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If, as a consequence of actions taken, a member of staff unwittingly or otherwise gains a significant personal advantage (e.g. vouchers, free travel, gifts) whether it be through a suppliers' promotional offer or any other source, then this advantage and the circumstances surrounding it must be declared as appropriate to their line manager, the Head of Business Unit or the Managing Director, and recorded in the Register held in the Human Resources Department. Promotional merchandise such as pens, mouse mats, calendars and diaries with a value under £25 are not classed as 'significant' and you may accept inexpensive, token or promotional gifts or benefits up to the individual or cumulative value of £25. You should use the appropriate HR form to apply for acceptance of any other gift or benefit. For further details of this policy see Section 2.3.7a of the Staff Handbook.
(III) Hospitality
Modest hospitality is an accepted courtesy of a business relationship. However, the recipient must not allow a position to develop whereby they might be influenced, or might be deemed by others to have been compromised, into taking a business decision. The frequency and scale of hospitality accepted should not be significantly greater than that likely to be provided by RoS on a reciprocal basis. For further details of this policy see Section 2.3.7c of the Staff Handbook.
(IV) Confidentiality
The Terms and Conditions through which many of RoS’s suppliers trade with us are the result of local or national negotiations. Staff are given access to these and other official contract details on the clear understanding that confidentiality of such commercially sensitive information is strictly respected. Any request for such information by a third party under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act (FOISA), should be dealt with through the appropriate FOISA process.
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To reduce the possibility of fraud, RoS staff should be familiar with our policy and procedures. They should also make our suppliers, agents, and other potential commercial partners aware of our policies. Procurement undertake checks on supplier integrity as a routine part of our Regulated procurements.
(VIII) Equality and the Public Sector Equality Duties
There is a range of equality legislation protecting people from discrimination on the grounds of race, disability, gender, age, sexual orientation and religion or belief. As of October 2010 the Equality Act brought together all these current areas of discrimination under the heading of ‘’protected characteristics’’. In addition, there is a public sector equality duty that require public authorities to take proactive steps to eliminate discrimination and harassment and to promote equality of opportunity with regard to ‘’protected characteristics’’ under the Equality Act. (Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties) (Scotland) Regulations 2012).
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