Staff:  Giving And Receiving Gifts Policy

As a general policy Hayfield does not believe that giving and receiving gifts is appropriate to the efficient conduct of its organisation. There are, however, limited exceptions to this policy.

Procedure

Receipt of Gifts...

Any member of staff who is given a gift of any sort in connection with their work at Hayfield e.g. by a business contact, supplier, service user, carer, etc. must disclose the fact of the gift and its nature to his or her immediate line manager.

If the organisation decides that the gift might constitute a bribe or other inducement, the employee will be required to hand the gift to their line manager, who will return it to the donor with an explanation or suitable covering letter.

In other instances, the employee will be required to return the gift to the donor with a polite note explaining Hayfield’s policy.

In exceptional cases, for example, where the organisation decides that the gift was made as a token of the donor’s gratitude for a service carried out, the recipient will be allowed to retain the gift.

Promotional gifts such as stationery, or a Christmas gift, such as confectionery, which are not of significant value, are exempt from this policy and need not be disclosed. However, staff are reminded that, since such gifts may only be given to a limited number of employees, they should be distributed to other members of staff where appropriate.

Failure to disclose gifts will constitute a disciplinary offence which will be handled in accordance with Hayfield’s disciplinary procedure. If the gift in question was of significant value and, for example, the recipient is in a position to influence business dealings with the donor, the offence will be treated as gross misconduct.

Giving Gifts...

While it is not Hayfield’s policy for individual staff to give gifts to service users or agency contacts, it is recognised that, on occasion, this may be desired or necessary, for example when someone carries out work on a voluntary basis or for a nominal fee. Equally, it may be decided that a gift would be appropriate if a service has been carried out in an exceptional manner.

In such a case, employees should put a request in writing to their line manager stating:

• who the gift is for.

• why it should be given.

• the nature of the gift.

• its approximate value.

If the request is approved, the line manager will arrange the float and how the gift will be purchased and given.

Employees who give / send gifts which have not been approved in accordance with this procedure will not be reimbursed for the cost of the gift. Further, such action may, depending on the circumstances, be treated as a disciplinary offence which will be dealt with under the formal disciplinary procedure.

This policy does not interfere with the traditional arrangements for service users to receive gifts for birthdays and Christmas and the allowable expenses / floats and arrangements in these circumstances, which are reviewed as required.  Staff should, however, consult with line managers as to the appropriate procedures and type of gifts to be purchased.