All relationships of a business or private nature with external contractors, or potential contractors, must be made known to the employee’s immediate line manager. Orders and contracts must be awarded on merit, through fair competition, and no special favour should be shown to businesses run by, for example, friends, partners or relatives. No part of the local community should be discriminated against.
Employees who engage or supervise contractors or have any other official relationship with contractors and have previously had, or currently have, a relationship in a private or domestic capacity with such contractors, must declare that relationship to their Director. In the case of Directors, that relationship must be declared to their Executive Director, and in the case of Executive Directors to the Chief Executive.
No employee shall purchase for private purposes goods or services from a firm which has dealings with the Council where the firm is offering preferential terms to the individual employee (directly or indirectly) because of a contractual, business or other relationship with the Council. This rule equally applies to the ordering of extra supplies against a contract where the intention is to use the goods privately and pay for them at the Council’s contract price, particularly if the employee is aware that the price is not available to the ordinary customer. It would also apply to the use of services of a contractor with whom employees have official contacts as part of their employment with the Council. It also precludes employees from using, for private purposes, any special trading cards which the Council may hold for council business. It does not, however, preclude employees benefiting from general discounts offered by suppliers to all Council employees or made available by the Council or trade unions on behalf of staff generally.
