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Companies developing socially responsible policies on the acceptance of
gifts and hospitality should provide an advice line for employees who
have dilemmas, the Institute of Business Ethics suggests in new
guidance.
The institute says businesses also need to consider training programmes that take employees through typical scenarios and clarify what is expected of them. However, the first step must be to have a 'clear, unambiguous policy' detailing what can be accepted without disclosure, what cannot be accepted or given, what should be recorded, and where staff can get guidance.
The UK-based organization says some companies put a monetary limit on the value of gifts that can be offered or accepted, but determining the level can be difficult and is not always helpful. 'What may seem to be minor to a senior manager could be worth significantly more to a junior employee, and the duties of senior staff may require them to attend or sponsor events where hospitality is generous,' it says. 'Also, the exact value of an event package, for example, a trip to see tennis at Wimbledon, is hard to determine.'
The institute says companies should take account of the cost of living in different countries, as limits in the developed world 'may be considered lavish to employees in poorer economies'.
It suggests instead that any policy should be based on a principle of 'reciprocity', under which an employee is advised to refuse any gift or hospitality for which an equivalent could not easily be given.
The institute recommends companies maintain registers in which gifts over a certain value are recorded to 'make the process open and transparent and avoid accusations of distortion'. Gifts exceeding this value that are impossible to decline can still be accepted on the organization's behalf and raffled for charity.
The guidance contains web links to sample corporate gifts policies from Borealis, BP, General Electric, GSK and Merck.
The institute says businesses also need to consider training programmes that take employees through typical scenarios and clarify what is expected of them. However, the first step must be to have a 'clear, unambiguous policy' detailing what can be accepted without disclosure, what cannot be accepted or given, what should be recorded, and where staff can get guidance.
The UK-based organization says some companies put a monetary limit on the value of gifts that can be offered or accepted, but determining the level can be difficult and is not always helpful. 'What may seem to be minor to a senior manager could be worth significantly more to a junior employee, and the duties of senior staff may require them to attend or sponsor events where hospitality is generous,' it says. 'Also, the exact value of an event package, for example, a trip to see tennis at Wimbledon, is hard to determine.'
The institute says companies should take account of the cost of living in different countries, as limits in the developed world 'may be considered lavish to employees in poorer economies'.
It suggests instead that any policy should be based on a principle of 'reciprocity', under which an employee is advised to refuse any gift or hospitality for which an equivalent could not easily be given.
The institute recommends companies maintain registers in which gifts over a certain value are recorded to 'make the process open and transparent and avoid accusations of distortion'. Gifts exceeding this value that are impossible to decline can still be accepted on the organization's behalf and raffled for charity.
The guidance contains web links to sample corporate gifts policies from Borealis, BP, General Electric, GSK and Merck.
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