P1 — Conflict of Interest Procedures

1. Introduction

1.1

Purpose: These Procedures are intended to provide guidance to employees about the implementation of Policy P1 – Conflict of Interest.

1.2

Authority: RRC Polytech has issued and approved Policy P1 – Conflict of Interest and authorized the Chief Human Resources Officer to develop and maintain the Procedures set out in this document.

2. Definitions

2.1

The terms in these Procedures shall be interpreted consistently with the definitions set out in Policy P1 – Conflict of Interest.

3. Conflicts of Interest

3.1

Employees considering whether circumstances amount to a Conflict of Interest, Perceived Conflict of Interest or Potential Conflict of Interest may refer to this non-exhaustive list as further guidance on situations that may amount to a Conflict of Interest. Employees that recognize they may be in a Conflict of Interest, Perceived Conflict of Interest or Potential Conflict of Interest or are unsure about whether there is a conflict must make a Declaration.

1. Consulting – Consulting is a professional activity related to a person’s field or discipline where a fee-for-service or equivalent relationship with a third party exists. An Employee acting as a consultant on personal time will avoid using RRC Polytech resources (such as facilities, laboratories, studios, equipment, Information Technology resources).
2. Teaching/Lecturing – RRC Polytech Employees may be invited by various organizations to make presentations in their field of expertise. RRC Polytech encourages this participation in the community, provided that such ventures do not disrupt RRC Polytech services or impose a financial burden on RRC Polytech are appropriately declared and evaluated pursuant to this Procedure. Any money received for work that is part of the Employee’s duties and responsibilities shall be remitted to RRC Polytech, unless the work is carried out on the employee’s own time, or at the direction of RRC Polytech. Employees must declare such work to establish a Mitigation Management Plan.
3. Business – Employees will not engage in business in competition with RRC Polytech and shall declare all business ventures that they engage in during their employment, whether or not they consider it to be a direct conflict. This includes business conducted personally, through a family member or other associate, or through a firm in which the Employee has a financial interest.
4. Volunteering/Sponsorships – Employees will avoid circumstances where their volunteer interests benefit from a corresponding detriment to RRC Polytech (including, but not limited to seeking discounted space for fundraising events). In addition, Employees will not use their position with RRC Polytech to gain preferential access to RRC Polytech facilities for the benefit of their volunteer organization. Furthermore, all College sponsorships will be administered as per RRC Polytech’s Sponsorship Guidelines. Employees must declare such volunteer activities where the volunteer organization is seeking any sponsorship from RRC Polytech in order to establish a Mitigation Management Plan.
5. Instructional Materials – An instructor must receive prior approval from the Dean of the School to specify as a required text or reading material work that they have personally authored. Instructors and non-instructional staff will not inappropriately influence the purchase of course-related goods or services to receive a monetary or personal benefit. Employees must declare to establish a Mitigation Management Plan.
6. College Business Ventures – Employees shall not influence decisions about a proposed relationship between RRC Polytech and a business in which the Employee or their Immediate Family has either an existing relationship, personal or financial gain, is related to the Employee’s scope of work or holds an executive position. Employees must declare such relationships when then arise to establish a Mitigation Management Plan.
7. Use of College Students, Personnel and Resources – Employees shall not use student labour, staff labour or College time and resources to carry out work for a business in which the Employee has a personal interest. It is inappropriate to use College staff or students during work or instruction time to carry out duties that are not directly related to College activities or instruction. Employees are prohibited from using College resources, assets or facilities to benefit a private concern.
   
   It is recognized that there may be a variety of personal demands on Employees during their hours of work. Employees will act in a reasonable manner and will manage outside activities during personal time.

3.2

Participation on External Boards:

1. Employees must disclose their participation on an external board.
2. Employees shall not accept monetary remuneration or honoraria from any organization where they are appointed as a representative of RRC Polytech. Should cultural protocol demand that such a gift be accepted, an Employee shall remit the gift to the Chief Human Resource Officer immediately for proper dispensation.
3. Where an employee participates on an external board in which they do not represent RRC Polytech, the employee must perform any duties associated with that appointment during non-College hours except in exceptional circumstances approved by the Director of Human Resources. In no event shall the employee be permitted to receive both their RRC Polytech pay as well as remuneration from the external board.

3.3

Receipt of Gifts, Benefits and Complimentary Items:

1. Employees will not, either directly or indirectly, demand or accept for personal benefit a gift, favour, or service from any individual or company doing business with RRC Polytech, subject to certain exceptions listed within.
2. Gifts
   1. Employees are prohibited from soliciting gifts, gratuities, or any other personal benefit or favour from suppliers, potential suppliers or other RRC Polytech stakeholders. Gifts include not only merchandise and products but also personal services.
   2. Employees are prohibited from accepting gifts of money or services. In limited circumstances, meals or other gifts may be accepted where:
      1. they are appropriate and customary client development gifts for the industry, and they may not reasonably be considered extravagant in light of the position held by the employee, officer or director; or
      2. they are advertising and promotional materials, clearly marked with the company or brand names and are of nominal value.
   3. Any gift falling outside of the above guidelines must be reported to RRC Polytech’s Chief Human Resources Officer to determine whether it can be accepted.
   4. In all other instances where gifts cannot be returned or doing so may adversely affect RRC Polytech’s continuing business relationships, the Chief Human Resources Officer must be notified. The Chief Human Resources Officer has the authority to require employees to transfer ownership of such gifts to RRC Polytech.
   5. Employees may keep a door prize when it is offered to all attendees at a conference, seminar, trade show, or like event which attendance was paid for by RRC Polytech.
   6. Employees shall not accept gifts in cumulative excess of $200 annually without a Declaration pursuant to this Policy and Procedures.
3. Entertainment
   1. Employees shall not encourage or solicit entertainment from any individual or company with whom RRC Polytech does business. Entertainment includes, but is not limited to, attending sporting or other special events, and travel.
   2. RRC Polytech typically shall only accept sport and event tickets from a supplier or vendor if such tickets are offered to all Employees who wish to attend in the form of a randomly assigned draw. RRC Polytech reserves the right to distribute the gift randomly to members of the College Community, such as raffling tickets to a sporting event where tickets cannot be refused.
   3. From time-to-time employees may accept unsolicited entertainment, such as tickets to an event, but only under the following conditions:
      1. Accepting the entertainment has been approved by the Director of Human Resources Services or, in the case of the President and CEO, they may accept sport and event tickets which otherwise meet the requirements of this section up to twice annually without specific approval and any additional tickets must be approved by the Board Chair;
      2. It arises out of the ordinary course of business and is consistent with the employee’s role at RRC Polytech;
      3. It involves reasonable expenditures where the amounts involved are consistent with an amount that the employee is accustomed to normally spending for their own business or personal entertainment;
      4. The entertainment takes place in settings that are also reasonable, appropriate, and fitting for the employees, their hosts, and the college business.

3.4

Careful consideration should be given to offers from suppliers which pay for the expenses of an Employee to attend seminars, conferences, plant visits and the like. RRC Polytech should not be placed in a position where it is beholden to suppliers. Employee shall seek guidance from their manager where such offers have been received prior to accepting such expenses.

3.5

Employees will not, either directly or indirectly, use their purchasing authority at RRC Polytech for personal benefit. This includes but is not limited to using preferential RRC Polytech pricing for personal benefit.

4. Employee / Student Relations

4.1

Employees will avoid Conflict of Interest situations that may impede or compromise their responsibility to maintain a fair learning environment. Faculty will instruct, supervise, and evaluate students in an impartial and effective manner.

4.2

The power imbalance that exists between Employees and students is not to be used for personal benefit. A Conflict of Interest exists in situations in which there is or could be, a reasonable apprehension that a particular relationship between an Employee and a student may confer upon the student an unfair advantage or subject the student to an unfair disadvantage. Employees must declare such relationships to establish a Mitigation Management Plan.

4.3

Employees will not seek to or become involved in a business, romantic, or sexual relationship with a student while they remain a student at RRC Polytech. In the event that there is a pre-existing romantic, sexual or familial relationship with a student such relationship must be declared and will be subject to a Mitigation Management Plan.

4.4

Instructors will not show favouritism to particular students. Favouritism creates an inequitable learning environment. Instructors will distribute their time and teaching resources equitably to all students in their classes.

4.5

Failure to give proper recognition to any reliance on the ideas, work or assistance of students constitutes a Conflict of Interest. Use of work done or results obtained by students may only be used in accordance with Policy A-10 Intellectual Property.

5. Personal Representation of RRC Polytech

5.1

Employees must not create the impression that they represent RRC Polytech’s opinion or policy when conducting personal, political, or business activities as private persons. Certain Employees of RRC Polytech may, by the very nature of their position (i.e., Senior Management, College Relations, etc.) be presumed to represent RRC Polytech’s opinion or policy when conducting personal, political, or business activities. Persons who hold such positions are obligated to take reasonable steps necessary to make it abundantly clear that their opinions or activities are not those of RRC Polytech. College Employees will not use the name of RRC Polytech when engaging in supplementary professional activities.

5.2

Employees must not use College letterhead, College name or logo, College signature blocks, or other College identifiers when they are not conducting College business.

6. Nepotism

6.1

RRC Polytech does not prohibit members of an employee’s Immediate Family to be employed by RRC Polytech or to be retained as contractors for RRC Polytech. However, Conflicts of Interest may occur at the time of hiring, during the employment or contractual relationship or where a family relationship has changed during an existing employment relationship and a Declaration should be made in accordance with the Policy and Procedures.

6.2

A direct supervisory relationship between Immediate Family members will not normally be allowed to exist and may only occur in exceptional circumstances where there is no other practical alternative and where the Director of Human Resources has approved the supervisory relationship.

6.3

An Employee will not actively participate in the hiring process of another family member, nor will they attempt to influence such a decision.

6.4

An Employee will not actively participate in deliberations regarding the promotion of another family member.

6.5

An Employee will not participate in an evaluation of the job performance of another family member.

6.6

An Employee will not participate in any of the following when a student is a family member:

1. Decisions regarding admitting or selecting a student into a course or program;
2. Evaluation of an academic nature. Should such evaluation be unavoidable due to the size or nature of a program, this evaluation will be declared to the Chair of the program for approval;
3. Determination of a student’s progress or academic standing;
4. Decisions regarding student prizes, awards, or financial support; or
5. Decisions regarding student discipline or sitting on a Student Appeal Committee.

7. Use of Confidential Information

7.1

It is acknowledged that Employees may be exposed to private, personal, or confidential information in the course of their employment with RRC Polytech. Personal information is protected by legislation. Private, personal, or confidential information will not be used for any unauthorized purpose to benefit an employee personally or at all.

7.2

Employees will not manipulate the release of information, either by delaying it or releasing it prematurely, for their own purposes.

8. Declaration of Conflicts

8.1

All Conflicts of Interest Declarations are to be made through the following processes:

8.2

Declaration by an Individual Receiving an Offer of Employment

1. All successful candidates are to be made aware of the Conflict of Interest Policy and Procedures upon initially receiving their Offer of Employment, including those occasions where an appointment is the result of a promotion or transfer to another position.
2. The successful candidate musty recognize Conflict of Interest, Perceived Conflict of Interest or Potential Conflict of Interest and make a Declaration in writing to the Hiring Manager.
3. Where a successful candidate makes a Declaration, the Human Resource Consultant will, in conjunction with Director of Human Resource Services, take steps to resolve the situation with the individual in question prior to final confirmation of the employment offer.

8.3

Declaration During Employment

1. Where an employee recognizes a Conflict of Interest, Perceived Conflict of Interest or Actual Conflict of Interest exists, they shall make a Declaration through the established Maestro Process. Declarations must include:
   1. the name of the Employee involved and their Manager;
   2. the details of the circumstances leading to the Declaration; and
   3. the proposed Mitigation Management Plan.
2. The Manager is responsible for reviewing the Declaration and recommending whether to:
   1. Approve the ongoing situation, with a Mitigation Management Plan to mitigate and resolve the conflict discussed in conjunction with the Employee involved; or
   2. Prohibit the conflicting activity in question.

8.4

The Human Resource Services Department will subsequently review the Manager’s recommendation, and either direct the Employee to cease the activity or provide the written Mitigation Management Plan to the Employee, and maintain appropriate records respecting the Declaration. Should there be concerns regarding the Manager’s recommendation, the Human Resources Services Department may contact the Manager to collect more information, and/or may send the Manager’s recommendation to the Manager’s applicable superior for secondary approval.

8.5

Declarations will be treated as confidential, maintained in a secure manner, and protected from unauthorized access.