Yachting and Boating World forums: A Question for the EA

I was going to post this under the earlier RUG thread but seeing as you've asked the question again:

Like any organisation, we (EA) have a code of conduct which all employees are expected to follow. The briefing below has been issued to ALL Thames Region staff (not just lockkeepers) to remind everyone what is expected of them when speaking on behalf of the organisation. All staff have to pass media enquiries on to our press office to deal with which is also common practice as, like the briefing says, you represent the whole organisation.

To pick up on the earlier thread about River User Group meetings - I got the sense that the meeting last night was seen as a meeting we were trying to hide so will say a little bit about RUGs. There are RUGs all along the river who meet a couple of times a year to discuss and co-ordinate river issues/events. The each differ in attendance and how they operate but they are for different types of river users to get together. We send representatives from the relevant area of the river to go along and listen to issues, answer questions and provide briefing on work we are doing. Last night was RUG 6. See more about RUGs at www.riverusergroups.co.uk.

Communicating Externally

There’ve recently been a number of queries received from employees regarding communicating with public groups, MP’s and other interested parties. The purpose of this note is to clarify the Environment Agency’s expectation of all employees regarding their interaction with the public.

All Environment Agency employees are perceived by the public as being the ‘face’ of the organisation and as such any statements which are made will be treated as having been made in this capacity. As Environment Agency employees it is crucial that the information given to members of the pubic or other bodies is factually correct and that we do not cause unnecessary concern to individuals or communities. Statements which are incorrect or misleading, which contradict Environment Agency policy or which inflame public opinion can be considered a breach of the trust and confidence which individual employees owe to the Agency. This is viewed as extremely serious and could result in disciplinary proceedings.

Subject to these limitations, employees are entitled to express their views on a variety of topics without running the risk of being dismissed, disciplined or victimised for doing so. There are appropriate policies and procedures in place for ensuring that employees have the right of redress if they feel that they are being unfairly treated.

As detailed in the Environment Agency’s Code of Conduct, we as an organisation expect all employees to uphold high standards of business conduct and behave consistently with their responsibilities and the Environment Agency’s values. The organisation expects its employees to sensibly judge what’s appropriate when communicating to external parties.