Many people have conflicts of interest during the course of their employment.
Having a conflict is not in itself a sign of wrongdoing.
Part of supporting a culture of integrity is for your organisation to support you to raise any conflicts of interest you may have.
If you have a conflict of interest and do not declare it, this could cause issues about whether you are performing your job properly, with fairness and impartiality.
You must avoid conflicts of interest where possible. But it is common for them to arise.
If you have a conflict of interest you must:
If you are unsure whether a conflict exists:
The guidance below is based on the model conflict of interest policy we offer, which most public sector organisations use or adapt. Always check and follow your organisation’s policy.
To help identify a conflict of interest, some useful questions are:
When you declare a conflict of interest, your organisation will develop a plan to manage the conflict in the public interest.
Having a conflict of interest does not automatically exclude you from undertaking work duties such as making certain decisions.
The plan that's developed will be proportionate to the risk level posed by the conflict of interest.
Check regularly for conflicts of interest. They're most likely to occur in areas where you:
It can help you identify conflicts to review our list of typical high risk areas of conflict of interest (noting conflicts can also occur in low risk areas).