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Cumbria Care staff are public servants, and it is important that the public has confidence in their trust worthiness. All Cumbria Care staff conform to Cumbria County Council's code of conduct for employees.
Sometimes, customers who have been provided with a service feel grateful towards the staff who've provided this to them. They may wish to show their appreciation for this in the form of:
- a gift,
- to identify staff as beneficiaries in their will or
- in some other way.
Such gifts and bequests can place our staff in an uncomfortable position. If we were to routinely accept these, the givers of such gifts could come to believe that the level of service provided could be influenced by gifts. This is not the case. The council's code of conduct requires all staff to refuse significant personal gifts (valued £10 or over) from customers or other outside parties. This applies to gifts to both staff members and their families.
The council's code of conduct allows staff to accept token gifts valued less than £10 but only with their manager's approval.
We do not wish to cause distress or offence but we ask customers to bear this in mind should they wish to show their appreciation to staff.
Customers will find that staff will politely refuse any offers of significant gifts or bequests. These staff will also inform their managers of these offers which will be recorded on a 'gifts and bequests' register.