Code of Conduct Template

Code of Conduct Template: a polished, practical template for business, legal & company documents work.

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A clean, editable document structure ready for your details.

Code of Conduct

Policy owner Version Effective date Next review
[Accountable owner or department] [Version] [Date] [Date]

Policy objective: [Outcome this policy governs]
Scope: [People, systems, locations, and activities covered]


1. Purpose and Who Must Follow It

[Covered persons, values, policy owner, and relationship to local law and other policies.]


2. Respectful and Inclusive Workplace

[Harassment, discrimination, bullying, accessibility, pronouns, respectful feedback, and manager duty to act.]


3. Conflicts of Interest and Outside Activities

[Disclosure examples, recusal, approval route, family or financial interests, and outside work.]


4. Gifts, Hospitality, and Anti-Bribery

[Permitted thresholds, prohibited payments, public officials, books and records, gifts register, and pre-clearance.]


5. Fair Dealing and Competition

[Customers, suppliers, competitors, fair pricing, procurement integrity, and antitrust escalation.]


6. Company Property, Records, and Confidentiality

[Use, protection, retention, accuracy, deletion holds, and reporting loss or misuse.]


7. Safety, Security, and Responsible Technology Use

[Safe workplace, physical security, device use, AI or automation review, and prohibited shortcuts.]


8. Speaking Up and Reporting Channels

[Manager, HR, ethics hotline, anonymous option, emergency route, evidence, and confidentiality limits.]


9. Investigation, Non-Retaliation, and Consequences

[Triage, investigator independence, interim measures, outcome communication, appeal, discipline, and no retaliation.]


10. Acknowledgement and Review

[Annual acknowledgement, training, version, and review cadence.]


Exceptions, Enforcement, and Review

  • Exception authority: [Role authorized to approve a documented exception]
  • Required evidence: [Risk assessment, compensating control, owner, and expiry date]
  • Enforcement: [Investigation and proportionate consequence process]
  • Review trigger: [Scheduled cadence and events requiring an earlier review]

Implementation notice: Employment, whistleblower, labor, anti-bribery, and privacy rules vary by jurisdiction. Counsel should validate reporting and investigation language.