Code of Conduct

Chess Engage is committed to probity and professional conduct in everything we do. We pride ourselves with having built a respected reputation in our industry over the last decade. That matters to us and also to our clients.

We are studious in updating our Register of Consultant Lobbyists information, which is the national official register covering our industry. This Register lists our clients and practitioners and is updated every quarter.

We recognise that clients reputation is as important to them as it is to us. In consultation and engagement we follow a series of simple but effective guidelines:

1. Openness and Transparency:

In all contact on behalf of clients we are clear who we are and who we are contacting people/groups on behalf of. We own the work we do for clients and ensure clients and their project teams are equally open and transparent.

2. Professionalism:

We are committed to professional conduct. We conduct our meetings, events and all communications in a considered, skilled and effective way. We remain professional throughout so as to ensure our clients reputation and also our own. This is also important because through maintaining professional standards we assure the community we are working in on behalf of clients. Maintaining high standards is a key employment factor for our practitioners.

3. Trust:

The work we do is open and complete. Open in that we ensure access and involvement of stakeholders to build trust for clients. Complete in the way we approach feedback and reporting back to clients. It is important that people have faith in our process and that clients see the benefit of our work in the validity of the consultation being undertaken in their behalf.

4. Equality:

We require all employees to take all reasonable care that professional duties are conducted without causing offence on the grounds of gender, race, religion, disability or any other form of discrimination or unacceptable reference. 

The integrity of these simple standards defines our success. Any digression from these standards should be brought to the immediate attention of management, not to do so would be disciplinary matter and our full procedures will be followed to ensure a fair and appropriate investigation is undertaken and proportional and fair actions if required are implemented.

Employees of Chess Engage are expected to sign up to the follow conditions to ensure their professional practice:

i. Employees must act with honesty towards clients, the community/stakeholders and the institutions of local and central government.

ii. Employees must use reasonable endeavours to satisfy themselves of the truth and accuracy of all statements made or information provided to institutions of local and central government, whether directly or on behalf of clients. All publications or information will be clearly identified as either coming from the client or from Chess Engage.

iii. In making representations to the institutions of local and central government, employees must be open in disclosing the identity of those clients (or, if not applicable, Chess Engage) and must not misrepresent their interests.

iv. Employees must advise their clients (or, if not applicable, management) where their activities to deliberately and intentionally interact with the institutions of local and central government may be illegal, unethical, or contrary to professional standards set down here, and to refuse to act in pursuance of any such activity.

v. Employees must not make untruthful or extravagant claims about, or otherwise misrepresent, the nature or extent of their access to institutions of local or central government or to political parties or to persons in those institutions.

vi. Employees must comply with the Bribery Act 2010.

vii. Chess Engage does not employ any existing MPs, MEPs, or Members of the House of Lords, or any members of the Scottish Parliament or Senedd Cymru or the Northern Ireland Assembly or the London Assembly. Nor make any award or payment in money or in kind (including equity) to any MP, MEP, Peer, or to any member of the Scottish Parliament or Senedd Cymru or the Northern Ireland Assembly or the London Assembly, or to connected persons or persons acting on their account directly or through third parties.

viii. Chess Engage will not use of any privileged Information made available or known to them, including in their dealings with the staff, associates, clients, new business prospects and/or other contacts of the employee. This means any and all information, whether in writing, in an electronic format, or passed on verbally, that a Chess Engage receives, obtains or otherwise becomes aware of through disclosure by the relevant MP, MEP, Member of the House of Lords, or member of the Scottish Parliament or Senedd Cymru or the Northern Ireland Assembly or the London Assembly, and which  is information that the employee has been informed is confidential and/or privileged or which it ought reasonably to know is confidential and/or privileged information, having regard to all the circumstances. Privileged Information excludes information which:

(i)at the time of receipt by the employee is in the public domain; and/or

(ii)subsequently comes into the public domain through no fault of the employee or Chess Engage.

ix. Chess Engage follows full GDPR compliance and our policy is applicable to all activities undertaken by employees who must adhere to its conditions.

x. Employees must comply with any statute, any resolution of an institution of local or central government, and with the adopted recommendations of the Committee on Standards in Public Life in relation to payments to a political party in any part of the United Kingdom. Employees must satisfy themselves that they are compliant with the obligations in the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations and the General Data Protection Regulations. Any deviation from these procedures and obligations must be immediately brought to the attention of management.

xi. Employees who also serve as members of decision-making public bodies (including local authority councillors) are prohibited from working on projects of which the objective is to influence a decision of the body on which they serve. Employees should not work on projects that are geographically located in their local authority area. Employees are obligated to inform their respective Monitoring Officers and declare if required on their Register of Interests any projects Chess Engage are working on in their local authority area clearly stating that they are not working on the project. At no time should a local authority member break their own code of conduct in respect of pecuniary or personal interest and at all times should seek and follow the advice of their Monitoring Officer.

xii. Employees must keep strictly separate from their duties and activities as practitioners any personal activity or involvement on behalf of a political party, including as an office holder or candidate for office. Chess Engage does not have and will not have any direct affiliation with any political party. While we actively encourage political activity of employees, this is a personal decision and activity beyond the company.

xiii. Employees must always abide by the internal rules on declaration and handling of interests laid down by any public body on which they serve.

xiv. Employees must abide by the rules and conventions for the obtaining, distribution, and release of documents published by institutions of local and central government. 

xv. Employees must not exploit public servants or abuse the facilities of institutions of central, regional, or local government.

xvi. Employees must respect the rules and procedures of community organisations they come into contact with in the course of projects, such that trust and confidence is maintained at all times.

xvii. Employees should follow the companies procedures and policies at all times.

Any actions or practice that leads to a complaint will be dealt with under the grievance and disciplinary procedures and established policies of Chess Engage. 

All employees will be requested to sign up to this Internal Charter of Standards.