Annex D

ACCEPTANCE OF GIFTS, HOSPITALITY, AWARDS & PRIZES

The following paragraphs set out some general guidance on the acceptance of gifts, hospitality or awards. This is just guidance and it is not inflexible; much must depend on judgement.

Gifts

As a general rule, there are unlikely to be objections to the acceptance of a gift of a trivial nature or an inexpensive seasonal item, such as a calendar, pocket or desk diary, provided that it bears the company's name and can, therefore, clearly be regarded as an advertising item.

Books, reports and other published documents with a material value given to individuals should be treated as gifts to JNCC and not be retained as personal gifts.

Even when offered and accepted in innocence, gifts could be misconstrued by others. Offers of gifts and hospitality of an unreasonable nature should be reported to your line manager. All gifts received of an equivalent value of £25 or greater must be recorded in the JNCC Registers of Gifts and Hospitality, which are to be held in Aberdeen and Peterborough.

Inappropriate acceptance of a gift or other favour or consideration is potentially a breach of discipline.

Hospitality

Deciding whether to accept hospitality may be more difficult than dealing with gifts, because providing hospitality is often a normal part of business life. Acceptance of hospitality could, however, be construed as some sort of promise to the giver. You should consult your line manager, who can liaise with Personnel if necessary, if you are in any doubt of the propriety of accepting any offer of hospitality. Any hospitality of the value of £25 or greater must be recorded in the JNCC Registers of Gifts and Hospitality, which are held in Aberdeen (admin office) and Peterborough (finance section). “Hospitality” excludes working meals.

Air Miles and Equivalent Benefits

Several airlines and other carriers, such as train companies, offer Air Miles, Excel Cards or equivalent benefits as an inducement to increase their share of business. These schemes allow individuals to register with an airline to collect Air Miles (or equivalent benefits) for later use. If any such benefits, acquired whilst on JNCC business, can be used for subsequent work travel, there is no objection to JNCC staff participating in the scheme. Use of such accumulated Air Miles (or equivalent benefits) derived from JNCC business for private travel, however, constitutes a degree of personal benefit from expenditure from public funds, and is not normally permitted.

Some carriers may offer passengers compensation for unexpected delays in the journey. Where the journey has been/ will be funded by JNCC, it may be appropriate to refund to JNCC some or all of the compensation provided that JNCC had expended more on the day in question than it would have done if there had been no delay.

If, for instance, you would be eligible to claim overtime/travelling time/TOIL under normal arrangements and as a result of the delay, those claims were more expensive than they would otherwise have been, then JNCC, as the payer of additional costs, should receive any compensation paid by the carrier.

If you had no claim to additional overtime/travelling time/TOIL, then there would be no extra cost to JNCC purely as a result of the delay, so there is no requirement for you to set the value of the compensation against your final claim.

Awards and Prizes

If you are approached by an outside organisation about the offer of an award or prize in any way connected with your duties in JNCC, then this is potentially a great honour and will bring significant kudos to the organisation. However, you should consult your line manager, who will liaise with Personnel in case the award or prize could provoke public criticism or be construed as a gift, inducement or payment. In some circumstances, depending on the extent to which the award is associated with your JNCC duties or the monetary value of the award, it may be more appropriate to donate any prize to a voluntary organisation working within the same field.

General

This guidance must not be regarded as exhaustive. The need to exercise judgment has already been mentioned. The advice to individual members of staff and line managers at all grades is that, if you are in doubt, you should err on the side of caution and seek guidance.