possible framework for a good environment for work and study, characterised by trust and respect, in which doubts about the impartiality of staff do not arise in connection with the performance of their work, in situations including assessments, decisions, case-processing, recruitment and teaching. For this reason, public-sector employees are under an obligation to disclose all relationships that might give rise to conflicts of interest in relation to their work, including close personal relationships.

AU’s guidelines on close personal relationships are based on consideration for the work environment and the rules on impartiality and conflict of interest laid down in the Danish Public Administration Act. The guidelines have been approved by the senior management team and the Main Liaison Committee.

The general principle, as stated in the AU staff policy, is that “managers, supervisors, teaching staff and others in a mentor role or similar role have a particular responsibility to act professionally and objectively in situations in which they are part of an asymmetrical (unequal) collaboration, relationship and power balance”. This means, for example, that staff who participate in social events with other staff, colleagues and students in particular must be conscious of the fact that they, qua their status as employees, represent Aarhus University and are responsible for behaving appropriately in this capacity.

The staff policy and the rules on impartiality and conflict of interest exist to protect both the university and the individual employee. If someone is disqualified under these rules, this means they must refrain from participating in the consideration of a matter. This is a legal concept, not a moral one. In order to ensure correct and legal decisions and to avoid suspicion that extraneous considerations may be taken into account in the consideration of a matter, the Danish Public Administration Act describes various situations in which public-sector employees are disqualified from participating in the consideration of a matter.

According to the Act, public-sector employees are, as a general rule, disqualified from participating in the consideration of a matter if they, or a closely related person, have a special personal or financial interest in the outcome of the matter. Recipients of grants from foundations are subject to the same rules.

‘A closely related person’ means parents, children, spouses, in-laws and nephews and nieces. Long-term cohabiting relationships are equated with marriage. In addition, the rules also apply to stepchildren, close friends/enemies and any other family members with whom the staff member frequently spends time.

Managers may not hire someone in their own sphere of responsibility and chain of command with whom they have a close personal relationship. Managers who establish close personal connections or relationships with staff members must inform their own immediate manager of this without delay. A close personal relationship between a manager and one of their reports may affect work in the unit, not only in relation to the staff member in question but also in relation to other staff in the unit. For this reason, the manager in question should discuss the issue with their own immediate manager and make necessary adjustments to employment conditions, such as transferring responsibility for managing the staff member in question to another manager, transferring the manager, transferring the staff member or other measures.

A close personal relationship between a manager and a staff member who is not a direct report but who reports to another manager in the same chain of command can also lead to disqualification and other work environment problems. This will depend on a number of factors, including how close their organisational affiliation is, how closely they collaborate, whether they work in the same location and how close the personal relationship is.

Staff members may not serve as course coordinators, teachers, examiners and/or project supervisors for students with whom they have close personal relationships. The reason for this is that such a relationship may affect the conduct of teaching, examination, supervision, etc. This is not only in relation to the student involved, but also in relation to the other students in the class. What is decisive in this regard here is not whether discrimination actually takes place; it is a question of avoiding situations in which assessments, etc. can be called into question due to disqualification.

Colleagues at the same level who establish a close personal connection or relationship are not under an obligation to inform their manager about this. However, it is recommended that they do so. However, if there are circumstances involved in a relationship between colleagues that may give rise to doubts about their impartiality, their immediate manager must be informed. The same applies if challenges arise between the parties or in relation to other colleagues that may affect work in the unit.

Other examples of situations in which staff may be disqualified include participation in an assessment or recruitment process. If a manager or staff member has a close personal relationship to a candidate for a position, as as general rule, they may not participate in the recruitment process in question. They are disqualified from participating in the process as a whole, not just the part that concerns the person with whom they have a close personal relationship. The same applies to co-authors of articles written by a candidate who is to be assessed.

An employee who is disqualified, or who thinks that they might be disqualified, with regard to the consideration of a particular matter has a duty to to inform their manager as soon as possible. The employee’s immediate manager decides whether they are disqualified. The practical consequence of disqualification will typically be that the work assignment/matter is transferred to a colleague or manager. There may be exceptional situations in which the matter cannot be transferred to someone else, even though disqualification has been established. This would be the case if transferring responsibility for considering the matter would be extremely difficult or impossible.