PURPOSE:
The purpose of this policy is to provide guidance and support to Dublin Dog Grooming staff and any other relevant individuals or stakeholders handling possible conflicts of interest that may arise, as a result of their roles within the Training Provider. This policy applies to all staff or other individuals whenever they interact or potentially interact with the company, in order to maintain the integrity of the company, the qualifications it delivers and stakeholders it works with.
The most important feature of the policy, is the instruction that individuals should always disclose an activity if there is any doubt about whether it represents a conflict of interest. The aim of the policy is to protect the company, associated stakeholders and the individuals concerned from any appearance of impropriety.
SCOPE:
This policy applies to staff and other individuals who interact or potentially interact with the work of the company. This includes individuals involved with all aspects of devising, setting, tutoring, assessing, marking, administering, invigilating, internally verifying or any other areas where conflict of interest may arise.
The individuals falling within the scope of this policy include full-time and part-time staff of the company and any associate staff including external examiners.
The content of the policy cannot cover every potential conflict and is not exhaustive, and must be interpreted in the light of the particular circumstances of each case. Staff have a responsibility to use their judgement and if in doubt, discuss their concerns and issues with their higher authority within the Training Provider.
OBJECTIVES:
– Ensure that any possibility of conflict of interest is disclosed immediately.
– Identify and minimise the risk of conflict of interest arising within the company.
– Respond to any incident promptly and objectively;
– Standardise and record any incident to ensure openness and fairness;
– Protect the integrity of the company, awarding bodies and related stakeholders.
DEFINITION:
Conflict of interest can be defined as a situation/conflict between the official responsibilities of an individual (tutor, assessor, examiner, internal verifier) or organisation/Training Provider/stakeholder which could compromise or appear to compromise their decisions. Conflicts of interest can arise in a variety of circumstances and are not exhaustive, for example:
A situation that has the potential to undermine the impartiality of an individual because of the possibility of a clash between the individual person’s self-interest and professional interest or public interest. Personal interests – conflict with his/her professional position When one part of the company follows a procedure that conflicts with the organisation’s official policy and
the requirements of iPET Network.
PROCEDURE – (Actions/implementation):
If any person should declare a conflict of interest it must be done so in writing to the Company’s Quality Contact (failure to declare interest may be subject to disciplinary action as this Malpractice, see Malpractice Policy).
Any information provided when declaring an interest will be treated in accordance with data protection principles. Data will be processed only to ensure that relevant persons act in the best interest of the company, the information will not be used for any other purpose.
Once a conflict of interest has been declared, iPET Network will be informed and the relevant person will be withdrawn from any activities which may be affected by the conflict.
POSSIBLE ACTIONS TAKEN BY THE COMPANY:
The company may take internal disciplinary action in line with Policy and Procedures. This action will be commensurate with the seriousness of the Conflict of Interest and comply with appropriate employment legislation and iPET Network’s requirements who may impose penalties or sanctions.
