link to page 2 link to page 3 link to page 5 link to page 5 link to page 6 link to page 8 link to page 8 link to page 10 link to page 10 link to page 10
Policy
Conflicts of interest, gifts, prizes and hospitality
Introduction
When to use
This policy sets out the expected behaviours and rules that apply when you:
•
identify a conflict of interest
•
receive an offer of a gift, prize or hospitality.
Apply this policy when you are:
•
aware that you have financial, commercial or other interests that conflict, have the
potential to conflict, or could be perceived as conflicting with the responsibilities of your
position or role with Fire and Emergency New Zealand
•
considering secondary employment or a role in another organisation, if your primary
employment is with Fire and Emergency
•
offered a gift, prize, reward, benefit or some hospitality while you are carrying out your
Fire and Emergency role.
Purpose
The aim of this policy is to ensure:
•
Fire and Emergency transactions and decisions are transparent and able to withstand
public scrutiny, while maintaining confidence and trust in the services we provide
•
principles of fairness, integrity and impartiality are evident in all Fire and Emergency
dealings
•
all personnel know what a conflict of interest is
•
conflicts of interest are managed appropriately.
Who it applies to
This policy applies to all Fire and Emergency personnel. For the purposes of this policy, the
term ‘personnel’ includes:
•
Fire and Emergency permanent, fixed term and temporary employees, contractors, and
volunteers
under the Official Information Act 1982
•
members of the Board or committees, including Local Advisory Committees.
Contents
This policy contains the following content:
•
What is a conflict of interest?
•
When can a conflict of interest happen?
•
Declaring conflicts of interest
Released •
Managing conflicts of interest
•
Gifts, prizes and hospitality
•
Definitions
•
Related information
15 December 2022
1
Policy – Conflicts of interest, gifts, prizes and hospitality
What is a conflict of interest?
Definition
A conflict of interest is where you are compromised when your personal interests or
obligations conflict with the responsibilities of your role. It means that your independence,
objectivity or impartiality can be questioned.
A conflict of interest can be either positive or negative. You could be seen to favour or
benefit someone, or be against them or disadvantage them.
Any situation where there is an opportunity for you or an organisation you are connected
with to gain an advantage or benefit could be a conflict of interest. This does not necessarily
have to be a financial benefit.
1982
Note: Conflicts of interest are not wrong in themselves, but they should be properly
identified and effectively and transparently managed. When a conflict of interest has been
Act
ignored, improperly acted on or influenced actions or decision-making, the conduct (not the
conflict itself) can be seen as misconduct, abuse of office or even corruption.
Types of conflict
A conflict of interest can be any of the following:
Type
Definition
Actual
Where the conflict already exists.
Information
Potential
Where the conflict is about to happen or could happen.
Perceived
Where other people may think that a person has been compromised or
could be compromised in the future.
A poorly managed perceived conflict of interest can be just as damaging as a poorly
managed actual conflict of interest.
Official
You need to consider how an objective observer, who may not have all the information or
background, could reasonably see that situation.
the
Political neutrality
You must maintain the political neutrality required for Fire and Emergency to work with
current and future governments. This means you must:
• carry out the functions of Fire and Emergency unaffected by your personal beliefs
under
• support Fire and Emergency to provide robust and unbiased advice
• respect the authority of the government of the day.
Public duty to
The ‘public interest’ is the collective interest of the entire community. All Fire and
serve the public
Emergency personnel have a public duty to put the public interest above their personal or
interest
private interests when carrying out their role.
Released
15 December 2022
2
link to page 10
Policy – Conflicts of interest, gifts, prizes and hospitality
When can a conflict of interest happen?
When conflicts
A conflict of interest can arise in a number of ways: through a relationship, an activity or
arise
strong personal views. For example, a person could be compromised if, in carrying out their
work duties, they’re required to deal with:
• a relative or close personal friend
• an organisation, club, society or association of which they’re a member
• a person who’s their community or church leader
• a person or organisation:
1982
o to which they have a professional or legal obligation
o with which they have a business interest or own property
Act
o to whom they owe money
o for whom they’ve previously worked, or currently work (secondary employment).
It might be something you are actively involved in, or something you have no control over. It
might arise from a long-standing state of affairs, or something that has just happened.
Close personal
There is a potential conflict of interest if you work with someone who has a close personal
relationships
relationship with you (i.e. a relative or close personal friend) and:
•
Information
there is a management line reporting relationship between you
• the relationship has the potential, or may reasonably be perceived as having the
potential, to compromise either person’s ability to discharge their duties effectively and
impartially.
Se
e Definitions below for what constitutes a close personal relationship.
Official
Close personal
It is recognised that members of volunteer fire brigades often have close personal
relationships in
relationships with other members of their brigade. A declaration is not required.
the
volunteer brigades However, a robust process must be followed where a conflict of interest arises between
members with close personal relationships when dealing with:
• procurement
• performance reviews or disciplinary issues
under
• recognition or promotions.
In these instances, the conflict of interest must be managed appropriately.
Released
15 December 2022
3
Policy – Conflicts of interest, gifts, prizes and hospitality
Business or other
You have an obligation to disclose any business or other interests that you have, will have, or
interests
propose to have, which could cause a conflict of interest. These interests could be
professional, personal, commercial or charitable.
For example, when you or someone you have a close personal relationship with has a direct
connection with a person or organisation which:
• stands to gain financially from any Fire and Emergency business dealings, programmes
or services
• may provide services to Fire and Emergency.
A direct connection means that you or someone you have a close personal relationship with
1982
could be the owner, director, partner, licensee, consultant, shareholder, or receive a salary
or commission from the person or organisation.
Act
Donations
Donations made to a volunteer brigade may be accepted providing they are:
• made without condition or the expectation of benefit to the donor
• to the benefit of the entire brigade
• made by a donor who is not a current or potential supplier of goods or services to the
brigade.
Note: A gift of cash made for the benefit of a volunteer brigade must be treated as a
donation.
Information
The
Capital expenditure and donated assets policy applies to donations of assets.
If there is any doubt about the appropriateness of accepting a donation consult your
manager or leader.
Conflict of interest
For examples of situations that could create a conflict of interest, see
: Examples of conflicts
Official
examples
of interest.
the
under
Released
15 December 2022
4
Policy – Conflicts of interest, gifts, prizes and hospitality
Declaring conflicts of interest
Personal
It is your personal responsibility to consider your own situation regarding potential,
responsibility
perceived or actual conflicts of interest and to declare these promptly, when needed.
If you are unsure whether a situation could be considered a conflict of interest, you should
discuss it with your manager (or their manager if the potential conflict of interest involves
your manager). Internal Audit can also give advice about whether the situation could be a
conflict of interest.
Declaration
If there is any matter which is, or could be considered to be, a conflict of interest with your
1982
role in Fire and Emergency, you must tell your manager (or their manager if your manager is
involved with the conflict), as soon as possible.
Act
You and your manager must complete a
Conflict of interest declaration and forward it to the
National Manager Assurance and Risk. If the conflict involves your manager, then their
manager must complete the declaration.
See procedure
: Report and manage conflict of interest.
Note: Close personal relationships in volunteer brigades do not need to be declared.
However, they must be managed appropriately – see ‘Close personal relationship in
volunteer brigades’ in this document. Relevant internal processes must also be followed, for
example the ‘Procurement process’ as outlined below.
Information
Procurement
If you are taking an active part in a tender evaluation or any decision-making process about
process
awarding contracts, you must first complete a separate conflict of interest
declaration/confidentiality agreement. This includes:
• all members of the procurement team
•
Official
all members of the evaluation panel
• any consultant asked to advise the team
•
the
anyone involved in making a recommendation
• anyone involved in approving a recommendation or making an important decision
• anyone making a financial approval for the procurement.
The declaration requires you to identify any actual, perceived or potential conflicts of
under
interest. If you have none, you can take part in the procurement process.
The declaration also needs to be revisited regularly and checked once the supplier has been
chosen. Everyone who has signed one needs to check whether they have a conflict of
interest in relation to the supplier or any of the named personnel in the supplier’s tender.
For more information, see: The Portal > How do I > Purchase, contracts and claims > Procure
goods or services
> Procurement policy.
Released
15 December 2022
5
Policy – Conflicts of interest, gifts, prizes and hospitality
Members of
Members of the Audit & Risk Committee, a Local Advisory Committee, or the Board must fill
committees or the
out the
Committee or Board conflict of interest declaration:
Board
• when they are appointed to the Board or committee
• at a regular period determined by the Board
• if the member’s interests change.
The declaration must be forwarded to the Secretariat of the committee or Board.
At the start of every meeting of the committee or Board, the Chair of the committee or
Board must ask members to declare any conflicts of interest arising from the papers to be
1982
discussed. These will be recorded in the minutes, including how they will be managed.
Managing conflicts of interest
Act
Careful
While conflicts of interest should be avoided wherever possible, their existence does not
management
necessarily mean that someone has done something wrong. It’s how they’re managed that
needed
counts.
Conflicts of interest should be identified and managed appropriately with a clear process
that is transparent and can withstand scrutiny.
A conflict of interest that’s not properly managed could seriously undermine the
Information
organisation’s integrity and lead to complaints, challenges and, in some cases, Fire and
Emergency’s decisions being overturned.
Deciding on action
Managers are responsible for making any necessary inquiries to determine the nature and
degree of the conflict, and deciding on the best course of action. You and your manager
must explain on the
Conflict of interest declaration how the conflict will be managed.
Official
Any conflict of interest must be registered before the conflict can be resolved. See
procedure
: Report and manage conflict of interest.
the
Many decisions about conflicts of interest will not be clear-cut. Managers should be guided
by the principles of integrity, honesty, transparency, openness, independence, good faith
and service to the public.
Considerations
The test of whether a disclosed interest amounts to a conflict is if the other interest creates,
under
or could create, or be perceived to create, an incentive for you to act in a way that may not
be in the best interests of Fire and Emergency or that means you might not bring an
impartial mind to decisions you are required to make in your role for Fire and Emergency.
In making this judgement, managers will consider the:
• seriousness – the degree of the conflict of interest
• directness – how closely the interests are related or how close the relationship is
Released • significance – how large the effect of one interest is on the other, how much influence
over decision-making you have, or how senior you are.
15 December 2022
6
Policy – Conflicts of interest, gifts, prizes and hospitality
Management
The options for managing a conflict of interest include:
options
Option
Definition
Restricting
Imposing restrictions on your further involvement in the situation.
Recruiting
Engaging an independent third party to oversee all or part of the process
and verify its integrity.
Removing
Removing you completely from the situation.
1982
Relinquishing Giving up the private interest that created the conflict.
Resigning
Resigning your position with Fire and Emergency.
Act
Note: This should only be considered where the conflict of interest can’t
be resolved in any other workable way.
No matter which option is used to resolve a conflict of interest, it must be managed
transparently so that it can withstand scrutiny.
Close personal
Where there is a potential conflict of interest in an employment situation because of a close
relationships in
personal relationship, you and your manager must describe on the
Conflict of interest
employment
declaration how this will be managed.
Information
For example, you will not take part in the other person’s:
• performance reviews or disciplinary issues
• future appointments or promotions
• remuneration and expense claim approvals
•
Official
training and overtime approvals.
For further information, see guideline:
Appointing interview panel and processes:
the
•
Recruit employee for permanent position
•
Recruit for fixed-term, secondment, acting up, casual or contractor position
• Manage employee performance and development.
under
Members of
If you are a member of a committee of the Board including the Audit & Risk Committee or a
committees or the
Local Advisory Committee, or of the Board, and you have declared a conflict of interest, you
Board
can only participate in any discussion on the topic with the agreement of all the other
members present. If you don’t have everyone’s agreement, you must either refrain from
participating or leave the room.
If you are the Chair and you are aware of a real or potential conflict of interest involving one
or more members, you must take whatever steps are necessary to ensure that the conflict is
managed in an appropriate manner.
Released If you are an individual committee member aware of a real or potential conflict of interest of
another member, you are responsible for bringing this to the committee’s attention.
15 December 2022
7
Policy – Conflicts of interest, gifts, prizes and hospitality
Gifts, prizes and hospitality
Representing the
Gifts, prizes or hospitality offered to you while you are carrying out your Fire and Emergency
organisation
role are given to you as a representative of Fire and Emergency, so you need to reflect on
whether it is appropriate to accept them. In the case of gifts Fire and Emergency strongly
discourages acceptance in all cases. With hospitality, there are guidelines as to best practice,
and these can be seen on the State Services Commission’s website a
t www.ssc.govt.nz/ce-
expenses-disclosure. In all cases strong discretion must be used.
Note: A gift given for the benefit of an entire volunteer brigade is classified as a donation
and must be treated as such.
1982
Business
As part of your role, you may form business relationships with external organisations,
relationships
suppliers or contractors. It could be considered a conflict of interest if you are offered and
Act
you accept gifts, hospitality, prizes or other rewards or benefits resulting from:
• purchases made on behalf of Fire and Emergency
• your position, influence or responsibilities with Fire and Emergency.
Think about how accepting the gift, prize or hospitality will affect your relationship with Fire
and Emergency, personnel and your community.
Procurement
There are specific rules for accepting gifts or hospitality during a tender process or any
decision-making process about awarding contracts. For further information see: The portal >
Information
How do I > Purchasing, contracts and claims > Procure goods or services >
Procurement
policy.
Hospitality
Hospitality should have a clear business purpose. It should not just be for your personal
enjoyment, including your family or other people you have a close personal relationship
with.
Official
Examples of acceptable business purposes include building or managing client relationships,
industry networking, and attending training events such as seminars run by suppliers.
the
You must not put yourself in a position where others might think you have been influenced
in making a business decision because of accepting hospitality.
Seeking permission Generally, if Fire and Emergency personnel are receiving hospitality, e.g. you are invited to
under
attend an event, dinner or networking function by a current or potential supplier of goods or
services to Fire and Emergency, you must seek permission from your manager before
accepting. This applies both when you are in New Zealand or overseas.
If it is not practicable to seek permission beforehand, you must bring it to your manager’s
attention as soon as possible after the event and follow the procedure
: Report and manage
gift, prize or hospitality.
Deciding whether
For help in deciding whether to accept gifts, prizes or hospitality, see procedure
: Report and
Released
to accept
manage gift, prize or hospitality. When it is not easy to decide between what is and what
isn’t acceptable in terms of gifts or hospitality, you must seek advice from your manager.
15 December 2022
8
Policy – Conflicts of interest, gifts, prizes and hospitality
Reporting gifts,
You must report all offers of gifts, prizes and hospitality over $50 in value within five
prizes or
business days of hearing about the win, or receiving the offer of the gift or hospitality. You
hospitality
may apply to keep the gift or prize or accept the hospitality, as outlined in procedure
: Report
and manage gift, prize or hospitality.
Potential conflict
If you feel that any offer could be seen as a potential or perceived conflict of interest, you
of interest
must also fill out a
Conflict of interest declaration. See procedure
: Report and manage
conflict of interest.
Approval criteria
When deciding on the appropriateness of gift, prize or hospitality, managers must take into
1982
account your position or influence within Fire and Emergency and whether:
• Fire and Emergency is in a tender situation, or other procurement or contracting
situation, and accepting the gift, prize or hospitality could be seen as influencing the
Act
decision
• you, Fire and Emergency, the Board or committee could be compromised, or be
perceived to be compromised, by your keeping the gift or prize, or accepting the
hospitality.
Considerations
It is very unlikely that you will be allowed to keep the gift or prize or accept the hospitality.
Approval levels
Use the table below to determine who can approve gifts, prizes and hospitality.
Information
Situation1
Person making decision to accept or
decline
Fire and Emergency personnel receive an
Chief Executive
offer of a gift, prize or offer of hospitality
Note: If the Chief Executive is not
available then the DCE Finance and
Official Business Operations.
The Chief Executive or members of the
Chair of the Board
the
Board receive an offer of a gift, prize or offer
of hospitality
The Chair of the Board receives an offer of a
Chair of the Audit & Risk Committee of
gift, prize or offer of hospitality
the Board.
under
Registers
The National Manager Assurance and Risk must enter the details of all:
• conflicts of interest in the
Conflict of interest register • any offers of gifts, prizes and hospitality, including when they are declined, in the
Gift
register.
Released
1 Please note that Fire and Emergency’s position is that offer of gifts should be declined where this is possible to do
without causing offence.
15 December 2022
9
Policy – Conflicts of interest, gifts, prizes and hospitality
Definitions
Close personal
A relative or close friend. This includes children, parents, uncles, aunts, cousins, nieces and
relationship
nephews. It also includes a spouse, partner by marriage or civil union, being in a relationship
in the nature of a marriage or civil union, or a long or short-term intimate relationship.
Disclosure
Recording the conflict of interest in the
Conflict of interest register or recording the prize,
gift, reward, benefit or hospitality in the
Gift register.
Gift
Any article, sum of money, provision of a service or invitation to an event at no cost to Fire
1982
and Emergency personnel, whether or not as an inducement or bribe, by any individual or
business.
Note: A gift given for the benefit of an entire volunteer brigade is classified as a donation
Act
and must be treated as such.
Hospitality
Receiving food, drink or accommodation as a guest, e.g. at a function or event.
Related information
Topics
Refer to these intranet topics to help you apply and comply with this policy:
Information
•
Report and manage a conflict of interest
•
Report and manage gift, prize or hospitality
•
Recruit employee for permanent position
•
Recruit for fixed-term, secondment, acting up, casual or contractor position
Official
•
Procure goods or services
•
Make protected disclosure about serious wrongdoing
the
• Manage employee performance and development
•
Report and investigate alleged misconduct
Guidelines
•
Appointing interview panel
under
• Office of the Auditor General good practice guide
Managing conflicts of interest:
Guidance for public entities
• Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment quick guide
: Conflicts of interest
• State Services Commission
Walking the Line: Managing Conflicts of Interest – resource
kit
• State Services Commission Code of Conduct for the State Services,
Understanding the
Code of Conduct – Guidance for State Servants
Released
15 December 2022
10
Policy – Conflicts of interest, gifts, prizes and hospitality
Policies
Related policies:
•
Sensitive business expenditure
•
Capital expenditure and donated assets
•
Procurement policy
•
Recruitment and transfers
•
Standards of conduct
Legislation
We must comply with legislation, including the following:
1982
•
Sections 62-72 of the Crown Entities Act 2004
•
Section 57 of the State Sector Act 1988
Act
Document information
Owner
Deputy Chief Executive Finance and Business Operations
Last reviewed
8 May 2018
Review period
Every second year
Information
Record of amendment
Date
Brief description of amendment
September 2015
This policy replaces the following policies: Conflict of interest (POLFA8.1), Gifts and prizes
(POLFA8.4)
Official
1 July 2017
This policy was reviewed as part of the implementation of the Fire and Emergency New
Zealand Act 2017. No substantive amendments were considered necessary before 1 July
the
2017 therefore no changes were made to the content. Any outdated references and links
will be updated when the policy is reviewed.
8 May 2018
This policy was reviewed and outdated references and links were updated. Reworded to
better reflect requirements for committees and volunteer personnel.
under
1 July 2019
Outdated organisational leadership team job titles and branch names updated.
1 June 2020
Ownership changed from DCE Office of the Chief Executive to DCE Finance and Business
Operations. Fire force terminology removed. Over $50 threshold for reporting gifts, prizes
and hospitality added to align with other content.
2 September 2022
Removed link to retired Procurement manual with link to Procurement policy.
October 2022
Updated Business expenditure policy to Sensitive business expenditure policy.
Released
December 2022
Updated references to Internal Audit to Assurance and risk form org structure changes. Not
reviewed, no other changes
15 December 2022
11
