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Gifts and hospitality

10 October 2024

The report for gifts and hospitality is about to be prepared, please can you ensure you and your team complete the gifts and hospitality form if necessary, by Friday 8 November 2024, for the second quarter (1 July to 30 September).


If you do not have a council email address, please ask your line manager to complete the form for you.

Here's a reminder of the rules that you need to follow around receiving gifts or  hospitality.

These rules apply to employees regardless of whether they are in receipt of hospitality or gifts during work time, or during their personal time. If the hospitality or gifts offered fall outside the criteria for acceptance during work time, then accepting them at weekends, evenings or whilst on leave is also unacceptable. All hospitality must be recorded using the gifts and hospitality form.

Complete the gifts and hospitality form

The code of conduct for employees and financial regulations, states in relation to hospitality and gifts

Gifts

You may accept ‘token’ gifts from customers, contractors or service users up to the value of £50. Acceptable examples are calendars, diaries, pens or chocolates. All gifts should be reported to your manager. You must not accept gifts worth more than £50 and you must report such offers to your executive director. You must refuse any offer of a gift where you suspect that an improper motive may exist, that is, the giver is seeking to influence your decisions or actions and you must report such offers to your executive director. This is the case regardless of the monetary value of the offer.

In no circumstances should you accept a monetary gift, (including gift vouchers) and again, you must report such offers to your executive director.

Hospitality

You should only accept hospitality (meals / refreshments) if there is a genuine need to impart information or to represent us. You should also ensure that accepting the hospitality does not create a conflict of interest and is not likely to cause embarrassment to us. You should report the offer of hospitality, whether accepted or not, to your line manager, and should ensure that all such offers are recorded in the appropriate hospitality register.

Our approach to hospitality and gifts is designed to protect both the organisation and individual employees from allegations of decisions on policy and purchasing being influenced by the receipt of personal benefits. Please remember that however unlikely such influence might be, we need to consider how the public and media might interpret our conduct.

Find out more about gifts and hospitality.