Code of Conduct

As a member of the Young Conservative Network Limited, as a minimum, we expect you to follow the Nolan standards of selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty, and leadership. We also will be willing to actively challenge poor behaviour where it occurs and expect our members to act with honesty and probity, not use their position to bully, abuse, victimise, harass, or unlawfully discriminate against others, and to cooperate fully with any process set by the Board should a grievance be instigated. The definitions are found in Annex A.

As a member of the Young Conservative Network, you are entitled to join one of our membership group chats. The Code of Conduct not only applies directly to those chats, but also to the sharing of information, details, or content that occurs within them. The group chats are a space for members to discuss policy, and any infringement on their privacy, will result in disciplinary action. It is also the case that if you seek to bring our company into disrepute, in any form, the Disciplinary Liaison will have the power to issue a sanction on this basis.

If any individual wishes to make a formal complaint against a member of the Young Conservative Network, they should contact the Disciplinary Liaison at thomas.moss@ycnetwork.uk. This complaint must include the names of the Complainant and Respondent, a detailed account of the allegation or proof of supposed improper conduct, a calendar date and other similar information.

We will do all we can to investigate the matter in an orderly fashion and it will be conducted by our Disciplinary Liaison or a different individual within the organisation if it is to be believed that there is a conflict of interest.

The process for an investigation will be as follows:

1. The Disciplinary Liaison will decide whether the complaint should be accepted or rejected. It will only be accepted if it is correctly detailed. The Respondent will be contacted in respect to an allegation made, and its scope and given the opportunity to provide any evidence or details that will assist their position. It may be necessary to interview witnesses on a case-by-case basis. The Respondent will be given five working days to respond to the complaint, or it will be adjudicated otherwise.
   
   
2. The Disciplinary Liaison will examine the complaint and evidence gathered, and if necessary, consult with an additional independent member of the Board on the matter, which will be decided by the Board. This evidence can be through written statements, or video conversations, which will be recorded. If there is an allegation of criminal wrongdoing, there will be strong advice to report this to the relevant authority as soon as practicable. In certain instances, we may have a duty of care to contact the relevant authority directly.
   
   
3. The complaint and evidence will then be gathered, and the Disciplinary Liaison will provide their findings to the Chairman, with the decision made.

There will also be the ability and the right of an appeals process, in the event where the Disciplinary Liaison determines that an individual should be suspended or expelled from the Young Conservative Network. This process must be made in writing within five working days of the original decision.

The process outlined before explicitly states the procedure for if a member of the Young Conservative Network issues a complaint against a fellow member. The process, if undertaken by the Disciplinary Liaison personally, is immediate and by discretion.

The Disciplinary Liaison will also have the rights, where there is insufficient time, to make an emergency decision on a member or individual’s membership within or attendance of the organisation or an event, if an investigation is unable to be completed. There is also scope within the Code of Conduct outlined above for a complaint to be made against an individual which has bore false witness against another individual.

The sanctions that the Liaison can impose are:

• Provisional expulsion from the Young Conservative Network, subject to later ratification by the Board,
• Suspension from the Young Conservative Network for a period up to 12 months,
• Rebuke of behaviour and conduct,
• An order that the Respondent apologise to the Complainant in a way acceptable to the Disciplinary Liaison,
• An order that the Respondent remove any offending material from social media which is within the power and control of the Respondent,
• Conditions on the ongoing membership of the organisation, such as the need to undertake training. The cost of complying with such conditions shall be borne by the Respondent.

Three rebukes under these disciplinary rules shall automatically and immediately result in suspension from the organisation for a period to be determined by the Disciplinary Liaison.

Annex A:

Discrimination includes victimising or harassing any other person because of race (including colour, ethnic or national origin, nationality, citizenship), sex, gender re-assignment, sexual orientation, marital or civil partnership status, disability, age, religion, or belief, pregnancy, and maternity status.

Harassment is any unwanted physical, verbal, or non-verbal conduct that has the purpose or effect of violating a person’s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive situation or environment for them. A single incident can amount to harassment. Harassment may involve conduct of a sexual nature (sexual harassment), or it may be related to age, disability, gender reassignment, marital or civil partner status, pregnancy or maternity, race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation. Harassment is unacceptable even if it does not fall within any of these categories. Victimisation provisions protect certain individuals who do (or might do) acts such as bringing discrimination claims, complaining about harassment, or getting involved in some way with another complaint (such as giving evidence).

Victimisation may therefore occur where a person subjects another person to a detriment because either that person has acted in such a way and/or is believed to have acted in such a way or may act in such a way.

Bullying is offensive, intimidating, malicious or insulting behaviour involving the misuse of power that can make a person feel vulnerable, upset, humiliated, undermined, or threatened. Power does not always mean being in a position of authority, but can include both personal strength, influence, and the power to coerce through fear or intimidation. Bullying can take the form of physical, verbal, and non-verbal conduct.