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This guidance note provides information regarding declarations required by officers under the Code of Conduct (which forms part of your Staff Handbook).
In line with the requirements of the Code of Conduct, officers are asked to register-
For further information please read the full Code of Conduct Guidance Note below.
To register an interest please use the Code of Conduct form.
This Guidance Note applies to all staff, employees, apprentices and those employed by Tendring District working in partnership arrangements. This note has been prepared to provide further guidance on the standard of conduct expected of Officers and declarations of interests, gifts and hospitality in relation to the Council’s Staff Handbook.
Details from the staff handbook are as follows:
“The Public are entitled to demand of a Local Government employee of any grade the highest standard of integrity, ability and commitment to the ethics of public service and the interest of all members of the community.
The standards must be upheld and be seen to be upheld. Public confidence would be shaken should the least suspicion, however, ill founded, arise that the person could in any way be influenced by improper motives.
An employee should not subordinate their duty to private interests, or put themselves in a position where their duty and private interests conflict."
This Guidance sets out the minimum standards to which the Council expects its staff to work to. It is not a complete list of what staff can and cannot do, but its aim is to enable us to understand the ground rules.
The Guidance cannot be exhaustive and you should seek further guidance on any matter where you are unsure of the standards of conduct required.
The Staff Handbook is part of your conditions of employment with the Council. If you do not follow it, it may mean that the Council’s formal disciplinary procedure will apply. Although the Guidance relates primarily to your working hours it can also apply where, due to your role, you might be on call. You should also be aware that the Guidance could apply to comments you make when using social media such as Facebook and Twitter (See Social Media Policy for further information).
It is a serious criminal offence for you to corruptly receive or give any gift, loan, fee, reward or advantage for doing, or not doing, anything or showing favour, or disfavour, to any person in your official capacity. If an allegation is made the matter will be investigated using procedures set out in the Councils' grievance and disciplinary policies. You must not show favouritism or give preferential treatment to friends, partners or relations in the allocation of Council services or benefits.
You must report to either of the Council’s Section 151 or Monitoring Officers any dealings that you become aware of, where you suspect that the money involved may have been acquired through illegal practices, whether or not that money relates to clients funds or those of any contractor or third-party with whom the Council may be involved. This is particularly important now that the Bribery Act 2010 has come into force.
Any gift or hospitality offered or received must be recorded in the service departments register (see later for further requirements and information).
Open government is best because it gives assurance to our communities that decisions are being taken in as open as transparent a way as possible. The law requires that certain types of information must be available to Members, auditors, government departments, service users and the public. You must be aware of which information the Council does make public and act accordingly, taking into account the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Environmental Information Regulations. In addition, Data Protection legislation and duties of confidentiality must be observed and safeguarded. Information gathered while working for the Council should not be used for commercial or personal gain or otherwise misused. If you are in any doubt regarding access to and release of information, you should seek the guidance from your line manager.
You are under a special obligation to further the interests of the Council. Ownership of any copyright, design right, database or invention you make during the course of your normal duties or any duties specifically assigned to you will be with the Council.
In your dealings with consultants and contractors you should, wherever appropriate, ensure that the Council acquires ownership of any database or intellectual property rights produced specifically in connection with work for the Council.
You should not knowingly use any information obtained in the course of your employment for personal gain or benefit, nor should you knowingly pass it on to others who might use it in such a way.
Mutual respect between staff and Councillors is essential to good Local Government. Officers are politically neutral and serve the whole Council and must avoid being identified with any political group. You are expected to contribute to proper and effective working relationships with Councillors. You must ensure that the individual rights of Councillors are respected and you must ensure that you maintain political neutrality and do nothing that might embarrass others or damage your relationship with Members. There are rules around political allegiances and if in any doubt raise the matter with your line manager.
Close personal familiarity between individual Councillors and Officers can damage this relationship and give rise to the appearance of improper conduct and prove embarrassing to other staff and Councillors and therefore should be avoided.
You must report to your Corporate Director/Head of Service on any occasion, if a member asks or pressures you to deal with a matter outside of Council procedure or policy. You must take up any work problem or personal problems you have with managers, do not raise them directly with Members.
The Local Government Officers (Political Restriction) Regulations 1990 and the Local Government (Politically Restricted Posts) (No.2) Regulations 1990 impose, as a result of the salary level or scope of duties, restrictions on the political activities of certain Officers. Full details will be provided to you by Human Resources if you are in such a post.
You must follow the Council’s adopted policies and procedures, and must not allow your own personal or political opinions to interfere with your work. The Council has adopted a Member and Officers Relations Protocol, which is contained within the Council’s Constitution and available on the website and intranet, employees should familiar themselves with its contents and comply with the required principles.
You must always remember your responsibilities to the community you serve and ensure courteous, efficient and impartial service delivery to all groups and individuals within the community as defined by the policies of the Council.
All relationships of a business or private nature with external contractors, or potential contractors, must be declared appropriately. Orders and contracts must be awarded on merit in accordance with the Council’s Financial and Procurement Procedure Rules. No special favour must be shown to businesses run by, for example, friends, partners or relatives in the tendering process. No part of the local community must be discriminated against.
If you are involved in a tendering process and are dealing with contractors you must be clear on the separation of client and contractor roles within the Council. Senior Officers who have both a client and contractor responsibility must be aware of the need for accountability and openness. If you are employed in contractor or client units you must exercise fairness and impartiality when dealing with all customers, suppliers, other contractors and sub-contractors. If you are privy to confidential matters on tenders or costs for either internal or external contractors you must not disclose those matters to any unauthorised party or organisation.
If you are involved in appointments you must ensure that these are made on the basis of merit. It would be unlawful for you to make an appointment which was based on anything other than the ability of the candidate to undertake the duties of the post. In order to avoid any possible accusation of bias, you must not be involved in an appointment where you are related to an applicant, or have a close personal relationship outside work with him or her. You must not let your political or personal preferences influence your judgement. You must not canvass the support of colleagues for any candidate and you must resist any attempt by others to canvass you.
Similarly, you must not be involved in decisions relating to discipline promotion or pay adjustments for any Officer with whom you have a close personal relationship.
What you do during your off duty hours is your personal concern but you should not put yourself in a position where your duties and private interests conflict. You should not undertake outside work if your official duties overlap in a way which would cause a conflict of interest or if the outside work is likely to affect adversely the performance of your contract with the District Council. No outside work of any sort should be undertaken on District Council premises. Correspondence and incoming phone calls related to outside work are not permissible. You may not engage in any other business or take up any other additional employment without the express consent, in writing, of your Corporate Director or Head of Service or as specified in your letter of appointment.
You must not use the Councils equipment, property or contacts in any authorised private work that you do and you must not do any private work during your working hours. You must seek the approval of your manager before publishing or making private gain from any work which may be associated with your official capacity.
Council facilities must not be used for private use.
Outside of your employment, you must not undertake any private commitments or activities that may bring the Council into disrepute or impair your performance or detrimentally conflict with the Councils interests. If you are absent ill you must not undertake activities that may be detrimental to or inhibit your return to fitness and work.
The Council encourages voluntary work, public duties and activities in support of local community groups and your involvement in these areas is welcomed.
When acting in a professional capacity you may publish books and articles, give lectures or speak on radio and television and may illustrate these by reference to the Councils activities or policies. You should, however, consult your Corporate Director or Head of Service before doing so and should make it clear that the views you express are your own and not those of the District Council.
Those employees holding supervisory or managerial positions are expected to give first priority to their employment with Tendring District Council and prior permission to undertake other paid employment must be obtained from their Corporate Director or Head of Service.
You will have a personal interest in a matter if that matter affects the wellbeing or financial position of you, your relatives or your friends more than it would affect other people in the Councils area. Such an interest may be either non-financial or financial. These interests are not required to be registered or declared unless they involve or conflict the business of the Council (see conflicts of interest below).
You must record in the Central Register if you are a Senior Manager (Section Manager and above) or you are in a Politically Restricted role and/or have the ability to influence a decision or regularly attend committee the following interests:
It is not always possible to ensure that staff are assigned work, which does not in some way affect their own personal lives and dealings. Where there could be any embarrassment or a conflict of interest, you must report the situation to your manager immediately – this could include having to provide advice on, transact a personal or property related matter or deal with a problem relating to a work colleague, friend, family member, or neighbour.
When you submit a planning application to the Council, you must notify the Council’s Monitoring Officer at the same time.
Each service department is responsible for maintaining a Register of Declarations of Interest.
All personal circumstances where a conflict of personal interest might apply should be recorded in the service department’s Register of Declarations of Interest. The register will record:
Declaring and recording the potential conflict is for your own protection, in addition to the Council maintaining its governance arrangements and to avoid any suspicion or compromise. In each instance, the Service Manager (or Corporate Director or Chief Executive – depending upon the level of Officer) will sign the register to record their decision with regards to the individual member of staff continuing involvement in the matter, for e.g. employee X will no longer be involved in this case or it is acceptable because (and provide reasons).
Human Resources should be made aware of any declaration regarding work outside of the Council to ensure that there is no conflict of interest and that legislation such as the Working Time Directive are not breached. The Council is always keen to support staff when they are undertaking additional work so it will only be refused in exceptional circumstances and where there is a clear conflict of interest or a breach of legislation.
Any breaches to these guidelines will be treated very seriously and could result in dismissal.
As a general rule, staff should tactfully refuse the acceptance of any gifts from individuals or organisations that do, or might, provide work, goods or services to the Council or who are dependent upon or require some decision from the Council (e.g. a Planning Approval).
The only exception to this rule should be modest gifts, generally of a promotional nature, such as calendars, diaries, office items, small gifts offered or light meals supplied during courtesy visits. Such items should have a personal token value of less than £25.
In exceptional circumstances, offers of hospitality can be accepted if there is a genuine need to impart information or represent the Council through the particular engagement. Offers to attend purely social or sporting functions should only be accepted when these are for the benefit of the Council or in connection with a civic or courtesy visit. All hospitality received must be properly authorised in advance and recorded in the service department’s Register of Gifts and Hospitality.
When hospitality has to be declined, those making the offer must be courteously but firmly informed of the procedures and standards operating within the Council. Any firm or individual who wishes to make a gesture of goodwill to the Council or its Officers should be redirected to the Chairman’s Charity Fund.
When receiving authorised gifts or hospitality you must be particularly sensitive as to its timing in relation to decisions which the Council may be taking affecting those providing the hospitality. You must decline hospitality which may compromise your impartiality or have the perception of doing so.
Acceptance by you of hospitality through attendance at relevant conferences and courses is acceptable where it is clear the hospitality is corporate rather than personal, where your manager gives consent in advance and where your manager is satisfied that any purchasing decisions are not compromised.
Hospitality, excluding light refreshments, can only be given in exceptional circumstances where there is an expected demonstrable benefit to the Council and with the prior approval of your Head of Service or Corporate Director.
If there is any doubt about whether an invitation should be accepted advice should be sought from the Corporate Director or Head of Service. The level of hospitality offered will obviously vary according to the circumstances of each situation, but in all cases, you should be able to justify the arrangements you have made in the interest of the Council as a whole.
Each service department is responsible for maintaining a Register of Gifts and Hospitality.
Officers must record the receipt of all gifts or hospitality in this register. The register will show:
On no account should any monetary gift be accepted and any such offers should be reported to your line manager immediately.
The Chief Executive shall review the respective Gifts and Hospitality Registers on a three-monthly basis and will sign the Register to signify that they are satisfied to the best of their knowledge that there is full compliance with the provisions relating to gifts and hospitality. The Monitoring Officer will ensure that reminders are sent to staff at least annually.
Breach of this guidance by you will be regarded as a disciplinary offence. A serious breach will be regarded as gross misconduct. Examples of a serious breach include: failure to inform an appropriate manager about fraud or impropriety of which you are aware; misuse of confidential information; failure to declare a personal or conflicting interest; private activities which bring the Council into disrepute; preferential treatment of contractors or clients in return for gifts or hospitality; use of Council equipment or facilities for private gain.