Employee Code of Conduct

1. Introduction and Purpose

The Employee Code of Conduct is intended to provide clarity for Loyalist College employees on the standards of integrity and professional conduct that are expected to ensure that all who learn and work at the college experience an inclusive, respectful, welcoming, and supportive environment.

At Loyalist College, the purpose of the Employee Code of Conduct policy is to:

• Highlight the college’s core values of being caring, creative, engaging, inclusive, and accountable as the guiding principles for our actions and interactions with others.
• Define the essential standards and expectations for professional behaviour among all college employees.
• Foster an inclusive, welcoming, and supportive environment for everyone who learns and works at the college.
• Reinforce the college’s commitment to maintaining a safe and healthy work environment that promotes learning, growth, and respect.
• Ensure the college continues to be a trusted public institution, a valued community partner, and a preferred educational destination for students, staff, and the wider community.

2. Application

The Employee Code of Conduct applies to all Loyalist College employees, including student employees. As representatives of the college, all employees are expected to adhere to the Employee Code of Conduct while performing work, while representing the college at external events, at work related social events, and in virtual spaces. Additionally, employees may be subject to discipline for engaging in misconduct outside of the workplace, depending on the circumstances.

Students enrolled at Loyalist College are governed by the Student Code of Conduct. In circumstances where students are employed by Loyalist College concurrently, the Employee Code of Conduct supersedes the Student Code of Conduct in the employment context.

The Employee Code of Conduct works in conjunction with relevant legislation and regulations and does not exclude or replace the rights and obligations of any individual under provincial or federal law or applicable collective agreements. Where there is an inconsistency between the rights guaranteed in this policy and within a collective agreement, the collective agreement will prevail.

3. Definitions

Conduct: The way a person behaves.

Conflict of Interest: When an employee’s private interests interfere, or could reasonably be perceived to interfere, with their ability to perform their professional duties objectively and in the best interests of the organization. This includes situations where an employee:

• Stands to gain personally, financially, or professionally from decisions made in their official capacity.
• Engages in activities or relationships that compromise, or appear to compromise, their impartiality, judgment, or ability to act in the organization’s best interests.
• Uses their position, influence, or access to organizational resources for personal advantage or to benefit family members, friends, or other third parties.

Perceived Conflict of Interest: When an employee’s private interests or relationships could reasonably be seen by others as influencing their ability to act impartially or in the organization’s best interests, even if no actual conflict exists. The perception of a conflict can undermine trust in the employee’s integrity and the organization as a whole.

Personal Relationships: In the context of the Employee Code of Conduct, personal relationships refer to any close relationship (e.g., a relative, intimate, financial, or any past or present relationship that may give rise to a reasonable apprehension of bias) are close connections between individuals—including familial, romantic, financial, or other past or present relationships—that could reasonably give rise to concerns about bias or conflict of interest. These relationships are of particular concern when one party holds a position of authority or influence over the other, creating a potential for undue advantage, restricted opportunities for others, or the perception thereof.

Settings: The variety of locations where work may be conducted; on-site or off-site, hybrid, remote, virtual, in-person, and otherwise.

Work Channels: The method used to engage in work. For the purposes of this policy, the inclusion of a variety of mediums in the policy’s scope is to clarify that employee conduct expectations extend to include behaviour on any information technology (IT) platforms owned or leased by the college. This includes, but is not limited to, email, chat, web postings, electronic presentations, virtual meetings, and text messaging. 

4. Loyalist College Values

All employees have a responsibility to uphold Loyalist’s values in their conduct to ensure a positive contribution to the college’s work environment. These values guide our actions and decisions, define our culture, and focus on students, employees, and community. Our values are:

5. Policy

Employees of the college are expected to uphold the Employee Code of Conduct’s expectations and the college’s values. Every college employee is expected to contribute to a positive environment where appropriate and respectful behaviour is followed, expected, valued, and promoted.

College employees are expected to act in a manner that can withstand close public scrutiny, conducting themselves in a way that reflects positively on the college. This includes an expectation to remain transparent and trustworthy in all their professional dealings, always demonstrating ethics and integrity. 

This policy cannot address every situation that employees may encounter. For this reason, this policy does not relieve employees of the responsibility and accountability to exercise good judgment and to seek guidance from others in circumstances where they are unsure as to the proper course of action.

Employees should report, in good faith and without fear of reprisal, any real or perceived unethical conduct, conflicts of interest, or violations of policies, procedures, collective agreements, and legislature as per ADMIN 117 Whistleblower Policy.

6. Fostering a Respectful and Inclusive College Community

6.1 Professional Conduct

College employees are expected to provide exceptional customer service to students, colleagues, and the public by being honest, respectful, courteous, and supportive to all persons. Loyalist College expects all employees to support the creation of an equitable workplace that upholds the Ontario Human Rights Code. College employees will respect the dignity, diversity, and uniqueness of the college community to ensure that others are treated with respect. College employees will not act in any manner that is illegal, harmful, or threatening to others or that is disruptive, abusive, intimidating, or harassing. Any act of discrimination or prejudice on any protected grounds within the Ontario Human Rights Code or harassment or bullying as outlined in the Occupational Health and Safety Act is strictly prohibited.

Employees will adhere to OHS 007 Workplace Violence Prevention, ADMIN 127 Harassment and Discrimination and ADMIN 116 Accessibility Standards – Accessibility for Persons with Disabilities.

6.2 Professional Capacity

Employees are expected to meet their specific job expectations without impeding others from performing their own duties or studies. All college employees are expected to maintain professional skills and knowledge to remain current in their respective areas of expertise. Loyalist College values lifelong learning and endeavours to support continuous learning for its employees in support of their role at the college, where possible.

In conjunction with the expectations set out within the Employee Code of Conduct, college employees belonging to regulated professions are expected to adhere to the standards of their profession as established by those regulatory bodies (e.g., College of Social Workers, College of Nurses, Ontario College of Teachers, etc.).

6.3 Privacy and Confidentiality

Loyalist College employees should endeavour to limit access to, and the use of, personal and confidential information. Employees must adhere to HR 500 Access to Information and Protection of Privacy and relevant legislation.

Confidential information includes information regarding the strategic plans and operation of the college that, if disclosed, may cause damage to the college. Examples include, but are not limited to, student records, personnel files, intellectual property, financial budgets, the data and results of significant research projects yet to be published, etc.

Employees will also:

• take reasonable steps to protect confidential information and disclose confidential information only in accordance with college policies or as required by law.
• access, use, and disclose confidential information only as necessary to meet their job responsibilities.
• protect confidential information and student and employee personal information from loss, theft, and unauthorized access.
• abide by all Loyalist College rules, procedures, and guidance that relates to the protection of privacy.
• properly report any potential security concerns relating to privacy to their direct supervisor.

Employees’ duties of confidence survive termination of employment. Employees who obtain new employment in which their knowledge of confidential information may be of benefit are responsible for guarding against its misuse. In such situations, individuals are encouraged to seek direction from Loyalist College as to what precautions the college deems to be reasonable.

6.4 Personal Relationships with Students

There is an inherent imbalance of power between employees and students at educational institutions. This creates the potential for conflicts of interest, exploitation, favouritism, and bias to exist and/or the perception of these to exist in the workplace or classroom. As such, relationships that go beyond professional interactions may undermine the real or perceived integrity of any supervision, support, or evaluation provided by an employee involved.

Employees must always maintain professional relationships with current students, both in and out of the classroom. Any act of sexual misconduct, violence, discrimination, or harassment is strictly prohibited and will be enforced as set forth in the Strengthening Post-secondary Institutions and Students Act. Employees will abide by ADMIN 125 Responding to Sexual Assault and Sexualized Violence.

Employees will not: 

• solicit, encourage, or engage in an inappropriate written, verbal, or physical relationship with a student.
• develop a friendship with a student that may be misunderstood by the student, other students, family members, or colleagues.
• become sexually intimate with a student currently enrolled in a program at the college.
• involve students in their own personal problems.
• involve a student in any interpersonal difficulties associated with any other member of the college community.
• become involved with a student or group of students that is inconsistent with college policies. 

6.5 Conflict of Interest

Employees must avoid situations in which their private interests, whether monetary, personal, or otherwise, create a conflict of interest with their duties to the college. Employees must recognize, declare, and manage conflicts of interest in accordance with ADMIN 107 Conflict of Interest policy.

7. Demonstrating Integrity and Stewardship for Loyalist College

It is expected that Loyalist College employees will make decisions in the best interest of the college, without bias, using diligence and good judgement. Employees should utilize the college’s incident management mechanisms before publicly commenting about the college, their co-workers, or college management teams, which may, in turn, harm the reputation of the college or detrimentally impact enrolment. In keeping with COMM 101 Communications policy, employees will not claim to speak or act on behalf of the college, unless authorized to do so, or to imply a connection between their personal comments or opinions and the college.

7.1  Ensuring a Safe Work Environment

Protecting the health and safety of the college community through the provision of safe workplaces is of paramount importance. The college will provide information and training about health and safety hazards and safeguards. Every employee has the responsibility to adhere to OHS 007 Workplace Violence Prevention policy, follow relevant legislation and collectively ensure sound environmental health and safety practices.

7.2  Compliance with College Policies and Legislation

Employees are expected to be familiar with the college policies relevant to their responsibilities and conduct themselves in a manner consistent with those policies. Employees also have the responsibility to be aware of, and comply with, any legislation or regulation that is related to their job duties.

7.3 Using College Resources

To ensure respectful contributions to a positive workplace, employees will manage and care for college resources in a publicly defensible and environmentally prudent way. Employees will not vandalize or willfully damage college property.

Employees should not use information and communication technologies or any of the college’s resources in a way that is intended or has the potential to harm a college community member or the reputation of the college. Use of any information technology resources or devices on the college network must adhere to the college’s information technology and communications policies.

8. Upholding Professionalism in the Learning Environment

8.1 Professional Practice

Academic employees are expected to be prepared by planning teaching and learning activities in advance that support the implementation of learning experiences for students within the subjects assigned that reflect relevancy in the field of study. Academic employees will engage in activities that support them in maintaining, developing, and expanding competence in their field by exploring materials related to their field and reviewing research, technical advances, and discussions about issues in their field and practice. Academic employees are expected to maintain a working knowledge of the core practice standards in their field. 

Academic employees will:

• prepare course outlines in the approved college course outline format for the course(s) assigned or become familiar with outlines that are currently approved by the Dean or designate of the Academic School they have been assigned. 
• post the course outlines to the learning management system during the first week of class and review the content with the students. 
• have clear learning goals for each class that support the identified program and course learning outcomes. 
• provide learning resources in a timely fashion. 
• ensure the availability of supplementary resources, as required. 
• submit complete and accurate records of grades and other documents in the approved format and at the times required. 

Academic employees are required to be aware of and abide by the AOP 206 Copyright Policy. The college is not responsible for providing aid or protection to faculty should charges from the violation of copyright law occur.

8.2 Conduct in the Learning Environment

Academic employees engaged in supporting students in the learning environment will:

• maintain a safe and equitable learning environment in which learning opportunities are promoted and students and employees are treated with mutual respect. 
• ensure that all learning activities are related to the stated learning outcomes for the class or on the course outline. 
• refrain from using or allowing class time to be used to promote personal, religious, political, social, or business agendas. This is not intended to restrict academic freedom of employees or students in expressing personal views relevant to the curriculum topics being discussed. 
• align with the college’s Policy Statement on Upholding Free Speech and respect the rights and freedoms of others, including the right to freedom from discrimination and harassment.
• ensure that each class starts and ends on time, as per the assigned timetable, and that the allotted time is used as assigned for the course. Classes will last for 50 minutes for a one-hour class. Breaks will be assigned during two and three-hour classes. 
• ensure that their classroom is left according to the classroom set up information posted in the room, clean and without debris, and vacated as per schedule so that others are not inconvenienced by being forced to wait. 
• provide team members with appropriate advance notice to complete requested collaborative or support services. 
• respect the terms and conditions of relevant collective agreements and individual job descriptions. 
• notify their manager and school office coordinator at the earliest opportunity if they are unable to meet their assigned classes.
• abide by all staff collective agreements, policies, procedures, practices, and guidelines.

Academic employees will not, in any class, allow: 

• defamatory, profane, violent, or obscene language.
• remarks or conduct that are racist, sexist, or in other ways discriminatory as defined by the Ontario Human Rights Code.
• behaviours or remarks that could reasonably be interpreted as threatening, fractious, disrespectful of others, or inconsistent with organizational policies or procedures. 

9. Breach of the Employee Code of Conduct Expectations and Reprisal

Ultimately, and where appropriate, breaches of expectations as described in Loyalist College’s Employee Code of Conduct are intended to be handled in a manner that is corrective, not punitive. Employees will report alleged breaches of laws or external regulations to their manager or to Human Resources and will not experience reprisal for reporting in good faith. Where a breach of the expectations in this Employee Code of Conduct occurs, including reprisals, it may lead to administrative or disciplinary measures being taken, up to and including the termination of employment for cause. Alleged breaches of internal college policies will be addressed in accordance with the associated collective agreement.

Loyalist College respects the collective agreements for unionized employees and nothing in this Employee Code of Conduct policy replaces or revokes rights, responsibilities, or processes under collective agreements.

10. Related Documents

• HR 100 Employee Code of Conduct Procedure
• ADMIN 107 Conflict of Interest
• ADMIN 116 Accessibility Standards – Accessibility for Persons with Disabilities
• ADMIN 117 Whistleblower Policy
• ADMIN 125 Responding to Sexual Assault and Sexualized Violence
• ADMIN 127 Harassment and Discrimination
• ADMIN 127 Harassment and Discrimination Procedure for Employees
• COMM 101 Communications
• HR 500 Access to Information and Protection of Privacy
• ITS 101 Acceptable Use of Information Technology Resources
• OHS 007 Workplace Violence Prevention
• Policy Statement on Upholding Free Speech
• Student Code of Conduct

11. References

• Colleges of Applied Arts & Technology Collective Agreement (Academic, Full-Time, and Part- Time)
• Ontario Human Rights Code
• Occupational Health and Safety Act
• Strengthening Post-secondary Institutions and Students Act
• The Criminal Code
• The Copyright Act
• Terms and Conditions of Employment for Administrative Employees