1.6 Family and Personal and/or Professional Relationships

1. This policy applies to any personal and / or professional relationships that could, or be perceived to impact on the integrity of the working relationships within the University.

2. Where a student or applicant is:

(i) The sibling, parent, child or other family relation of a member of staff

or

(ii) The partner or is in a relationship with a member of staff.

Then the member of staff must play no part in the admission, supervision or assessment of that applicant/student. This is primarily to ensure impartiality in the treatment of the applicant/student, including the possibility that they would be assessed more strictly in order to emphasise the intention not to show favouritism. It is also to protect staff from accusations of favouritism and to avoid any perception of favouritism in third parties.

3. Members of staff must declare any such relationships to their line manager as soon as a potential conflict becomes apparent, so that arrangements can be made to ensure they are not involved in any activities where there is a conflict of interest. In this context, ‘members of staff’ includes anyone contracted to undertake teaching and related activities, including students with part- time contracts, and ‘applicants/students’ encompass all levels of study up to and including research students.

4. Members of staff may also consult the Management of Conflict of Interest in the Workplace Policy https://www.aber.ac.uk/en/hr/policy-and-procedure/managingofconflict/