Skip Navigation

Honorary appointments

What is an honorary appointment?

An honorary appointment is a voluntary arrangement, which allows individuals from business and institutions other than universities, as well as NHS Trusts, to cooperate with academic staff at the University. It is available to individuals who participate in undergraduate and postgraduate teaching and/or to cooperate on joint research to the mutual benefit of both them and the University.

An honorary appointment is not a contract of employment and honorary appointments will not receive any remuneration for work they undertake in their honorary capacity. All candidates for honorary appointments should be judged against the same standards of output as for substantive University positions albeit that activities with or on behalf of the University are clearly secondary to a candidate’s substantive role and this should be taken into account when considering the appointment.

The University reserves the right to terminate an honorary appointment at any time and for any reason prior to its expiry and if, in the future, the honorary appointment is appointed to a substantive role within the University, their honorary appointment will cease.

There is a separate process to give an individual a University IT account and Library access. To do this please visit the IT Services Wiki.

Please note this process differs from our visiting professor and visiting research roles. Visiting professors are appointed by the dean of faculty and are expected to contribute to the expertise of our staff. Visiting researchers are appointed in relation to time bound projects which specific research outputs.

Who is eligible?

All applicants must:

  • contribute to the University’s teaching and/or research endeavours
  • not be the subject of a disciplinary or capability process
  • not be the subject of an investigation of non-compliance with regulations by the applicant’s employer

Types of honorary appointment

Honorary Professor
Honorary Clinical Professor
Honorary Associate Professor
Honorary Clinical Associate Professor
Honorary Lecturer
Honorary Senior Lecturer
Honorary Clinical Lecturer
Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer
Honorary Research Fellow/Honorary Clinical Research Fellow
Honorary Associate Research Fellow/Honorary Clinical Associate Research Fellow

Terms of appointment

  • No remuneration will be attached to the posts.
  • All appointments will be for three years in the first instance (each area to advise SRPPS of the duration of the appointment). Decisions regarding extension of the appointment should be made at least three months in advance of the current appointment end date.
  • Appointments may be terminated by either party in advance of the appointment end date by providing one month’s written notice.
  • For the avoidance of doubt an honorary appointment does not constitute a contract of employment.
  • Title holders are of course permitted to refer to themselves using their designated title. However, it must be made clear in their title designation that they hold an Honorary position e.g., “Associate Professor J Jones, Honorary Clinical Associate Professor of Edge Hill University”.
  • The benefits relating to the honorary appointment are outlined in the letter of appointment

Appointments process

  • Applicants should engage initially in a conversation with the relevant faculty, school or department and share their CV with a substantive senior member of academic and/or research staff for them to undertake an initial assessment of potential suitability based on the relevant criteria.
  • Once in receipt of the applicant’s CV and when a conversation has taken place, the substantive senior member of academic and/or research staff should complete the first section of the ‘Honorary Academic Status Proposal Form’ and then the form should be forwarded on to the applicant to complete the second part.
  • Where a support letter from an NHS Trust is required, this must be from someone who understands and endorses the work that you as an individual do on behalf of the University and what the impact is. An appropriate person could be your Trust Clinical Director, Medical Director, Hospital Dean or person of equivalent standing in the relevant NHS Trust. Normally, a support letter will only be a required for those applying for Honorary Clinical Professor or Honorary Clinical Associate Professor.
  • The applicant should then forward completed documentation (alongside their CV) to [email protected] for further consideration and processing. Please be aware that incomplete applications will not be processed and will be returned to the applicant.
  • Applications for Honorary Professor or Honorary Associate Professor or Honorary Clinical Professor or Honorary Clinical Associate Professor will normally be considered by members of the University’s Standing Conferment Panel.
  • All other honorary appointments will normally be considered by a member(s) of the University’s Academic Progression Panel.
  • All applicants must have the legal right to work in the UK. These checks will be completed on appointment.
  • Depending on the nature of the honorary appointment, DBS and/or ATAS clearance may be required. If deemed necessary, these checks will be completed on appointment.
  • An outcome letter will then be sent to the applicant, normally via email copying in the substantive senior member of academic and/or research staff and any other supervisor identified on the application form.
  • For information regarding network/resource access, see External Members guidance for supervisors.

Renewal of existing honorary appointments

Existing honorary appointments will be reviewed, at the latest, three months in advance of the current appointment end date. A pro-forma, which asks the honorary appointee to set out their contribution to the University, can be found below.

Honorary academic status proposal form

Where the head of department decides to withdraw an honorary appointment partway through the appointment this should be discussed in the first instance with the faculty HR partner. Where the head of school decides not to renew an appointment at the end of the period of appointment this can be confirmed directly to SRPPS who will write to the individual.

Contact

Please contact us if you have any further enquiries.