Procedures for private and additional work, including Limited Private Practice (LPP) by full-time members of the joint UCT/Western Cape Government medical staff on the payroll and conditions of service of the University

1. Full-time joint staff may not do private work or additional work, including professional practice. This is a condition of the Joint Agreement and of individual contracts. However, exceptions may be negotiated, and in their cases permission may be granted to do additional or private work.
2. Permission may be granted subject to the following:
   1. Prior written approval must be obtained from the Dean (and by the Dean from the Deputy Vice-Chancellor);
   2. Where this is for clinical work, this must be applied for and renewed annually and will only be for work done over and above the individual's contracted hours per week (usually 40 hours);
   3. Where this is professional work for a third party (e.g. a drug trial which is not governed by a UCT contract) if permission is granted, it will be on the basis that direct and indirect costs incurred by the University must be recovered, on the basis specified by the Dean on giving approval; and
   4. Where ethical approval is required (and this is also required for multi-site trials) this approval must have been obtained from the Faculty's Ethics Committee. (This approval is in addition to ethical clearance obtained from any other competent ethical clearing body for a multi-site trial.)
   5. When a staff member applies for permission for private work (including but not limited to LPP) he/she will be required to provide details of what he/she will be doing as well as an income statement for the prior year. This will require a person applying for the forthcoming year to submit both an application form and a completed form of declaration of business interests and income from these and private work for the preceding 12 months. The relevant forms are the following:

      HR126 - Application for Limited Private Practice
      HR126a - Work Plan template (Central Hospitals)
      HR126b - Work Plan template (Regional Hospitals / District Hospitals /Services)
      HR126c - Private Work Income Declaration

3. The application will be reviewed by a committee constituted by the Dean including the Dean (or nominee) and, if for clinical work, the hospital CEO in consultation with the Head of Department. All information relating to declared business interests and income will be confidential to this committee.
4. The declaration form includes two undertakings by the applicant:
   1. That he/she declares it to be full and complete; and
   2. That he/she accepts that the declaration will be subject to audit.
5. The parties to the joint agreement reserve the right to audit any application.
6. The Dean (or nominee) will inform the applicant, the applicant's HOD, and in the case of permission to undertake clinical private work, the hospital CEO of the outcome of an application in writing.
7. The information provided in a private work application will not be used for purposes other than determining approval of private work.
8. The University recognises that there is usually no direct relationship between the amount of money earned through LPP and the amount of time spent doing LPP. The amount earned will not determine whether someone is doing too much LPP. No single factor will be used in deciding whether or not to approve private work. In assessing the earnings from LPP, individuals will be allowed to explain how earnings relate to time spent on private work, and why it may be different from the norm, should they feel this is necessary. Furthermore, due consideration will be given to the performance of the individual with respect to their public sector and academic service.

9 December 2011

Page last updated: 18 April 2012