Conflict of Interest Policy
About
All employees must ensure that they notify Mulberry Marketing in the event of an actual, potential or perceived conflict between Mulberry Marketing’s interests, their own interests, or another party’s interests.
Conflicts may arise when two or more competing interests are involved which are inconsistent with or diverge from the interests of another party, such as those of Mulberry Marketing or of Mulberry Marketing’s customers.
Such conflicts may occur between an employee and Mulberry Marketing, between an employee and a customer, as well as between employees.
Any employee who breaches this policy or who coerces, encourages or assists another person to breach this policy may be subject to disciplinary action.
Types of Conflicts
A conflict may be actual, potential or perceived:
Actual conflicts refer to an activity, transaction or interest that is currently causing a conflict of interest;
Potential conflicts refer to an activity, transaction or interest that could give rise to an actual or perceived interest, either at the time it occurred or at some time in the future; and/or
A perceived conflict occurs when an activity, transaction or interest could reasonably allow a third party to form the view that a conflict currently exists or may exist at some time in the future.
The above types of conflicts are not mutually exclusive and several different types of conflicts may exist at once. A conflict may still exist even when you or another party believes or strives not to be influenced by the conflicting interest or duty.
Some examples of where an actual, potential or perceived conflict may arise includes when:
A manager hires an applicant who is a family member or friend;
An employee enters into a purchasing, supply or another contract on behalf of the Company with another entity in which the employee holds a financial interest;
A person is required to represent or serve the interests of 2 or more parties whose interests are in conflict;
A person may be a shareholder or have a financial interest in a competing company;
A board member has a duty to a company that conflicts with a duty to another company; or
A person takes on an additional project or role that may lead to them breaching the obligations of their original project or role, such as confidentiality.
Identifying, declaring and reporting conflicts
Employees are required to actively consider whether any actual, potential or perceived conflict of interest arises in the course of your employment.
You must declare any conflicts that may affect you or another party that you are aware of to the Director and provide an update as soon as reasonable if any relevant circumstances affecting a declared conflict change.
In the event that you feel uncomfortable disclosing an actual, potential or perceived conflict to the Director, or where the disclosure relates to this person, please contact the Director.
Register of Conflicts
The Director is responsible for managing conflicts and recording declared conflicts into a register of conflicts. The Director will also be responsible for managing and recording any disclosures made directly to them, where these cannot be disclosed to the Director.
The following details regarding each disclosed conflict of interest should be included in the register:
The duties and personal interests that give rise to the conflict;
The circumstances which give rise to the conflict;
When the conflict of interest arose, or in the case of a potential conflict of interest, when the conflict of interest is expected to arise;
The names of all stakeholders who may be affected by the conflict of interest (such as clients, employees, managers); and
Any proposed action taken to effectively manage the conflict.
Procedure for managing conflicts
Mulberry Marketing and responsible persons will exercise their discretion in determining the appropriate action required to manage any disclosed conflict of interest.
Reasons for any management action taken, including any later changes to the proposed action taken, will be provided.
Some of the factors that may be considered when determining appropriate management action include:
- Any available options to resolve the conflict of interest;
- The significance and consequence of the disclosed conflict’s likely impact on Mulberry Marketing’s business and reputation;
- The impact of the proposed management action on the employee and any other relevant parties;
- Any involvement by the employee in the decision-making process; and
- Whether another person is capable of carrying out the duties that conflict with the disclosed interest.
As a guide, an action that may be taken to effectively manage the conflict of interest includes, but is not limited to, the following:
- No action taken – this may be appropriate where an assessment has been made that there is no actual, potential or perceived conflict of interest, or the disclosed conflict is very insignificant;
- Surrendering the conflicted interest – this may be appropriate where the disclosed interest may be resolved by surrendering it. For example, if you have received an inducement, you may be required to relinquish it;
- Relieving the employee of their duties – the conflict may be resolved by relieving the employee of the duty giving rise to the conflict. For example, decision-making responsibility related to the matter may be temporarily transferred to another person until the conflict of interest no longer exists; or
- Other action – action may be taken to reduce the risk around the conflict of interest without necessarily resolving the conflict where appropriate, such as:
(i) Appointing an independent person to supervise the decision-making process;
(ii) Requiring the employee to leave the room while any relevant discussions take place, or restricting their access to information; or
(iii) Removing the employee’s ability to participate in key or critical decisions.
Any relevant action taken should be continually monitored, and any action taken may be amended if the underlying circumstances giving rise to the conflict change.
If you are unsure about a conflict or have any questions about this policy, contact the Director as appropriate.
