What is a code of conduct?
A code of conduct, also called rules of conduct, is a document that describes the norms, values and guidelines that prescribe the desired behaviour and manners within an organisation. It serves as a guideline for the behaviour of managers and employees and sets expectations regarding ethics, integrity, professional and social behaviour and responsibilities within the business environment. A code of conduct promotes a positive work culture, supports compliance with laws and regulations and helps build trust within and outside the organisation. It is essential that employees are familiar with the code of conduct and apply it in their daily work. It is recommended to include the role and position of a confidential counselor in the code of conduct.
Why is a code of conduct important?
With the code of conduct, management and board convey that they want to promote a pleasant working culture and take the prevention of integrity violations and undesirable behaviour seriously. A code of conduct contributes to a better and safer working culture and therefore has a positive effect on employee productivity and on reducing the psychosocial workload. It can also contribute to dialogue in the workplace about desirable and undesirable manners and behaviour. By having employees sign a code of conduct, employees are also aware of the rules of conduct and this may even have a legal basis: if employees do not adhere to them, they can receive a warning or even be fired.
Is a code of conduct mandatory?
A code of conduct is not legally required. However, there are situations where specific laws and regulations require certain organisations to implement a code of conduct. This may be the case in regulated sectors such as the financial sector, healthcare, government agencies or companies that fall under the Whistleblowers Protection Act (for organisations with more than 50 employees). An internal reporting scheme for abuses is mandatory here.
De Dutch Labor Inspectorate (NLA) However, it does check a number of matters to assess whether employers have policies in place psychosocial work load (PSA). Employers are obliged to identify the risks by means of a risk inventory and evaluation (RI&E). The action plan that the employer subsequently draws up must include interventions and measures to counter the risks. One of the measures that the Dutch Labor Inspectorate checks for is the presence of a code of conduct. If this is not present, you as an organisation must demonstrate how this element is included in your policy.
Is there a difference between a code of conduct for integrity and a code of conduct for desired manners?
In the past, it was common for organisations to only use a code of conduct for integrity and not a code of conduct for desired manners. Nowadays you increasingly see one code of conduct that prescribes both behaviour regarding integrity and desired manners. That is not surprising, because a code of conduct prescribes behaviour: this can be behaviour in the business sphere; for example, how to deal with conflicts of interest and gifts from third parties. But also to behave in a social atmosphere; how to deal with colleagues and how not to. In principle, an expression of undesirable behaviour is a violation of integrity because it does not act with integrity.
Examples of a good code of conduct: Code of Conduct for Integrity Government and TNO guideline for code of conduct on (un)desirable behaviour
If you want to get started on creating a good code of conduct for your organisation, you can read the TNO guideline for (un)desirable behaviour and the National Integrity Code of Conduct of the central government as an example. TNO's reference work is explicitly about internal (un)desirable behaviour and not so much about undesirable behaviour of third parties (patients, customers, clients) or about integrity issues. The government's code of conduct includes both ethical conduct and desirable manners.
How do I create a good code of conduct?
In any case, the following matters are important when drawing up a code of conduct:
- The employer is responsible for the code of conduct;
- Involve the right people within your organisation to create support;
- Look at the diversity within your organisation and the different cultures that are represented.
Larger organisations often have multiple stakeholders, such as compliance, HR, integrity officers, the occupational health and safety doctor, a confidential counselor, corporate social work and the Works Council. In smaller organisations, these positions are often not available, but it is still important to look carefully at who can contribute to drawing up the code of conduct, so that it is widely supported by both management and employees.
Looking at diversity is important because there can be major differences between how people interact with each other and that is culturally determined. In Asian work cultures, for example, you often see more hierarchy, while in the Dutch work culture it is common to be more flatly organized. You often see that it is normal to contradict managers and management in Dutch work cultures, while this can be offensive in an Asian work environment. When developing the code of conduct, it is important to look carefully at the backgrounds of employees in order to create more support.
You often see the following elements in a code of conduct:
- Mission and vision of the organisation
- Core values of the organisation
- Why this code of conduct
- Integrity regulations
- Desirable manners
- unwanted or unacceptable behaviour
- Role and referral to confidential counselor or integrity coordinator
How do I implement and safeguard the code of conduct in my organisation?
The extent to which the code of conduct is successfully complied with and is therefore effective has everything to do with the implementation of the code of conduct and keeping the document 'alive'.
With regard to the implementation of the code, it is important that it has support, but also that the Works Council is included in this. According to the Works Council Act (WOR), the Works Council has the right of consent on many matters included in a code of conduct.
Once the code of conduct is ready, the following points are important:
- The code of conduct must be accessible to everyone (put it on a shared drive or intranet);
- Have current and new employees sign for receipt and knowledge of the code of conduct, which also gives it a legal character;
- Make the code of conduct part of the HR cycle or performance reviews;
- Actively communicate about the code of conduct and develop training courses on desired manners and integrity.
