Social Safety

What is the Academy aiming for?

Social safety is a prerequisite for good scientific practice: it is only in a safe environment that the qualities and talents of all team members can flourish. In 2022, the Academy published the report Social Safety in Dutch Academia – From Paper to Practice. Despite a lot being achieved, there’s more that can be done. That's why we are working together to improve social safety, based on the recommendations of the report. 

Academy’s Code of Conduct for Social Safety

The Academy has a Code of Conduct for Social Safety, setting out how we deal with one another. The Code applies to all persons working for or at the Academy, regardless of their contractual basis (i.e. also interns, fellows, guest researchers, Board members, employment agency workers, secondees, volunteers, and self-employed persons). 

Inappropriate behaviour: talk about it!

The Academy wishes to offer a safe and inclusive working environment for everyone who works there. If you are troubled by a lack of social safety and inappropriate behaviour (or suspicions of such behaviour), for example aggression, violence, discrimination, racism, intimidation, sexual harassment or bullying, then discuss it with someone you trust – and do so sooner rather than later. The same applies if you are a bystander when such behaviour occurs. Confront one another about it and give feedback. If you feel awkward or unsafe about doing so, there are various parties within the Academy that you can approach. 

Where can you get help?

What can you do in a case of inappropriate behaviour within the Academy?

• If doing so feels safe, then you can of course confront someone about their behaviour. But if it doesn’t, then you should talk to your manager about it. 
• If that's not possible or it doesn't feel safe, you can also contact, for example, the P&O adviser, or get confidential advice and help from the Academy’s internal confidential contacts and/or external confidential counsellors (login on the Academy's intranet is required). They will offer a listening ear, provide advice and support, and work with you to see how to put a stop to the inappropriate behaviour. 
• If there's a structural problem affecting multiple employees or if it's been going on for some time, you can also approach the Academy's ombudsperson for advice and assistance (login on the Academy's intranet is required). The ombudsperson operates independently and can also investigate socially unsafe work situations him/herself.

The Academy’s plan of action

The Academy has been working in recent years to improve social safety within its organisation. We will continue striving to improve the situation even further and to promote a culture of respect and safety. Our focus is on creating an environment within which inappropriate behaviour does not occur. To achieve this, we invest in raising awareness and providing information, help and support, for example by means of Science Theatre performances and active bystander training sessions. We have also reinforced our social safety help system, organised training sessions for our internal confidential contacts, and revised our inappropriate behaviour complaints regulations. A plan of action has been drawn up for 2024, with a clear goal: the Academy must be a socially safe environment for everyone.

Academy’s Inappropriate Behaviour Complaints Regulations

If you’ve been confronted by inappropriate behaviour within the Academy and reporting it hasn't led to an effective solution, then you can submit a formal complaint to the Academy’s Inappropriate Behaviour Complaints Committee. More information:

• Academy’s Inappropriate Behaviour Complaints Committee
• Academy’s Inappropriate Behaviour Complaints Regulations

Submit your complaint here 

See also

In July 2022, the Academy published an advisory report on Social Safety in Dutch Academia – From Paper to Practice. The report is in the form of a guide and provides an analysis and recommendations for the organisational structure, workplace culture, and systems to rectify undesirable matters. It also provides practical guidelines for how people should take action.