As a result of members raising concerns about inconsistencies in the directions by management relating to Conflict of Interest and Secondary Employment policies, the PSA met with the Department of Customer Service.

Your union was advised that Employee Relations has had internal discussions with Governance and Risk (GRA) which had already planned to provide more guidance material for managers in relation to what is and isn’t secondary employment and when a conflict of interest needs to be declared. Further information will be made available on the intranet.

GRA is happy to look at specific issues and give advice to individuals. Members can use the email address which, despite its title, we are assured is the correct inbox.

Drop-in info sessions will occur in October but in the meantime it was agreed that:

• Studying for a qualification is not secondary employment but may be a conflict of interest if you’re using departmental data or information.
• Being elected to your local council is not secondary employment, although there may be conflicts of interest depending on your role and you may need to consider a plan to avoid conflicts.
• Having family members who work in or for other departments is not a conflict of interest unless you are at a senior executive level.
• You do not need to declare political affiliations or groups you belong to. Nor who you have coffee with. These were examples to encourage staff to think about what might constitute conflicts of interest and were not meant to be taken literally.

The PSA encourages members to contact GRA for specific concerns if you feel that your managers are pressuring you unnecessarily