Social safety contact point can now really open

Now that the Works Council and Student Council gave their ‘go’ to the TU Delft Integrity and Social Safety Reporting Procedure last week, the social safety contact point can take further shape. It will open at the end of March at the earliest. At the earliest because the organisers have a lot to arrange after the agreement. For example, the internal work process must be described, physical and digital locations for the contact point must be set up, and a system must be set up for hiring and training employees. In addition, peer-to-peer coaching and sharing, and evaluation must be well organised from the start.

The reporting procedure that has now been approved covers 26 pages. Below is a summary from the Executive Board’s decision-making memorandum.

• Anyone with an ‘existing, former or possibly upcoming working or teaching relationship’ with TU Delft can confidentially and possibly anonymously report incidents of transgressive behaviour and suspicions of other violations or abuses in the field of social, organisational and/or scientific integrity, even if they occurred a long time ago.
• In consultation and without obligation, the case manager at the contact point can refer people lodging reports to another desk. The case manager can also request follow-up advice from the ‘interpretation table’, taking into account the wishes and expectations of the report filer ‘as far as possible’.
• The interpretation table consists of internal TU Delft specialists: in any case, an Integrity Advisor from the Integrity Office, a research or other expert from Internal Safety, and a Legal Affairs employee. The case manager can also invite experts in other subjects such as from Education and Student Affairs or Human Resources.
• The interpretation table comes into play in the event of a possible wrongdoing; the need for a person-oriented fact-finding investigation; the need for ‘a multidisciplinary assessment’; or if TU Delft needs to take action.
• The interpretation table advises on the appropriate next step. Advice to those filing reports is non-binding, while the ‘comply or explain’ principle applies to advice to decision-makers within TU Delft. This means that decision-makers have to explain if they do not accept advice.
• Specialists at the interpretation table must provide independent input for tailor-made advice based on their knowledge and expertise; they may not receive any instructions to that effect.
• Employees of the contact point and the interpretation table may not be involved in handling reports with which they have any personal involvement. It is possible to outsource the assessment of a report entirely or in part.
• The people filing reports are protected. If they suspect that they are being disadvantaged in any way, they can contact the Integrity Office to discuss the next steps. If they misuse the hotline in any way, that protection will lapse.
• The contact point and the interpretation table can also support managers and other decision-makers in the first phase of dealing with a report about integrity or social safety issues.
• The manager of the Integrity Office is responsible for the proper functioning of the contact point and the interpretation table. .
• A new reports reflection board will help maintain and improve the reporting process. This board will consist of five to seven staff members and students. They are appointed on the recommendation of a committee in which at least the Works Council, the Student Council and the Integrity Office are represented.
• The Integrity Office will issue a public annual report by April at the latest.

‘Urgent need’

The possible benefits of the contact point are set out in the principles adopted by the Executive Board in December 2024. For example, it should provide greater insight into ‘the amount, nature and handling of reports’; increase TU Delft’s ‘learning capacity’; support ‘legal equality and legal certainty’; and, enable TU Delft to ‘act in a timely manner’ in the event of suspicions of serious wrongdoing. For these reasons, the Works Council and the Student Council advise that the contact point be started as soon as possible after earlier delays. The local unions also speak of an ‘urgent need’.

‘There is a lot of ground to cover to regain trust, but we are working on this’

Yet, the enthusiasm for the reporting procedure does not seem to be that great. Despite months of in-depth consultation with the organisation behind the contact point (the Integrity Office), the reactions of the Works Council and the unions to the reporting procedure are measured. “A simple yes or no cannot be given immediately,” said Works Council chairman Ronald Kuil on 20 February during a consultation meeting with the Executive Board. The unions took a similar position in their advice to the Works Council of 7 February, stating that they have ‘come to the conclusion that there is no simple positive or negative advice to give’.

Follow-up desks

It is not entirely clear from their advice where this stance comes from. It is not unusual for representation bodies to provide points for attention in the event of a positive advice.

What will play a role are concerns about the ‘follow-up desks’. The Works Council and the unions believe that they must function optimally. After all, the case manager of the contact point can refer a victim to these follow-up desks, as can the interpretation table. After the Education Inspectorate’s sharp criticism in March 2024 on their functioning and findability, the various desks are working to improve these, but some aspects are still pending. For example, the Implementation Plan for Social Safety and Integrity shows that the Undesirable Behaviour Complaints Committee must be given new regulations and a new composition and that the regulations for the ombudsperson will also be revised.

Capacity

Another reservation of the Works Council and the unions concerns the placing of the contact point in the TU Delft organisation. It falls under the Integrity Office, which in turn falls under the Administrative Office Department. The unions and the Works Council recommend placing the Integrity Office directly under the Supervisory Board in order to strengthen its independence. All aspects of safer reporting will help, the unions stated during a meeting with the Executive Board on 17 February. “People are sometimes afraid to come forward,” said Chairman Fred Veer. “There is a lot of ground to cover to regain trust, but we are working on this.”

In the meantime, the Works Council and the unions are urging the Integrity Office to ensure enough capacity to process reports quickly, although it is as yet unclear how many people will file reports. They strongly believe that the interpretation table should start as soon as possible. Their previous criticism of the composition of the interpretation table – with employees from TU Delft’s Safety and Security and Legal Services – seems to have disappeared with the independence paragraph in the reporting procedure.

Starting point

All remaining reservations will be reviewed gradually and addressed where necessary. Rector Magnificus and President of the Executive Board Tim van der Hagen called the opening of the contact ‘not an end point, but a starting point’, when he met with the Works Council and the Student Council. In addition to continuous internal peer review and evaluation, a first formal independent evaluation commissioned by the Executive Board will take place within a year of the start, as laid down in the reporting procedure. The design, effectiveness and effects will then be examined.