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The Corporation of the Municipality of Clarington
By -Law No. 2018-034
Being a By-law to repeal By-law 2001-209,
Code of Ethics
Whereas Policy E1 — Code of Ethics initially governed both staff and Council and was
enacted by Council through By-law 2001-209;
And Whereas Council has enacted a separate Code of Conduct for Members of
Council through By-law 2017-020;
And Whereas Council deems it appropriate to update the Code of Ethics for employees
to protect the rights of employees and to provide clarity and consistency;
Now Therefore the Council of the Municipality of Clarington enacts as follows:
1. That Schedule A attached hereto is adopted as the Municipality of Clarington's
Policy E1 - Code of Ethics for Employees;
2. That Schedule A attached hereto forms part of this By-law;
3. That By-law 2001-209 is hereby repealed; and
4. That this By-law shall come into force and effect on the date of passing.
Passed in Open Council this 9th day of April, 2018.
rian Foster, Mayor
C'A�4n'e" Gr6entree, Municipal Clerk
Council -Approved Policy ClaFftMR
Policy Title:
Code of Ethics - Staff
Policy M
E1
Report M
CLD-008-18, COD-020-01
By-law M
2018-034
Resolution:
C-112-18, GPA-597-01, GPA-637-98
Effective Date:
December 7, 1998
Revised Date:
April 9, 2018
Legislative History:
Policy H7 and Policy H3, By-law 98-186, TR-
88-98 & By-law 2001-209
Notes:
Council has a separate Code of Ethics Policy.
Purpose:
To provide a standard of conduct for employees of the Corporation in the carrying out
of their work assignments and their relationships with the public, elected officials and
each other.
2. Resolution:
Resolution #C-112-18 (April 9. 2018
That Report CLD-008-18 be received;
That Addendum to Report CLD-008-18 be received;
That the By-law attached to Report CLD-008-18, as Attachment 1, adopting an
updated "Use of Corporate Resources for Election Purposes" Policy F110, be
approved with the following amendment:
That Policy F110 be amended to include "any person seeking a nomination for a party";
That Policy F5 (Attachment 2 to Report CLD-008-18) be deleted, as section d)
pertaining to facility use is covered in the proposed consolidated Policy F110, and the
remaining sections have been amended and incorporated into Policy E1 Code of
Ethics for staff;
That Schedule A to By-law 2017-020, enacting the Council Code of Conduct, be
amended to update the reference to Policy F5 - Political Activities to Policy F110;
That the By-law attached to Addendum to Report CLD-008-18, as Attachment 1,
adopting an updated Policy E1 Code of Ethics, as amended to include policy
statements pertaining to "Staff Involvement in Elections as detailed in sections 2.3.4 of
this Addendum Report, be approved; and
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Council -Approved Policy ClaFftWR
That all interested parties listed in Addendum to Report CLD-008-18 and any
delegations be advised of Council's decision.
Resolution #GPA-597-01 (December 3. 2001
THAT Report COD-020-01 be received;
THAT Section H, Subsection H7, of the Administrative & Corporate Policies, entitled
Code of Ethics be revised;
THAT By-law 98-186 be repealed, and the by-law, marked Attachment #1 to Report
COD-020-01, reflecting the amended policy be referred to Council for approval; and
THAT the amended policy be circulated to all staff to advise of the current policy.
Resolution #GPA-637-98 (December 7, 1998)
THAT Report TR-88-98 be received;
THAT the Code of Ethics Policy described in the by-law attached to Report TR-88-98
he recommended to Council for approval for the employees of the Municipality of
Clarington;
THAT a copy of the by-law attached to Report TR-88-98 be distributed to Department
Heads to advise all municipal staff of the Policy; and
THAT all employees who consider that they may have a conflict of interest due to the
adoption of the code, be given an opportunity to disclose any potential conflict to the
Chief Administrative Officer by January I, 1999.
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Corporate Policy
POLICY TYPE:
POLICY TITLE:
POLICY #:
POLICY APPROVED BY
EFFECTIVE DATE:
REVISED:
APPLICABLE TO:
1. Purpose:
•
(Lieadingthe Way
Working Conditions and Programs
Code of Ethics
E1
Council
December 10, 2001
April 9, 2018
All Employees
To provide a standard of conduct for employees of the Corporation in the carrying
out of their work assignments and their relationships with the public, elected officials
and each other.
2. Policies/Procedures:
Conduct
a) Employees are expected to promote the goals, objectives and policies of the
Municipality of Clarington.
b) Employees will acknowledge and recognize the dignity and worth of every
resident they serve and person with whom they work.
c) Employees shall not breach the public trust or misappropriate public funds
and/or resources.
d) Employees shall not use Municipal property, equipment, supplies or services
of consequence for activities not associated with the discharge of official
duties.
e) Employees shall not participate in any decision, promotion or make any
recommendation to their supervisor, Committee or Council, in which they or
their immediate family has any financial interest except as a resident of the
Municipality. (Refer to Appendix for clarification).
f) Employees shall not solicit or accept any gift, present or favour, the
acceptance of which shall place, or appear to place, the employee under an
obligation to the donor or the Municipality in a compromising situation. (Refer
to Appendix for clarification).
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Corporate Policy
•
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g) Employees shall not place themselves in a position where they are under
obligation to any person who might benefit from consideration or favour on
their part or who may seek in any way, preferential treatment.
h) Employees shall not benefit from the use of information relating to the affairs of
the Municipality.
i) Employees shall not benefit from the use of information acquired during the
course of official duties which is not generally available to the public.
j) Employees shall not accept outside employment while in the employ of the
Corporation where such employment would place or appear to place them in a
conflict of interest situation.
k) Employees shall not sell goods or services to the Municipality or have a direct
or indirect interest in a company or own a company which sells goods or
services to the Municipality.
1) Employees shall not treat or provide preferential treatment to any enterprise,
organization, group or person.
m) Employees shall not conduct their work activities in a manner which may
cause personal injury to themselves or others or damage to equipment or
property of the Municipality.
n) Employees are expected to report to work in a fit condition to carry out their
work duties. Employees reporting to work in an unfit condition will be sent
home without pay. The Corporation considers an employee unfit for work if
they are under the influence of alcohol or other substances which may
compromise their ability to work. This includes legal medications which may
impair one's effectiveness and/or judgment and those other substances which
are illegal. Likewise, consumption of alcohol or illegal substances during
working hours and on corporate property is strictly forbidden.
o) Employees shall not bid on the sale of the Municipality's goods except those
disposed by Public Auction.
p) Employees shall not use Municipal buying power for personal gain or benefit.
Outside Work
Employees shall not, without the approval of the Department Head or the Chief
Administrative Officer as the case may be:
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Corporate Policy
•
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a) Engage in any business or transaction or have financial or other personal
interest, which is incompatible with the discharge of their official duties.
b) Engage in any outside work or activity or business undertaking:
i) That interferes or appears to interfere with the employee's duties, in
which the employee has an advantage or appears to have an advantage
derived from the employment in the Municipal Corporation.
ii) In a professional capacity that will or might appear to influence or affect
the carrying out of duties as a Municipal employee.
Communications
a) An employee shall be courteous, civil and act in good faith with all persons
with whom he/she is dealing within the course of their employment. An
employee shall not in the course of their employment send correspondence or
otherwise communicate to any other person in a manner that is abusive,
offensive or otherwise inconsistent with the proper tone of a professional
communication from a Municipal employee, except in extenuating
circumstances such as an abusive member of the public.
b) Employees should recognize that as a representative of the Municipality, their
actions both during and after working hours reflect the Municipality of
Clarington. Therefore, they are encouraged to adhere to this policy regarding
communications when addressing council or elected representatives even as
a private citizen.
Confidential Information
In the course of employment with the Municipality, an employee may work with
information and/or materials which are confidential. Each employee has a moral
and legal obligation not to disclose any such information or use that information for
the gain or profit of the employee or any other person. This obligation continues
even after the employee discontinues working for the Municipality of Clarington.
Disclosure
Whenever an employee considers that he or she could be involved in a conflict of
interest as prohibited in this policy, the employee shall immediately disclose the
situation to the Department Head (or his or her designate), or the Chief
Administrative Officer, as the case may be. The voluntary disclosure of areas of
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Corporate Policy
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conflict of interest shall be treated as confidential by the employee and Municipal
authorities and the employee should abide by the advice given to him/her.
Staff Involvement in Elections
Municipal staff are expected to preserve the public trust and confidence in the
Municipality. With respect to elections, employees are expected to promote the
principles of transparency, impartiality, respect and accountability as follows:
a) Employees engaged in political activities must take care to separate those
personal activities from their Municipal responsibilities. Employees may
participate in political activity at the Federal, Provincial and municipal levels
provided that such activity does not take place during work hours, or utilize
Municipal assets, resources, or property. Notices, posters or similar material
in support of a particular candidate or political party are not to be displayed or
distributed by employees on Municipal work sites or on Municipal property.
b) Employees shall not canvass or actively work in support of a municipal
candidate or political party during normal working hours unless they are away
from work on a leave of absence without pay, maternity/parental leave, lieu
time, flex day or vacation leave.
c) Employees shall not canvass or actively work in support of a municipal
candidate or political party while wearing a uniform, badge, logo or any other
item identifying them as an employee of the M u n i ci pa I ity, or using a vehicle
owned or leased bythe Municipality.
d) Employees who are relatives of any candidate shall not be assigned to work
as an election official, or work on any part of the election process.
e) Employees are advised to be especially mindful of public perception during
municipal elections, and to ensure that their activities neither conflict with nor
adversely affect their duties as Municipal staff.
f) Where a Municipal employee seeks an elected office, he/she shall be governed
by the Municipal Elections Act.
Contravention
Should a situation arise which appears to be in contravention of this policy, the
Chief Administrative Officer shall, in consultation with the employee's Department
Head and any other Municipal Official he/she may wish to consult, determine what
action is appropriate in the circumstances, which may include discipline up to and
including termination of service. The matter may then be reported, at the discretion
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Corporate Policy
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of the Chief Administrative Officer, to the appropriate Committee(s) of Council for
information.
3. Appendix:
Code of Ethics Guidelines
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Appendix to Policy E1
Code of Ethics Guidelines
The following interpretation and guidelines are provided to augment and/or to clarify
the Code of Ethics Administrative and Corporate policy. If there is any question
arising out of the following, employees are encouraged to contact the Chief
Administrative Officer whose decision will be final.
Sections:
Conduct (e) "Immediate family member" used in this subsection shall mean
spouse, father, mother, son or daughter.
Conduct (f) Any employee shall not accept any gift either at home or at the place
of business from any person, company or business, irrespective of
whether or not the person, company or business has any business
connection with the Municipality, in the past, currently or in the future.
In the latter situation, it is understood that an employee cannot predict
who will be doing business with the Municipality in the future. In this
situation, an employee should seek advice from the Department
Head. For example, a development company, or a potential supplier
may not have any past or current business with the Municipality.
However, the employee should be cognizant of the nature of the
business of these companies and should not accept any gift from
these companies because it would place the employee in a
compromising situation.
The above guidelines apply to personal gifts during the Christmas
season. The only exception being a gift to the Department as a whole
and could include such items as a fruit basket, chocolates, etc., during
the Christmas season.
In the event gifts are dropped off before the employee has the
opportunity to refuse acceptance, the gifts should be turned over to
the Department Head who shall:
a) Return the gifts if it does not cause the Municipality to incur
unnecessary expenses; or
b) Telephone the donor and request to have the gifts picked up. Should
the gifts not be picked up, the Department Head shall donate the gifts
to a local charity and advise the donor in writing of the action taken.
Outside The Code of Ethics was never intended to prohibit any employee of
Work the Municipality to augment his/her income by engaging in other part
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time employment opportunities which bear no resemblance to his/her
municipal work. If the nature of the part-time/outside work is related,
the employee should seek prior clearance from the Department Head.
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