Governance
Code of conduct
Formal definition
In governance, Code of conduct refers to an operating term used for ensuring employment compliance, staff wellbeing, and professional workplace standards across the charity.
What this actually means for you
Trustees and governance leads should treat Code of conduct as an operating standard: align policies with statutory rules, conduct regular training and risk reviews, and keep records up to date, then review it before board and committee decisions.
Example: In a live quarterly cycle, Code of conduct is applied like this: onboarding managers review the training matrix, confirm required pension or health setup, and log policy sign-off. The team then records the decision trail in team templates, reporting packs, and operating checklists.
Related guides and whitepapers
Read deeper guidance and implementation detail connected to this term.
A grounded guide to working well with lived experience advisors in UK charities: paid, supported, respected, given real authority. Practical practice and policy.
A practical succession planning guide for UK charity chief executives, chairs, trustees and specialists. Proportionate, written down, refreshed annually.
How to write a UK charity EDI policy that staff and trustees actually use: structure, length, operational hooks, and the governance that keeps it alive.
A grounded sustainability guide for small UK charities: where to start, what is proportionate, what counts as greenwashing, and the governance that makes it real.