Secondment Policy Summary
Parts of the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 came into effect on 1 August 2025. These strengthen the legal duties of universities in relation to free speech and academic freedom. Regulation of the new duties is undertaken by the Office for Students (OfS), which has published regulatory guidance on the topic. The University is fully committed to securing and promoting freedom of speech within the law for staff, students and visiting speakers in all activities relating to academic life. The University’s Code of Practice on Freedom of Speech sets out the University’s values, approach and associated procedures in detail. This policy/guidance/information is currently being reviewed against the OfS’ regulatory guidance. Any amendments arising from the review will be subject to approval being sought through the University’s normal governance processes. In the meantime, this policy/guidance/information is to be interpreted and applied in a manner consistent with the Code of Practice; in the case of any perceived conflict, the provisions of the Code of Practice will take precedence insofar as that is lawful and reasonably practicable. For further information on the new legislation, please see the Governance and Compliance Division website. |
This page provides a summary of the Secondment Policy. For full details, please refer to the complete Policy on the Secondment Policy page.
What is this Policy about?
This Policy sets out the University’s approach to secondments. These are temporary work arrangements that allow employees to take up a role in a different department, institution or external organisation.
Who is this Policy for?
All University employees.
What do I need to know?
There are 3 types of secondment:
- Internal (within/between different institutions in the University)
- External (from the University to an external organisation)
- Incoming (from an external organisation to Cambridge)
For internal secondments the University’s recruitment procedure applies. Alternatively, a secondment may be set up to meet the development needs of an employee.
An employee should speak to their manager at the earliest opportunity when applying for a secondment.
Secondments are open to all staff categories, regardless of length of service. However, it is normally expected that an employee will have successfully completed their probationary period before applying for a secondment.
A secondment normally lasts up to 12 months, with a maximum duration of 2 years.
All parties need to be clear about their obligations, expectations, accountabilities and objectives in each secondment situation. A template secondment agreement is available from HR to document these arrangements.
Employees retain the right to return to their original post at the end of their secondment.
The Secondment Policy details the arrangements that apply for an external secondment and incoming secondment and includes checklists of considerations that apply in these situations.