The new rules provide employees and students with clear guidelines for the safe, careful and professional use of digital resources such as email, laptops, cloud storage, social media and collaboration platforms.
The rules of conduct cover:
- Intellectual property and confidential information;
- Use of information facilities;
- Use of personal equipment within the Radboud environment;
- Working from home/remote working;
- Use of social media;
- Use of visual material.
Why these new rules?
Employees and students are working increasingly digitally and share (sensitive) information on a daily basis. This also involves risks. The new code of conduct helps to limit cyber risks and contributes to a safe and respectful digital working environment. It clarifies what is expected of employees, students and guests of our university when using ICT resources such as email, laptops, cloud storage, social media and collaboration platforms.
What is new?
- Unlike the previous rules, the new rules apply uniformly to employees, students and guests.
- It is more clearly defined how employees and students should handle data storage and the use of authorised applications.
- Specific guidelines have been added for making and sharing (visual) recordings within the university context.
What do the new rules of conduct mean for you as a manager?
As a manager, you are the first point of contact in the event of suspected breaches of the code of conduct by (one of) your employees, and you have the responsibility to take appropriate measures – within the applicable HR frameworks and in coordination with HR.
Monitoring
- Thematic and behavioural aspects, such as inappropriate use of social media, sharing of visual material or potentially inappropriate behaviour (including harassment), are assessed retrospectively by the manager – and where necessary in consultation with HR – when there are concrete indications.
- Targeted investigations take place only following a written instruction from the dean/director of the relevant faculty or unit, or from the Executive Board, stating the reasons for carrying out such an investigation.
Enforcement
- Enforcement of the Code of Conduct takes place within existing HR processes and the framework of employment law, integrity policy and disciplinary measures.
- As a manager, you have the instruments and authority to act appropriately in the event of (potential) breaches: ranging from a (corrective) conversation to disciplinary measures such as a formal warning, suspension from duties/suspension, or in more serious cases a transfer or, in extreme cases, dismissal (see Article 14.1). Employment-law measures (including a (formal) warning) must always be coordinated with HR and must be imposed by the dean, director or the Executive Board. By ensuring that enforcement takes place in consultation with HR, the approach towards employees remains careful, consistent and transparent.