Officer Code of Conduct

Please note that this is a working document and may change subject to approval from the Students' Association Board.

For Students' Association Officers (including Sabbatical Officers)

Officers and student representatives are expected to:

act in a way that supports the Association’s aims and priorities.

be respectful of everyone they come into contact with when conducting their responsibilities, including students, visitors, fellow officers, and staff.

be responsible and not bring the Association into disrepute.

be active in their role

follow the terms of their role description and rules associated with their role.

Officers should work with and be supported in their aims by Association staff; however they will not have line management responsibility over staff workload. Work should be agreed between the officer and the relevant line manager, who will then assign staff the agreed work.

Officers and student representatives of the Association should not:

attempt to involve Association staff in politics, beyond asking them for information and seeking impartial professional advice.

interfere with staff carrying out their work.

discuss staff performance in public or unofficial channels.

For Association Staff

Association staff are expected to:

assist officers in their aims of their tenure.

provide officers with advice and support where requests are reasonable.

ensure a positive and harmonious working environment with elected officers as far as possible.

train volunteers and student staff so they can fulfil their roles.

follow the terms of their job descriptions and contracts

Association staff should not:

attempt to make policy changes or influence officers’ political decisions, beyond providing them with information and impartial advice

interfere with democratic processes

comment on officer performance outside of the relevant, private channels

Raising Concerns

Officers having issues with staff

If an elected officer or other student representative (such as a member of an SRC subcommittee) has an issue with a member of Association staff, they should:

attempt informal resolution with that staff member as a first step (talk to sabb?)

if this is not possible, raise it with the staff member’s line manager

Outcomes will be determined by the [staff discipline policy]

Staff having issues with officers

If a member of staff has an issue with an elected officer or other student representative, the staff member should:

attempt informal resolution directly with the officer where possible

report the issue to their line manager if informal resolution is impossible or has failed.

Issues between officers

If an officer has an issue with another officer, they should:

attempt informal resolution with that officer in the first instance

if this is not possible, they may raise it with a member of the sabbatical team, who may take advice from the senior management team on how to progress the issue.

Student members having issues with officers

If a student member has an issue with an elected officer or other student representative, they should:

pursue their issues via the Complaints Procedure

notify a member of the sabbatical team who will escalate as necessary with senior management.

If a complaint pertains to serious misconduct, such as harassment, bullying, or sexual misconduct, this should be reported via the University’s Report and Support Tool.

Student members having issues with staff

If a student member has an issue with a member of staff, they should pursue their issues via the Complaints Procedure. Outcomes will be determined by the staff discipline policy.

STUDENT OFFICER CODE OF CONDUCT VIOLATIONS – MISCONDUCT PROCEDURE

Principles

1.1 This procedure shall apply only to allegations related to status as an SA officer. This would include any allegation about behaviour at or during a formal or informal meeting, whether directed towards staff, other officers, members or any other person the officer interacts with as part of their role.

1.2 The Association will at all times aim to process misconduct allegations with sensitivity, fairness, and consistency of treatment; in confidence; and without prejudice or undue delay.

1.3 At all stages officers will have the right to know the nature of any complaint against them and will be given the opportunity to state their case before any decision is made.

1.4. Officers will have the right to be accompanied by another member to any formal meeting held under this Procedure.

1.5 Where a criminal offence is involved, the Association will not normally take any action, other than interim measures identified below, until the outcome of any formal legal process is known.

1.6 Where an officer is convicted of a criminal offence, consideration will be given to the nature of the offence and of the officer’s duties in deciding on an appropriate sanction.

1.7 Officers should note that the Association reserves the right to initiate action prior to formal legal procedures where it is judged to be in the interests of the Association to do so.

1.8 Where a complaint is raised during the misconduct process, the Association shall consider whether the process should be suspended pending resolution of this complaint or whether action should proceed concurrently.

1.9 An officer shall always have the right to appeal against sanctions listed below.

Scope:

All officers of the Association, including trustees, are covered by this procedure, however they are elected or appointed. The procedure does not cover the conduct of Athletic Union officers, officers of Halls committees.

Actions that may fall within the scope of this procedure include but are not limited to:

Harassment, victimisation or other unacceptable behaviour towards members, other officers, staff, or others, including breaches of the Zero Tolerance Policy.

Breach of confidentiality.

Financial misconduct or negligence.

Other negligence including breaches of health and safety rules.

Misuse of Students’ Association assets including physical and non-physical assets (e.g. intellectual property, including the name of the Association or any subcommittee of the Association).

Theft, fraud or falsification of records, or other serious acts of deception or dishonesty.

Assault or threatening behaviour.

Inability to conduct duties as an officer on one or more occasions due to the influence of alcohol or recreational drugs.

Supplying, consuming or possessing controlled substances on Association premises.

Conviction for a criminal offence.

Explicitly excluded are:

Non-attendance at committees or failure to submit reports (these issues are covered in the Laws and Standing Orders).

Complaints concerning the setting, adoption or implementation of policy e.g. failure to fulfil a manifesto promise or to follow a mandate of Councils.

If judgement on whether allegation falls within the scope of this Procedure is required, this can be decided by the Association Chair in consultation with the HR Manager.

Interim measures

Until a full investigation has been carried out, no disciplinary action will be taken. However there may be a need to put in place some interim measures to protect the Association or individuals.

Accordingly, the HR Manager or delegate will carry out a risk assessment and recommend any appropriate actions. Any interim actions must be approved by the Association Chair or Association President if the Chair is not available or has a conflict of interest. No interim actions will be put in place until approved. Interim actions may include but not be limited to: suspension, restricting access to email, and a requirement to cease attending meetings on behalf of the Association.

Interim measures are not a sanction and so may not be appealed.

In addition to interim actions, referral to university non-academic misconduct procedures or the police may be appropriate at this stage.

Investigation process

A sabbatical or other officer will be appointed as a lead investigator, with appropriate staff support. Timelines will vary according to the seriousness and complexity of the allegation. There must be a reasonable opportunity for the accused officer to submit/review evidence.

The investigation may include meeting with relevant parties, including witnesses, or taking evidence from them by other means including telephone or email. It should be made clear to all parties that any such contact is an investigation and not a disciplinary meeting. Records of the investigation must be kept and must be treated with appropriate confidentiality.

Officers accused of misconduct are entitled to be accompanied by another member and/or to take appropriate advice when asked to participate in an investigation. They shall also be informed of the details of the allegation and the facts as they are understood at that time by the investigator.

Decision

On conclusion of the investigation, the evidence gathered will be reviewed by a panel consisting of one sabbatical officer, one non-sabbatical officer and a representative of the Students’ Association Board (who may be a second sabbatical officer). The panel will be supported by a staff member as appropriate.

The panel will consider the evidence and decide whether to impose a penalty (see below).

The decision of the panel will be communicated to the officer within five working days.

Penalties

These may include:

Dismissal from office, with immediate effect (officers who appeal successfully may be reinstated).

Suspension from office for a defined period of up to six months.

Referral to University Conduct Officer or to SA member discipline procedure.

Report to police.

Written warning.

Requirement to undergo training/retraining.

Other conditions that may be appropriate to the offence e.g. loss of email access.

When deciding what disciplinary action to take, the Panel should take into account any previous disciplinary warnings issued that are still current, the actual severity of the problem, the degree of harm and potential harm to the Association, its members and others, and the explanations given by the officer including mitigating circumstances.

Appeals

Appeals may only be on the basis of:

Information not known at the time of the original decision.

Procedural irregularity that could make a material difference to the original decision (including inaccurate information, etc.)

Bias or prejudice

Appeals must be lodged with the Chair of Board within ten working days of the outcome being notified to the officer.

If the chair of Board is satisfied that grounds for appeal exist, they should convene an appeal hearing within ten working days. The panel for this hearing will consist of the Chair of Board (or delegate) and one student trustee (who may be a sabbatical officer not previously involved in the case).

The officer should be notified of:

The date, time and place of the appeal hearing. (This must be not less than five working days from the date of notification.)

A summary of the grounds for appeal.

Procedures for the member to submit evidence, call witnesses, request further information, etc.

Their right to be accompanied.

The Chair of Board will consider requests to rearrange meetings where a member is unable to attend at the scheduled time. However, the Association reserves the right to proceed in an officer’s absence where the reasons for the request are in the opinion of the Chair of Board inadequate, or where this would cause an unreasonable delay.

Evidence

The appeals panel shall have made available to it all written evidence submitted for the original decision, the letter of appeal, and all other relevant written documents. All written evidence will be circulated at least two working days in advance of a hearing. It is the responsibility of parties making submissions to ensure that they meet this deadline.

Where the member chooses to exercise their right to be accompanied to the meeting, the name and (if appropriate) matriculation number of the member who will accompany them should be notified two working days in advance.

Conduct of the meeting

The Chair of Board shall set the format for the meeting, taking into account the circumstances of the case: however, there must be an adequate opportunity for the officer to present evidence.

At their discretion, the Chair of Board may suspend the meeting and reconvene at a later date if further evidence must be sought or other circumstances justify this.

Outcomes

The appeals panel may:

Reject the appeal, in which case the original decision and any sanctions remain: or

Uphold the appeal, in which case the original decision is rescinded and any sanctions removed: or

Uphold the appeal in part, in which case the appeals panel may substitute another sanction if they feel this is appropriate. All sanctions available under this procedure shall be available to the appeals panel for this purpose, except that they may not impose a greater penalty than was originally imposed.

The appeals panel may also make written recommendations to the General Manager or SRC. All parties must be informed of the outcome in writing within ten working days of the decision. The decision of the panel will be final and will mark the end of these procedures.