Conflict of Interest
3-150
HUMAN RESOURCES MANUAL
POLICY
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
It is considered a conflict of interest for employees, students, volunteers or Board members to engage in an activity that conflicts with the mission and values or goals of the AIDS Committee of Toronto (ACT).
All conflict of interest situations must be declared immediately by the individual to the supervisor.
PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
Employees, students, volunteers and Board members who are involved in professional activities which are outside their responsibilities at ACT:
1. are expected to notify their employer/supervisor of their other activities where these activities may reflect adversely on ACT;
2. must not use ACT premises, equipment or materials;
3. must not promote their own business interest to ACT service users except via appropriate bulletin boards (see Bulletin Boards, AM # 4-30);
4. must not solicit ACT service users for their own business, private practice or personal benefit; or
5. must not put ACT service users in a conflict of interest situation;
6. must not allow their outside activities to detract from ACT job responsibilities.
PUBLIC EXPRESSION OF VIEWS
Before expressing their views publicly or to the media on behalf of ACT or as an ACT representative, employees, students, volunteers and Board members must consult with the Executive Director, his or her designate, or the Advocacy and Media Relations Coordinator. (Also see Agency Spokesperson/Media Relations, AM # 2-30.)
PERSONAL/FINANCIAL GAIN
Employees, students, volunteers, and Board members are NOT to:
- use their association with ACT to contract with an outside agency or practice for financial or reputational gain excluding the use of personal and professional references from ACT;
- involve ACT in business with organizations in which the individual, or a relative of the individual has a substantial interest;
- benefit personally from work with service users, caregivers, donors or vendors;
- act on behalf of their service user as an executor of a will, or as an attorney under a Continuing Power of Attorney for Property, or as a Power of Attorney for Personal Care;
- receive any property under their service user's will, or as the beneficiary of their service user's non-probate assets (including insurance proceeds, death benefits, and pay-on-death or joint bank accounts) except where a previous relationship existed;
- receive financial or material gain from or on behalf of a service user except for a token personal memento of no appreciable value, i.e. $25 or less;
- accept substantial gifts or entertainment from service users, vendors or any other person doing business with ACT (also see Accepting Gifts/Bequests/Fees for Services/Honoraria, HR # 3-170; Gifts, HR # 9-210); or
- borrow money from employees, service users, volunteers, or any other persons doing business with ACT.
BOARD/EMPLOYEE/VOLUNTEER RELATIONSHIPS
Board Members
1. People who are involved in intimate relationships with ACT staff are ineligible from serving on the ACT board due to the potential for conflict of interest.
2. ACT Board members are not to serve as both Board members and ongoing service volunteers. This does not include fundraising events except where a direct conflict may be present, e.g., a Board member who provides paid services or goods for a fundraising event.
3. Board members who are responsible for recruiting must notify potential new Board members of this policy on the nominations form.
4. A newly elected Board member who is also a service volunteer at ACT must leave the volunteer assignment within one month of moving into a Board position.
Employees
1. Permanent and contract employees (excluding temporary) may not be volunteers at ACT except for ad hoc and/or fundraising events.
2. A newly hired employee who is also a volunteer at ACT must leave the volunteer assignment within one month of commencing the new position.
3. ACT employees, including permanent, temporary and contract, may not serve on the ACT Board of Directors or Chair any Board Committee, which includes fundraising event steering committees, for at least two years after leaving the employment of the AIDS Committee of Toronto.
The hiring committee and manager are to notify potential employees of the above policies during the position interview.
(Also see Relationships/Professional Conduct, HR # 3-160.)
CONFIDENTIALITY
See Confidentiality, HR # 1-50.
Revised 1999
