Employee Representation
UMC Utrecht has the following formal Employee Representation bodies
Works council
UMC Utrecht staff members are represented in a Works Council. The Works Council meets weekly, and committee meetings take place every other week. Once every six weeks, a consultation takes place with Executive Board representatives. The Works Council reports to UMC Utrecht staff members on activities and results in an annual report on the UMC Utrecht intranet.
Works Council members serve for a three-year term. 21 Works Council members were active in 2023. One member left for another job. Due to vacancies and in preparation of the elections in 2024, a few interested employees joined as trainees in 2023. The Daily Management (chair, vice chair, secretary and deputy secretary) coordinates the activities of the Works Council and holds agenda meetings with the manager. Three division committees and four theme committees prepare documents, hold informal meetings with managers, and consult staff members. Each Works Council member sits on at least one division committee and one theme committee. The Works Council is supported by a secretariat that consists of three staff members.
The three division committees are:
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Committee 1: Brain division, Internal Medicine and Dermatology division, Julius Center, Image and Oncology, Information Supply and Finance department, Information Technology department, and the Education Center
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Committee 2: Pediatric division, Laboratories division, Pharmacy and Biomedical Genetics, Women & Baby division, Strategy & Policy department, Staff and Organization department, Quality and Patient Safety department, and the Marketing and Communication department
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Committee 3: Service Company department, Heart and Lung division, Surgery Specialties division, and Vital Functions division
The four theme committees are:
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Finance and Strategic Policy
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Social Policy and Working Conditions
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Safety, Health, Welfare & Environment
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Education & Research
The Works Commission is furthermore represented in a number of forums by Works Council members or people with specific expertise. Examples include the Complaints Committee, the UMC Utrecht staff provident fund, and the National Meeting of UMC Works Councils. Also in preparation of the elections for the Works Council and addition members of the Research and Education Board in March 2024, an Election Committee was temporarily active.
Important topics that were handled by the Works Council in 2023 included: the adjusted Whistleblower procedure at UMC Utrecht, the Change Plan for Future-proof Nursing for in- and outpatients in the Internal Medicine and Dermatology division and Pediatric division,, the development of the P&O organization, and the OR Availability regulation.
The Education and Research Council (O&O council) and the Student Representative Council
Education and Research Council (Dutch O&O council) is the legislative body for employee participation in the field of university education and research at UMC Utrecht. The Council’s rights are based on the Law on Higher Education and Scientific Research.
The Council has eighteen seats. Nine of the seats are for UMC Utrecht employees (who together form the ‘Education and Research committee’) and the other nine are for students who together form the Student Representative Council . Not all of the seats are occupied at all times. The Education and Research committee and the SRC meet and discuss separately every fortnight, and together every four weeks. The Education and Research committee, consisting of five Works Council members and four additional members (who work as university lecturers or researchers), sit for a three-year term. The students sit for one year. New elections will take place in 2024 for the Education and Research council and the Works Council. SRC elections take place each year.
The daily board of the Education and Research council consists of two staff members and two students and is elected annually by the council. The chair of the Education and Research council as well as the chair(s) of the SRC are students. The daily board, together with the official secretary, coordinates the work of the Education and Research council and conducts agenda consultations with the dean and vice dean. There are three permanent committees, namely Education, Research, and Strategy & Finance, which prepare records, hold informal meetings with the dossier holders, and consult with staff and/or students. Each O&O council member sits on one committee.
The O&O Council looks at UMC Utrecht's policy on university education and research. In 2023, the O&O Council consulted at least five times with the dean and vice dean of the Faculty of Medicine of Utrecht University on Education and Research topics.
In 2023 specific attention was given to the following topics: the wellbeing of students and PhDs, quality funds for education, attendance at courses in the Medical and Biomedical Sciences programs, the composition of education committees, the faculty assessment policy, the revision of the Medical program’s curriculum, starters’ and stimulus grants for researchers, artificial intelligence (AI) and its impact on education, Education and Examination arrangements, the main lines of faculty budget, the UMC budget, the EWUU alliance, and the return to the Hijmans van den Bergh building. The Student Representative Council lastly proposed to change the name of the faculty to the Faculty of Medical Sciences, so that all programs can recognize themselves in the name. The Board of Governors of Utrecht University is examining the proposal.
Client council
UMC Utrecht has its own Client Council by virtue of the Law on client representation in health-care institutions (WMCZ). The Client Council advises the Executive Board on anything that affects the interests of patients at UMC Utrecht. The council has also been asked to help promote patient participation within UMC Utrecht. The aim is to involve hospital patients in a far broader sense than merely via the Client Council in anything that happens at UMC Utrecht. The Client Council works on the basis of a longterm plan entitled ‘More person, less patient: From patient participation to person-oriented care’. The Client Council each year publishes an annual report on the UMC Utrecht website.
The Client Council gathers monthly for a plenary meeting, which is joined every two months by a member of the Executive Board. Monthly consultations also take place with (the Chair of) the Executive Board and (the Chair of) the Client Council. The Client Council also meets twice a year with the Supervisory Board, and a member of the Supervisory Board nominated by the Client Council, regularly joins the plenary meeting. There were also smaller group (portfolio) consultations on specific topics. The Executive Board of UMC Utrecht asked the Client Council to advise on eight proposed decisions. Furthermore, at the request of the Client Council, the Executive Board decided to add a Patient Effect Paragraph (PEP) to every policy decision. The PEP describes the effect on patients and how patients were involved in reaching the decision. The Client Council has also asked for a description of how the patient experiences the policy proposals.
Members of the Client Council are members in their own personal capacity. New members of the Client Council are recruited by UMC Utrecht. Each member of the Client Council may serve a maximum of two four-year terms. A chair and an official secretary are in charge of meeting agendas and ensure that all commitments are met.
Staff assembly
The Staff Assembly consists of medical specialists from all fields who come together to safeguard the quality of patient care. The Council of members, the representative consulting body of the Staff Assembly, gives the Executive Board solicited and unsolicited advice on developments in medical fields and administrative affairs that pertain thereto.
The Staff Assembly meets twice a month. The Chair of the Executive Board joins the meeting once a month. In addition, the daily management of the Staff Assembly meets monthly with the Chair of the Executive Board.
The Staff Assembly advised among other things on major UMC Utrecht-wide trajectories such as the Healthcare of Tomorrow, Implementation agreements for outpatients, Future-proof Nursing, and Room for the right care. The Staff Assembly also gave input for the CLA. This emphasized the importance of a good CLA for the entire team, in other words all UMC Utrecht employees, and vitality and sustainable employability of medical specialists regularly came under discussion. The performance of Individually Functioning Medical Specialists (IFMS) within UMC Utrecht was also discussed by the Staff Assembly. In this regard, the Staff Assembly works closely with the P&O department.
Nursing Advisory Council
The Nursing Advisory Council (VAR) is an advisory body appointed by the Executive Board to give advice – solicited or unsolicited – on matters that concern nursing care. The VAR includes nurses, nurse specialists, and team leaders from various divisions and departments, and forms the mouthpiece for all nursing staff at UMC Utrecht. The VAR aims to expand and reinforce the impact of nursing within UMC Utrecht. Nursing leadership is central to this. The goal is to improve and guarantee the quality of care. The VAR liaises with all care divisions and informs nurses on current topics that are relevant for their profession. In addition, the VAR organizes nursing lunch forums eight times a year where important nursing topics are presented and attendees can interact with each other. The VAR also has a weekly walk-in hour for all questions from nurses (both for review and for assistance).
The VAR daily management meets weekly, the broad representation with all VAR members meet monthly, and a reduced leadership team also meets monthly. Policy days take place twice a year, to which ambassadors are also invited. For information and inspiration on internal and external developments, speakers and members themselves are given the floor. The daily management is monthly in contact with the Chair of the Executive Board. One member of the Executive Board also joins the plenary VAR meeting each month.
In 2023, the VAR focused for instance on the positioning of nurses and the Future-proof Nursing program, the professionalization of nurses, nursing leadership, the promotion of nursing research, and professional pride. All of these topics were brought together on Healthcare Day. The annual Nurse of the Year election also took place on this day. The VAR brings out an annual report on the UMC Utrecht intranet on activities and results.
