Personal projects policy

About this policy

This policy is in place to give you guidance about how you can carry out your own personal projects (like your own software development) while also working for us.

One reason why we need this policy is because, in some circumstances, there may be doubt whether an Invention or a work embodying intellectual property rights is created (wholly or partly) in the course of your employment or in your personal time. Such uncertainty could have consequences for you and for us. For example, under English law, an employer automatically owns copyright in original works created by its employees in the course of their employment.

This policy seeks to make the position clear, as we would much rather be open with our staff regarding how to go about personal projects.

Our requirements

In general, you are of course free to pursue all personal hobbies or other purely personal matters, and this policy will not apply to them. However, if we reasonably believe that something impacts materially on your work for the company, then we may consider it to be a personal project, which would be covered by this policy, and we would need to take an appropriate course of action with you. To be clear, we decide what is a personal project that is covered by this policy.

You are welcome to carry out any kind of personal project you like, provided that you follow the rules given below.

We would like you to tell us before you start work on your personal project, so that we may give you our formal consent.

This also applies to personal projects that started before your employment with us commenced. In this case, you should inform us about that project and, unless it competes with the business undertaken by us, you will be free to pursue that project. If we reasonably believe that your existing personal project is or may be competitive to our activities, we may ask you to suspend work on that personal project for the duration of your employment with us.

As a general guideline:

• (a) Avoid projects or hobbies that overlap with our own products, regardless of whether those products have been brought to market, are in development, or have been discontinued.

• (b) Avoid projects or hobbies that might reasonably be viewed as competing with our own products, regardless of whether those products have been brought to market, are in development, or have been discontinued.

• (c) Avoid projects or hobbies that are directly relevant to markets in which we operate.

The guidelines given here are only examples, and are not exhaustive.

You cannot sell, make money from or otherwise commercialise your personal project without our prior written consent.

Don’t take on personal projects which amount to paid work for someone else (unless we previously have approved it).

Unless we have given you our prior written approval, you cannot use any of our property in connection with your personal project. That includes (but is not limited to):

• (a) our equipment, IT, software or data services; and/or

• (b) our Confidential Information (which is defined in your employment agreement

Any personal project work should be carried out during your free time, not our time.

If you want to collaborate with others of our staff (or they want to collaborate with you), ask us first. If we approve it, they will have to follow this policy too.

Your personal project must at all times remain clearly yours – you cannot pretend to be us (nor any of our business partners) or in any way say or give the impression that we support or endorse the personal project, whether personally or publicly, unless otherwise agreed in advance.

You must not create or actively develop a personal project which in any way discriminates against others or is defamatory, otherwise unlawful or which we might otherwise consider inappropriate. If in doubt, you must check with us.

Your personal project is at your cost, not ours.

We cannot be held responsible or liable for anything to do with your personal project.

Any decision regarding this policy and/or any personal project will be made by us alone at our sole discretion and our decision will be final.

Any approval given in accordance with this policy may be withdrawn at any time and, in such a case, you are required to suspend any further development on that project until after your employment with us has ended.

Ownership of the personal project

You will own your personal project and all intellectual property rights in it (provided that you abide by this policy).

In the event that you wholly or partly create your personal project in any way that could be construed as being in the course of your employment, if you have abided by this policy and obtained prior written consent to the project, then we may well agree that any intellectual property rights subsisting (or which may in the future subsist) in inventions and works (as defined in your employment contract) will not automatically, on creation, vest in us absolutely.

Similarly, you also own any work created before you joined us, but see above.

Changes to this policy

We will take reasonable steps to give you notice of any changes to or withdrawal of this policy. Any decision regarding this policy and/or any personal project will be made by us at our sole discretion and our decision will be final.

A breach of this policy will be addressed in accordance with our disciplinary procedure.