FAURIE NELL INC
Code of ethics policy
Policy brief & purpose
Our professional code of ethics policy aims to give our employees guidelines on our business ethics and stance on various controversial matters. We trust you to use your better judgment, but we want to provide you with a concrete guide you can fall back on if you’re unsure about how you should act (e.g. in cases of conflict of interest). We will also use this policy to outline the consequences of violating our business code of ethics.
Scope
This policy applies to everyone we employ or have business relations with. This includes individual people such as employees, interns, volunteers, but also business entities, such as vendors, suppliers and practice clients. Our code of professional ethics refers to legally or morally charged issues.
Policy elements
What is meant by code of professional ethics?
First, let’s define professional ethics: they are a set of principles that guide the behaviour of people in a business context. They are essential to maintaining the legality of business and a healthy workplace.
So, what is a code of ethics? Our code of ethics definition refers to the standards that apply to a specific setting – in this case, our own organisation.
What is the purpose of a professional code of ethics?
Having our business ethics in writing doesn’t mean that we don’t trust our employees. We strive to hire ethical people who have their own personal standards. You may find yourself in a situation where you’re not sure how you should act. Life is full of grey areas where right and wrong aren’t so apparent. Some professional ethics also correspond to laws that you absolutely must know to do your job properly. In the realm of our business, we are also bound by professional rules of ethics as a firm of attorneys. Additionally, every organisation makes bad hires occasionally. We also can’t predict how people are going to behave. When an employee behaves, or intents to behave, in a way that’s against our professional ethics, or applicable laws, we will have clear guidelines on what disciplinary actions we will consider.
Business Ethics Policy Statement
FNINC expects and demands that each of its business units, all of its employees, and its directors carry out their business and perform their duties to the highest ethical standards and in compliance with all relevant legal principles. This standard of behaviour and performance is maintained in the company’s dealings with employees, customers, suppliers, and all other stakeholders.
General Principles
The company and its employees will always demonstrate the highest levels of integrity, truthfulness, and honesty in order to uphold both personal and corporate reputations and to inspire confidence and trust in their respective actions. The company will conduct its business in a competent, fair, impartial, and efficient manner.
Employees
All employees are treated with dignity and respect with equal employment opportunities given to all irrespective of their race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, maternity, marital status, family status, disability, age, or national origin. Employees are offered a safe and healthy workplace, and the company will not tolerate any form of discrimination or harassment.
Clients
The company will take care to avoid misleading statements, concealment, and overstatement in all its advertising and public statements. It will seek to build long term partnerships with its clients by always being always honest and straightforward in its dealings. It will respect the confidentiality and privileged nature of any information that it might obtain in relation to its clients.
Competitors
The company builds its reputation based on its performance alone. It will compete vigorously and lawfully and will not compete unfairly with others. It will not seek to damage the reputation of its competitors either directly or by implication.
Government, Regulators, and Legislators
The company will comply with international, national, and local legislation affecting its operations. It will meet its tax obligations. It will not make any financial contributions or offer support to any political party, government body or parastatal.
Giving and Receiving Gifts and Entertainment
Employees will neither seek nor accept for themselves or others any gifts, favours, or entertainment from any person or business organisation that does or seeks to do business with, FNINC.
Bribes and Corrupt Practice
The company does not allow the direct or indirect offer, payment, solicitation, or acceptance of bribes in any form. Any employee found to be involved in any kind of corrupt practice is likely to be immediately dismissed and may well have committed a criminal act which could lead to prosecution.
The components of our code of professional ethics:
We base our business code of ethics on common principles of ethics.
- Respect for others. Treat people as you want to be treated.
- Integrity and honesty. Tell the truth and avoid any wrongdoing to the best of your ability.
- Justice. Make sure you’re objective and fair and don’t disadvantage others.
- Lawfulness. Know and follow the law.
- Competence and accountability. Work hard and be responsible for your work.
- Teamwork. Collaborate and ask for help.
Here’s a summary of our code:
Respect for others.
It’s mandatory to respect everyone you interact with. Be kind, polite and understanding. You must respect others’ personal space, opinions, and privacy. Any kind of violence is strictly prohibited and will result in immediate termination. You’re also not allowed to harass, discriminate against, or victimise others.
If someone, be it client, colleague, or stakeholder, is offensive, demeaning or threatening toward you or someone you know, report them immediately to HR or your manager. You can also report rudeness and dismissiveness if they become excessive or frequent.
Integrity and honesty
First, always keep in mind our organisation’s mission. We all work together to achieve specific outcomes. Your behaviour should contribute to our goals, whether financial or organisational.
Be honest and transparent when you act in ways that impact other people (e.g. taking strategic decisions or deciding on retrenchments). We don’t tolerate malicious, deceitful, or petty conduct. Lies and cheating are huge red flags and, if you’re discovered, you will face disciplinary action.
Stealing from the company or other people is illegal. If you’re caught, you will face repercussions depending on the severity of your actions. For example, if you steal office supplies, you may receive a reprimand or demotion (at a minimum), while if you steal money or data (e.g. engaging in fraud or misappropriation), you face dismissal and criminal prosecution.
Conflict of interest
Conflict of interest may occur whenever your interest in a particular subject leads you to actions, activities or relationships that undermine our company. This includes situations like using your position’s authority for your own personal gain or exploiting company resources to support a personal money-making business. Even when you seemingly act to the company’s advantage, you may disadvantage it. For example, if an employee uses dubious methods to get competitor information and to receive more work, their action will have a positive impact on the company’s revenue, but it will put the company at a legal risk and promote unhealthy business practices.
If it turns out you have created a conflict of interest for yourself, you may face disciplinary action, which could result in dismissal. If the conflict of interest was involuntary, you need to share this with your manager so that actions can be taken to rectify the situation.
Justice
Don’t act in a way that exploits others, their hard work, or their mistakes. Give everyone equal opportunity and speak up when someone else doesn’t.
Be objective when making decisions that can impact other people, including when you’re deciding to employ, promote or dismiss someone. Be sure that you can justify any decision with written records or examples. Seek and use the most objective methods in any case; for example, when interviewing candidates, ask the same interview questions to all of them and avoid judging non-job-related criteria, like dress, appearance, etc.
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When exercising authority, be fair. Don’t show favouritism toward specific employees and be transparent when you decide to praise or reward an employee. If you need to discipline an employee, be sure to have prepared a case that you can present to HR. You must not retaliate against employees or applicants (such as in cases when they’ve filed complaint). Be just toward clients or vendors, too. If you think our company was in the wrong in a specific instance, don’t try to cover it up or accuse the other side. Discuss with your manager to find solutions that can benefit both sides.
Lawfulness
You are obliged to follow all laws which apply to our organisation as expressed in the Legal Practice Act, Regulations, rules of professional ethics and all other legislation that impose specific obligations on our company.
You are also obliged to observe compliance with legal privilege, confidentiality and protection of personal information.
Always follow our cybersecurity policy and counter cybercrime policies and procedures in the execution of your duties. Ensure compliance with laws regarding fraud, bribery, corruption and any kind of assault. You are also obliged to follow laws on child labour and avoid doing business with unlawful organisations. If you’re not sure what the law is in a specific instance, don’t hesitate to ask HR or one of the attorneys in the practice.
Competence and accountability
We all need to put a healthy amount of effort in our work. Not just because we’re all responsible for the organisation’s success, but also because slacking off affects our colleagues. Incomplete or slow work might hinder other people’s work or cause them to shoulder the burden themselves. This comes in direct conflict with our respect and integrity principles.
We also expect you to take up opportunities for learning and development, either on-the-job or via educational material or training. If you are unsure how you can achieve this, have an open discussion with your manager.
Also, take responsibility for your actions. We all make mistakes or need to make tough decisions and it’s important we own up to them. Taking ownership of mistakes and devising solutions in collaboration with your team propels you into self-improvement and career advancement.
Teamwork
Working well with others is a virtue, rather than an obligation. You will certainly get to work autonomously and be focused on your own projects and responsibilities. But you should also be ready to collaborate with and help others. Be generous with your expertise and knowledge. Be open to learning and evolving. If days go by without you consulting or brainstorming with anyone, you are missing out on opportunities for excellence. Instead, work with others and don’t hesitate to ask for help when you need it.