Policy 8.13 : Employee and Volunteer Code of Conduct

Community Enterprise Inc. is a non-profit organisation established for the purpose of supporting people with disabilities and their families living in the Shire of Hidden Valley.

The services offered by Community Enterprise include group home accommodation, in-home respite, out-of-home respite, home help and community access.

Community Enterprise is a non-profit, community organisation which is governed by a management committee elected annually by the members. Community Enterprise receives all of its operating funds from the Western Australian Government in the form of an annual grant.

The purpose of this policy is to set out a code of conduct to govern the decision and actions of employees and volunteers in the course of their duties, having regard to Standard 8 of the Disability Services Standards (1993).

This policy applies to all the agency's employees and volunteers.

The following procedures are to be implemented to ensure that the agency's employees and volunteers behave in an acceptable manner.

Employees and volunteers will:

1. Acquaint themselves with the mission, principles, values and policies of the agency and behave accordingly.
2. Fulfil their responsibilities as employees or volunteers in accordance with their respective duty statement and with due care and diligence.
3. Co-operate with management, colleagues and other agencies to promote and deliver quality services to clients.
4. Understand and comply with the administrative and work practices of the agency and maintain records as required by the agency.
5. Respect clients as valued persons entitled to the same treatment and regard as other members of society.
6. Observe the privacy, dignity and confidentiality rights of clients, their families and advocates.
7. Fully involve clients (and families and advocates, where appropriate) in decisions about their lives or how they live their lives.
8. Encourage clients, families and advocates to raise issues or concerns and seek to resolve them in a non-threatening, non-defensive manner.
9. Apply the highest standards of personal conduct in their dealings with clients, families, advocates and other agencies.
10. Dress in manner that is appropriate to the duties being undertaken and that will not cast clients or the agency in a negative light or be offensive or uncomfortable to clients, their families or advocates, or colleagues.
11. Refrain from smoking or from taking or being under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs whilst on agency premises, in agency vehicles or in clients' homes.
12. Refrain from knowingly assisting clients to engage in illegal activities.
13. Not have sexual relationships with clients under any circumstances.
14. Not verbally, physically or emotionally abuse, threaten or harass clients, families, advocates, colleagues or members of the community.
15. Not make any statements or take any actions that would have the effect of alienating the client from his or her family or support network.
16. Not make any public statements to the media without the prior approval of the executive officer.
17. Not make improper use of their position, or information gained through their position, as an employee or volunteer to gain, directly or indirectly, an advantage for themselves or any other person, or cause detriment to the agency or its clients.
18. Where they have personal interests that might give rise to conflicts of interests with their duties as employees or volunteers, disclose the nature of those interests to management.