Gifts and benefits – guidance to public officials
Public officials must consider carefully whether to accept any benefits. If a benefit could, even in theory, affect the public official's decisions, its acceptance will endanger citizens’ trust in public administration.
When you hold a public-service position, your personal interests cannot affect your decisions. That’s why you should consider carefully whether to accept a gift or other benefits. Even when the person offering them has good intentions, they may risk your impartiality and independence.
Simply looking at the value of the gift or benefit is not enough to assess whether you can accept it. Firstly, you should consider whether the receipt of the benefit may endanger a citizen’s trust in you or the authority you represent.
You may risk that trust even when in reality the benefit would not influence your actions – however, outsiders may still view it that way.
Here are some situations in which it is better to refuse all benefits:
- supervision and inspections
- procurements
- decisions about organising services.
A typical example of corruption and the harm it can cause involves bribes to public sector employees. The provisions governing bribery in the public sector aim to prevent inappropriate attempts to exercise influence over decision-making.
If you are offered a gift or benefit
When you assess the acceptability of a benefit, take into account:
- how the benefit could affect your decisions
- your position in the organisation
- your job description
- the nature and recurrence of the benefit
- situation and circumstances.
For example, in long-term partnerships it is common to show mutual hospitality. However, even in this context the benefits must be fit for purpose, customary and moderate.
You can also ask these questions to assess the situation:
- Why is this benefit offered to you?
- What kind of motives would make you accept the benefit?
- How would it look like in the media?
You can also ask for your supervisor’s opinion. However, remember that even if your supervisor thinks the benefit is acceptable, you will not be discharged from criminal liability. Always use your own discretion.
If the situation seems unclear to you, do not take the benefit. For example, you can pay for your lunch yourself or arrange a normal meeting instead of a suggested visit that includes entertainment.
Case studies: would you accept these or not?
You can have a customary and moderate lunch paid for by a public, private or civil organisation partner.
If you are a lecturer, you can have a customary lunch during the training you are delivering.
Do not have the lunch if your agency has recently initiated or is about to initiate a matter concerning your partner or if such a matter is ongoing and an outsider may think that you are in a position where you can or could influence the matter.
As a rule, your agency is responsible for the expenses arising from your travel, for example to partner meetings or training. Trips offered or paid for by outsiders may risk the trust people have in official activities.
Trips do not normally cause trust-related issues if they are:
- paid for by another agency
- paid for by EU bodies
- related to Nordic inter-authority collaboration
- involve meetings and conferences held by international organisations
- charged by the agency to an outside body, for example under the Act on Criteria for Charges Payable to the State.
In other cases, you can ask these questions when you consider whether it is acceptable to have work travel paid for by an outsider:
- What kind of relationship does the outsider have with the authority?
- Why would an external body not part of the central government pay for work travel or other benefits?
- What is the value of the trip or benefit?
- Might your impartiality in carrying out your official duties be affected?
- Does the trip include hospitality or other side events?
- Will you be indebted to them?
- What does the outsider expect from you or the authority you represent?
- Does the situation involve competition?
If you deliver training, the organiser may offer to pay for your travel expenses and accommodation. You can only accept the offer if the standard of travel does not exceed the customary standard for work travel in public office. Ensure that the reimbursement of expenses is entered appropriately in the travel plan and invoice.
Public officials’ duties extend to their private life. You cannot make a trip more acceptable by agreeing to it as a private person.
You can go to parties related to your partner’s activities if other stakeholders have also been invited. In that case, it would be polite and justified to participate. These could include parties held to celebrate an anniversary of operations or new premises.
Consider whether you can participate in a cultural or sports event at the expense of an external party if normally you would have to pay for a ticket. Participation may be acceptable if:
- you are an active member in the civil society organisation offering the benefit
- your spouse’s employer has intended the recreation for the employees’ families
- the event is part of a collaborative meeting organised by your partner and is held, for example, between or after the meetings.
As a public official, you can always refuse a gift you have been offered during the conduct of your official duties.
With regard to private individuals or businesses, you can only accept promotional and other gifts of small value.
It is acceptable and polite to accept a present to mark an event such as an important birthday or retirement. The value of a moderate gift equals that of a gift you might receive from your employer or colleagues.
