SAMPLE CODE OF CONDUCT

FOR EMPLOYEES OF PUBLIC BODIES

Corruption Prevention Department

Independent Commission Against Corruption

2021
Foreword
 1. This Code is applicable to all staff, including full-time, part-time and temporary
staff.

[The public body is recommended to include its statement of commitment to ethical

practices, integrity and honesty (i.e. the “tone at the top”) in its Code of Conduct
and/or relevant documents, e.g. Staff Handbook.]

Core Values

2. [The Public Body] is fully committed to the following principles:

 integrity and honesty ;

 fairness and impartiality.

[The public body may wish to include other core values relevant to its duties and
business.]

3. A staff member should act in the best interest of the public and [The Public Body],
place public and [The Public Body]’s interest above private interest when carrying
out duties in relation to his1 public office and ensure that his conduct would not
bring [The Public Body] into disrepute.

Prevention of Bribery

4. [The Public Body] is a public body under the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance
(Cap. 201) (“POBO”). All its employees are “public servants” for the purpose of
the Ordinance.

5. Under the POBO, a public servant is prohibited from soliciting or accepting,

without lawful authority or reasonable excuse, any advantage in Hong Kong or
elsewhere as an inducement to or reward for or otherwise on account of his
performing or abstaining from performing any act in his capacity as a public
servant2.

1
A reference to the masculine gender in this code covers both the feminine and masculine gender.
2
The person offering the advantage may also commit an offence.
 6. “Advantage” means almost anything which is of value, except entertainment (see
paragraph 14 below), including any gift (both of money and in kind), loan, fee,
reward, commission, office, employment, contract, service and favour, etc.

Solicitation and Acceptance of Advantages

7. [The Public Body] prohibits staff from soliciting or accepting any advantage from
any persons or companies having official dealings with [The Public Body]
(e.g. service applicants/recipients, regulatees, suppliers, contractors) and
subordinates3, except that they may accept, but not solicit, the following advantages
when offered on a voluntary basis:

(a) advertising or promotional gifts or souvenirs of a nominal value;

(b) discount or other special offers given by any person or company to them as
customers, on terms and conditions equally applicable to other customers in
general.

Staff are permitted to solicit or accept from a relation (e.g. spouse, parent, child)
any advantage. This, however, does not relieve the staff from observing the POBO
(see paragraph 5 above) and the requirements on avoidance and declaration of
conflict of interest (see paragraphs 17 – 21 below).

8. If a staff member wishes to accept from the above persons/parties any other
advantages not listed in paragraph 7, he should seek permission from the [insert an
appropriate unit/officer as the approving authority] using Form A (Sample at
Appendix 1). In case of doubt, the staff should refer the matter to [insert an
appropriate unit/officer] for advice and instruction.

9. Even if the offeror does not have any official dealings with [The Public Body], a
staff member should decline an offer of an advantage if the acceptance could affect
his objectivity in conducting [The Public Body]’s business, induce him to act
against [The Public Body]’s interest or place him under an improper obligation, or
where he believes the offeror has such an intention, or lead to the perception or
allegation of impropriety or conflict of interest.

3
“Subordinates” are generally referred to junior officers at one or more than one rank lower in the same
organisation, irrespective of whether they are in the same line management chain.
Advantages Offered to Staff in Their Official Capacity

10. An advantage presented to a staff member by virtue of his official position or on an

occasion attended in the staff member’s official capacity is regarded as an
advantage to [The Public Body] (e.g. a souvenir presented by the organiser of a
ceremonial occasion to a staff member representing [The Public Body] to officiate
at the ceremony).

11. Staff should as far as possible decline such gifts. Where this cannot be done
(e.g. owing to protocol reasons or the need to avoid causing offence or
embarrassment), he should report the receipt of the gift or souvenir and seek
direction on its disposal using Form A (sample at Appendix 1).

Acceptance of Sponsorship

12. Sponsorship (which may comprise passage, accommodation, or other fees) is a

form of advantage. Staff may be offered sponsorship in their official capacity by
persons or other organisations for official purposes such as attending local/overseas
conferences, conventions and product trial activities. Such sponsorship should be
regarded as sponsorship offered to [The Public Body] and referred to [The Public
Body] for consideration of acceptance, based on operational need, and assignment
of the Member/staff to attend the sponsored activity, based on suitability. The
general criteria for considering whether or not to accept the sponsorship offer are
suggested at Appendix 2.

13. Staff may be offered sponsorship, for example, sponsored visit offered by a
professional body, industrial/supplier organisation or supplier, due to his personal
expertise or professional membership, to attend an overseas conference. Though
not representing the [The Public Body], care should be taken when such a sponsored
visit is offered by a party having business dealings with [The Public Body] and the
staff’s duty is directly related to or could potentially or seen to be influenced by the
content or result of the visit (e.g. the staff is involved in or can influence the
purchasing decision of [The Public Body], while the sponsor is a potential supplier).
In accepting such sponsorship, staff should ensure that their conduct and activities
would not bring them or [The Public Body] into disrepute or lead to any actual or
perceived conflict of interest. In particular, they should ensure that their private
sponsored visits are separate from their official position and duties and avoid
putting themselves in an obligatory position through acceptance of advantages or
 hospitality normally applicable to official purposes.

Acceptance of Entertainment

14. Staff should not accept lavish, or unreasonably generous or frequent entertainment
(“entertainment” means the provision of food or drink, for consumption on the
occasion when it is provided, and of any other entertainment connected with or
provided at the same time as the provision of food or drink), or indeed any
entertainment which is likely to give rise to any actual or perceived conflict of
interest, put the staff in an obligatory position in the discharge of their duties,
compromise their impartiality or judgement, or bring them or [The Public Body]
into disrepute bearing in mind public perception. When offered entertainment, a
staff should consider whether the entertainment offered could be regarded as:

 excessive – taking into account its value, substance, frequency and nature;

 inappropriate – taking into account the relationship between the staff member
and the offeror (e.g. whether they have any direct official dealings); or

 undesirable – taking into account the character or reputation of the host or

known attendees.

[The public body may insert additional guidelines/requirements on acceptance of

entertainment such as requirements to seek permission for or record any acceptance of
entertainment from persons having business dealing with the public body.]

Offering of Advantages

15. Staff are prohibited from offering advantages, whether directly or indirectly through
a third party, to any person or organisation, for the purpose of influencing such
person or organisation in any dealings. Staff are also prohibited from offering
advantages, whether directly or indirectly through a third party, to any public
official employed by the Government or any other public body, while having
dealings of any kind with the Government or public body.

16. Staff should as far as possible refrain from bestowing gifts/souvenirs to others
during the conduct of official activities. Where it is necessary or unavoidable due
to operational, protocol or other reasons, the gifts/souvenirs to be bestowed should
not be lavish or extravagant, and be kept to a minimum in quantity and the
 exchange of gifts/souvenirs should be made from organisation to organisation.

Managing Conflict of Interest

17. A conflict of interest situation arises when the “private interests” of a staff member
compete or conflict with the interests of [The Public Body] or the staff’s official
duties. Private interests include financial and other interests of the staff himself,
and those of his connections including family and other relations, personal friends,
the clubs and societies to which he belongs, and any person to whom he owes a
favour or to whom he may be obligated in any way. Some common examples of
conflict of interest are described at Appendix 3.

Avoidance and Declaration of Conflict of Interest

18. A fundamental rule is that all staff should, as far as possible, avoid any actual and
perceived conflict of interest from arising in the first place. When a situation of
conflict of interest cannot be avoided, staff should as soon as possible declare all
relevant interests which conflict, may conflict or be seen to conflict with their
official duties through the reporting channel to the management using Form B
(sample at Appendix 4) (which may be preceded by verbal declaration if urgent).
In case of doubt, they should consult their supervisors or [insert an appropriate
unit/officer in The Public Body].

19. All staff should be vigilant and make their best effort at all times to avoid or
declare, as appropriate, any conflict that may arise or has arisen. Failure to take the
necessary steps to avoid or declare a conflict of interest situation may constitute
misconduct.

Managing Declared Conflict of Interest

20. Upon receipt of a report on conflict of interest situation, the supervisors should, as
soon as practical, decide on the appropriate course of action to be taken such as to
relieve the staff member of his involvement in the task, ask the staff member to
divest himself of certain investment, etc., and give clear direction/instruction to the
staff concerned. The declaration and the management decision/action should be
properly recorded. The supervisors should ensure the staff’s compliance with the
instruction so as to effectively remove/mitigate the conflict of interest.
21. In deciding on the course of action to be taken or making a recommendation to their
senior officers, the supervisors should take into account the seriousness of the
conflict, the public interest involved and public perception. Mitigating measures
which the supervisors can consider adopting are at Appendix 5.

Misuse of Official Position

22. Staff should carry out their duties fairly, faithfully and impartially, and not misuse
or permit others to misuse their official position for their personal cause, interest or
gain, or to favour, benefit or disfavour others.

Use of [The Public Body]’s Assets and Resources

23. Staff in charge of or having access to any assets of [The Public Body], including
funds, property, information, and intellectual property, should use them solely for
the purpose of conducting [The Public Body]’s business or authorised purposes.
Any misappropriation or unauthorised use of [The Public Body]’s properties for
personal use or personal gain is strictly prohibited.

Confidentiality of Information

24. Staff should not disclose any classified or proprietary information of [The Public
Body] without authorisation or misuse any [The Public Body]’s information
(e.g. using the information for personal gain or the benefit of others). Staff who
have access to or in control of such information should ensure its security and
prevent any abuse, unauthorised disclosure or misuse of the information. Staff
should continue to observe their duty of confidentiality after they have left [The
Public Body].

Misconduct in Public Office

25. A public official who wilfully and seriously misconducts himself in relation to his
public office (e.g. misuse of official position, covering up conflict of interest) may
commit the common law offence of “misconduct in public office”. Hence, staff
should take note that breaches of probity requirements in this Code which involve
serious misconduct, even if not involving bribery or other financial crime, might
amount to “misconduct in public office”.
Reporting Suspected Irregularities and Criminal Offences

26. A staff member should report breaches of this Code , illegal activities or other
misconduct by other members/staff of [The Public Body] that has come to his
knowledge [in accordance with [The Public Body]’s whistleblowing policy, if any]
to [insert appropriate, independent reporting channel(s) in The Public Body].

27. A staff member should report, either directly or through [insert an appropriate
unit/officer in The Public Body] as appropriate, instances of crime or suspected
crime discovered in the course of his work, including attempt to bribe a public
servant, to the appropriate authority or law enforcement agency at the first
practicable opportunity. A staff member should avoid making any enquires or
taking any action that may hinder or frustrate subsequent investigation by the law
enforcement authority concerned. All staff members who receive or have
knowledge of such reports should treat the reports in the strictest confidence.

[The public body is recommended to lay down a more comprehensive whistleblowing

policy, preferably separate from the Code of Conduct, setting out in more detail the
policies, mechanism and procedures for handling whistleblowing.]

Compliance

28. It is the responsibility of every staff member of [The Public Body] to understand
and comply with this Code, whether performing duties of [The Public Body] in or
outside Hong Kong. Managers and supervisors should also ensure that the staff
members under their supervision understand well and comply with this Code.

29. Any staff member in breach of the Code will be subject to disciplinary action,
including termination of appointment. In case of suspected corruption or other
criminal offences, a report will be made to the appropriate law enforcement
agencies.

Enquiry

30. Any enquiries, comments or suggestions in relation to this Code may be referred to
[insert an appropriate unit/officer in The Public Body].
 Appendix 1

FORM A
(The Public Body)
REPORT ON GIFTS RECEIVED
Part A – To be completed by Receiving Staff
To : (Approving Authority)

Description of Offeror :
Name & Title of Offeror : ___________________________________
Company : ___________________________________
Relationship : ___________________________________
Occasion on which the Gift ____
was / is to be Received :

Description & (Assessed) Value of the Gift :

Suggested Method of Disposal : Remark

( ) Retain by the Receiving Staff
( ) Retain for Display / as a Souvenir in the Office
( ) Share among the Office
( ) Reserve as Lucky Draw Prize at Staff Function
( ) Donate to a Charitable Organisation
( ) Return to Offeror
( ) Others (please specify) :

Guidelines on disposal method:

 If the gift/souvenir is of perishable nature (e.g. food, drink), it may be donated to a charitable organisation or,
when this is not practical, shared among Members/staff of [The Public Body] on a suitable occasion.
 If the gift/souvenir is a useful item, it may be donated to a charitable organisation.
 If the gift/souvenir is suitable for display (e.g. a painting, vase), it may be displayed at appropriate locations of
[The Public Body]’s premises.
 If the gift/souvenir is of low value, it may be donated as a prize in functions organised by [The Public Body].
 If the gift/souvenir is a personal item of low value, such as a plaque or pen inscribed with the name of the
recipient, it may be retained by the recipient.
 If the gift/souvenir is distributed to all participants in public activities, such as a ball pen, file folder or key
clasp, etc, it may be retained by the recipient.
 Any gift/souvenir of high value should be returned to the offeror.

__________________________
(Name of Receiving Staff)
(Date) (Title/ Department)
Part B – To be completed by Approving Authority
To : (Name of Receiving Staff)

The recommended method of disposal is *approved / not approved. The gift(s)

concerned should be disposed of by way of : .

__________________________
(Name of Approving Authority)
(Date) (Title/ Department)
* Please delete as appropriate
 Appendix 2

Considering Factors for Acceptance of Sponsorship

In considering whether or not to accept the sponsorship offer, the following general
criteria are relevant:

 acceptance of the sponsorship will benefit [The Public Body] as a whole;

 acceptance of the sponsorship will not bring [The Public Body] into any
disrepute;

 the sponsorship is not excessive in value or frequency;

 acceptance of the sponsorship will not give rise to any express or implied
obligation towards the offeror;

 acceptance of the sponsorship will not give rise to any actual or perceived
conflict of interest (e.g. the offeror is a supplier/contractor bidding for [The
Public Body]’s contracts); and

 the sponsor will not be given or be perceived to derive an unfair advantage over
other persons or organisations.
 Appendix 3

Examples of Conflict of Interest

Some common examples of conflict of interest are described below but they are by no
means exhaustive:

 A staff member involved in a procurement process is closely related to or has

beneficial interest in a supplier being considered by [The Public Body].

 One of the candidates under consideration in a recruitment or promotion

exercise is a family member, a relative or a close personal friend of the staff
member responsible for the exercise.

 A staff member of [The Public Body] has financial interest in a company which
is a bidder in a tender exercise under consideration by [The Public Body].

 A staff member accepts frequent or lavish entertainment from [The Public

Body]’s customers, suppliers or contractors.

 A staff member responsible for processing applications for services provided by

[The Public Body] is considering an application from his family member,
relative or personal friend.

 A staff member undertaking part-time work with a contractor whom he is

responsible for monitoring.

 A staff member soliciting assistance from his subordinate staff in dealing with
his own personal matters.

 A staff member, who encounters an investment opportunity in a company due to

his official position, makes personal investment in the company which is [The
Public Body]’s tenant whom he is responsible for handling.
 Appendix 4

FORM B

(The Public Body)

Declaration of Conflict of Interest
Part A – Declaration (To be completed by Declaring Officer)

To : (Approving Authority)
Via: (______________)@

I would like to report the following actual/potential* conflict of interest situation arising
during the discharge of my official duties:
Person(s)/organisation(s) with whom/which I have official dealings and/or private
interest

My relationship with the person(s)/organisation(s)

(e.g. relative)

My contact with the person(s)/organisation(s)

(Please state the frequency of contact and the usual occasions of contact, etc.)

Relationship of the person(s)/organisation(s) with [The Public Body]

(e.g. supplier)

Brief description of my duties which involved the person(s)/organisation(s)

(e.g. handling of tender exercise)

File reference, if any, of the mentioned duties

______________________
(Name of Declaring Officer)
(Date) (Title / Department)
 Part B – Approval (To be completed by Approving Authority)

To : (Declaring Officer)
Via: (______________)@

Part B(i) – In respect of the declaration in Part A of this form, it has been decided that:

 The declaration as described in Part A is noted. You are allowed to continue handling the
work as described in Part A, provided that there is no change in the information declared
above.

 You are restricted in the work as described in Part A (e.g. prohibit from handling the
specific part/duty that you have conflict, withdraw from discussion on a specific
issue/case).
Details :

 You may continue to handle the work as described in Part A, but an independent officer
would be recruited to participate in, oversee or review part or all of the decision-making
process (e.g. task another officer with the required expertise to provide objective
assessment on the matter).
Details :

 You are relieved of your duty as described in Part A, which will be taken up by another
officer through redeployment.
Details :

 You should relinquish the personal/private interest (e.g. cease to be a member of a

club/association, divest the investments until the conflict situation described in Part A no
longer exists).
Details :

 Others (please specify) (e.g. you should not contact the person(s)/organisation(s)
concerned until the conflict situation described in Part A no longer exists):
Details :
Part B(ii) – The justification(s) for the measure(s) as described in Part B(i) above is/are:
(Factors of consideration including the materiality of the conflict, link between the
conflict and the matter in question, and any possible negative public perception over the
conflict/incident.)

In all cases, please be reminded that you should not disclose any privileged/internal
information of the subject matter to the person(s)/organisation(s) concerned and should
further report if there are changes in circumstances necessitating reporting.

________________________
(Name of Approving Authority)
(Date) (Title / Department)

Part C – Keeping of Records (To be completed by the Declaring Officer)

To : (Designated Office/Staff Member for keeping the completed declaration form)

Via: (Approving Authority)

I noted the decision in Part B. The completed form is for your retention please.

______________________
(Name of Declaring Officer)
(Date) (Title / Department)

@ Subject to the guidelines of individual public bodies, a conflict of interest declaration/decision may be
made via the declaring officer’s immediate supervisor/supervisors to/from the approving officer.
Otherwise, delete the line.
* Potential conflict of interest refers to situation that may be developed into an actual conflict in the
future.
 Appendix 5

Mitigating Measures for Managing Declared Conflict of Interest

(a) Record – Where the risk in a conflict of interest situation is indirect, remote or
insignificant, and the occurrence of such a situation is infrequent, it may be
sufficient to take note of the conflict only.

(b) Restrict – Where a conflict is not likely to arise frequently and the staff can be
effectively separated from the part of activity or process in which the conflict
arises, it may be suitable to restrict the staff’s involvement in the task in which
he has a conflict (e.g. withdrawing from discussion on a specific issue,
abstaining from voting on the decisions) and access to the related information.

(c) Recruit – Where it is impractical to restrict a staff member’s involvement, an

independent staff member/expert may be recruited to participate in, oversee, or
review part or all of the decision-making process if appropriate (e.g. engaging
expert in the selection of highly specialised items).

(d) Redeploy – Where it is inappropriate to allow the staff who has declared a
conflict of interest to handle a specific matter, it may be suitable to relieve of
the staff’s duty which may then be taken up by another staff through
redeployment. For serious conflict of interest cases with a high likelihood of
relapse, it may be suitable to post out the staff to avoid negative public
perception.

(e) Relinquish – Where a staff member’s commitment to the public duty outweighs
his attachment to his private interest, and adopting other mitigating measures
are not appropriate or possible, he may be asked to relinquish his personal or
private interests (e.g. divesting the investments, ceasing to be a member of a
club/association).