The BCS-ICC Code of Practice

The full test of the Code of Practice is reproduced here. However, if you'd like a printed copy, contact the admin assistant at BCS headquarters.

The BCS-ICC Code of Practice

This Code of Practice has been prepared as a sector-specific Code of Practice for IS Practitioners working as Contractors. Its application is enabled by the Society’s General Code of Practice, approved by the Society’s Council in September 1999, which sets out the principles of a Code of Practice, and encourages specific sectors of the industry to develop and apply their own Codes. The BCS General Code is reproduced, for completeness, in this document.

There has been a significant growth in the number of Contractors over the last few years, and the indications are that this growth is set to continue. A significant number of IS Practitioners now work as Contractors. Contracting as such is universally accepted within industry, and all major employers of IS staff are Clients of IS Contractors. Several Contract Agencies have grown into major businesses turning over hundreds of millions of pounds a year.

Despite the pervasive impact of IS in almost every aspect of modern business practice, contractors, and IS Practitioners in general, are totally unregulated, and likely to remain so in the foreseeable future. With so many Practitioners in the field, and the differing expectations of Contractors, Clients, and Agencies, the need for a reasonable statement of best practice, acceptable to all participants, has never been greater. A tremendous amount of effort has been put into creating this distillation of best practice, including a wide ranging consultation exercise with all interested bodies.

This Code of Practice has been accepted by ICC members at the 1997 annual general meeting, formally endorsed by the Professional and Public Affairs Board of the British Computer Society, and endorsed at a formal meeting of the British Computer Society’s ruling Council. The ICC has played a major role in creating the new enabling generic Code of Practice for the BCS itself, replacing the earlier, then all-encompassing BCS Code of Practice formulated 20 years previously. This now provides the general framework within which to set the BCS/ICC Code of Practice, and obliges all professionally recognised Information Systems Practitioners, to act in accordance with the rules stated in this document.

No Code of Practice can remain static, and we welcome suggestions for changes to the Code, which will be regularly reviewed by the appropriate ICC working committee. Comments should be sent to secretary.icc@bcs.org.uk, and will be passed on to the working party.

It only remains for me to thank those ICC committee members who put in an enormous amount of their personal time to create this Code of Practice. I’m sure that all professional career Contractors heartily endorse this vote of thanks.

Mike Cullen C.Eng. FBCS
ICC Chairman
4 September 1998

GENERAL CODE OF PRACTICE

Purpose

A Code of Practice is a set of principles established to ensure that Information Systems (IS) Practitioners maintain recognised standards of competence in all aspects of IS practice. The Code of Conduct establishes the principles of behaviour in IS practice

This General Code of Practice has been introduced to:

Provide guidance to all Information Systems Practitioners regardless of their specialism.

To allow for the provision of sector-specific Codes of Practice governing practice in specialist areas.

Employers, clients, members of the public or other professions should expect the same high standards of practice in Information Systems as are expected from members of other recognised professions. Professional Institutions set standards of technical capability which professional Practitioners must satisfy, and they prescribe standards of professional practice to which their members must conform or be held accountable for any lapse.

Scope

This General Code of Practice applies to all Professional Members of the British Computer Society (BCS) and to such specialist communities of Practitioners who choose to adopt a sector-specific Code.

Responsibilities of Information Systems Practitioners

Information Systems Practitioners shall seek to upgrade their professional knowledge and skill and shall maintain awareness of technological developments, procedures and standards which are relevant to their field, and shall encourage their subordinates to do likewise

The Practitioner has a duty of professional care to abide by those BCS sector-specific Codes of Practice which have any bearing on the practitioner’s current role

Should the Practitioner discover any difficulty in applying a Code of Practice, he or she shall immediately bring it to the attention of the BCS Registrar

Information Systems Practitioners who are BCS members adopting the General Code of Practice are also bound by the requirements of the BCS Code of Conduct. Others adopting this Code of Practice are also advised to adhere to the Code of Conduct.

Authorisation

This General Code of Practice is approved by Council with the authority of Professional and Public Affairs Board (PPAB)

Sector-specific Codes to be adopted must be:

Authored by an appropriate specialist community, then

Approved by PPAB

Development and Maintenance of Codes of Practice

All BCS-initiated Codes of Practice are maintained through PPAB

In the event that the BCS adopts Codes of Practice originating from other recognised bodies, these will be maintained by the originating bodies

A complete register of Codes of Practice, both BCS-initiated and BCS-endorsed, is maintained by the Registrar at Headquarters and is also available on the BCS Website

Guidance on how to produce sector-specific Codes of Practice is available separately

CODE OF PRACTICE for
INDEPENDENT COMPUTER CONTRACTORS

Introductory notes

This document is published by the Independent Computer Contractors’ specialist group of the British Computer Society (BCSICC). In view of the growing importance of membership of the BCSICC to computer contractors and the fact that the group maintains an open door entry policy, the Committee feels that the time has come for the Group to formalise procedures for disciplinary control over its membership to maintain its influence and the high standing of its members.

To this end, all members of any grade in the ICC will be asked to sign, both on initial application for and renewal of membership, acceptance of the British Computer Society’s Code of Conduct, the BCSICC Code of Practice and the BCSICC Disciplinary Procedures.

This remainder of this document presents the Code of Practice and Disciplinary Procedures and notes to aid in interpreting them in common situations.

Scope

A code of practice to be followed by members of the Independent Computer Contractors (ICC), a special interest group of the British Computer Society, to provide a standard by which ICC members may be judged.

Transgressions shall be dealt with under the ICC Disciplinary Procedure, details of which may be obtained from the ICC Administration.

Definitions

Computer Contractor (contractor) - a person who provides computing or information systems services to another person or company (client) as specified in a fixed short-term agreement (contract), either directly or via an intermediary (agent).

Conduct

Trading methods

Contractors shall understand and comply with any relevant law, for example employment, tax, company and health & safety law, taking professional advice where necessary.
Contractors shall decline any order or request that contravenes the law or the BCS Code of Conduct.

Representation

Contractors shall represent themselves honestly to clients and agents in pursuit of business. In particular, contractors shall be able to substantiate any skills and experience they claim.
Contractors shall provide on request genuine references to clients, in the event of contracts being offered, or legitimate mitigation if unable to do so.
Contractors shall only enter into contracts which they believe they can properly fulfill.

Relationships with clients

Contractors shall not break contracts. In particular, a contract may only be terminated prematurely by mutual agreement.
Contractors shall conduct themselves in a manner appropriate to the client’s business culture.
Contractors shall give adequate warning of planned absences and prompt notification of unintentional absence.
Contractors shall comply with client policy as directed by management, except where to do so would violate section 3.1.
Where, in a contractor’s professional judgment, a directive from the client is not in the client’s best interests, the contractor shall so advise the client before proceeding should the client so insist.
If a contractor discovers a conflict of interests between clients, the contractor shall declare it to all affected parties immediately.

Relationships with agencies

A contractor who verbally accepts a contract offer must expect to fulfill that contract.
Once an agency has advised a specific requirement, a contractor shall not disclose that requirement to any other agency or approach the client with a view to making a direct contract.
When contacted for a particular vacancy by more than one agency, the contractor shall accept only one agency representation and shall progress that requirement exclusively through that agency.

Disciplinary Procedures

This procedure will be followed on receipt of an allegation of a violation of the Code of Conduct or the Code of Practice against a Member of the ICC.
If the Member is also a member of the BCS, the ICC shall pass details of allegations of violations of the Code of Conduct to the BCS. If the BCS choose to deal with the allegation, the ICC shall defer any decision on further action until the BCS process is complete.
In all cases to be dealt with by the ICC, the ICC shall write to such a member at their last notified address to ask if they wish to answer the allegation.
In the event of the member declining to answer the allegation or failing to respond to the ICC’s letter within fourteen days, the case shall be heard unanswered at the next ICC Committee meeting after any outstanding legal issues have been resolved.
Should the member wish to answer the allegation the ICC Committee shall invite the member to attend an in-camera session on the date of the next suitable Committee meeting. The next suitable meeting will be after any outstanding legal issues have been resolved and sufficient time has elapsed to notify all parties concerned. The person making the allegation will also be invited to attend this meeting. Whilst no professional representation will be permitted, each party may bring a colleague to speak in support. Either party may elect to make a written submission rather than attend in person.
At the Committee meeting, unnotified lack of representation by either party will be deemed to be withdrawal of their case. Each attending party shall be given a reasonable time to put its case and may be further questioned by the Committee.
Those members of the Committee who are present shall, on the evidence presented, decide, by simple majority in secret ballot, whether :

The allegation is rejected, and so no action is appropriate
The allegation is accepted, but is only of minor severity, so the member is given a private warning
The allegation is accepted, and is of greater severity, so the member is publicly reprimanded
The allegation is both accepted and severe: the member shall be expelled forthwith from the ICC, such expulsion to be promulgated as the Committee sees fit.
Both parties shall be informed of the outcome in writing. The Committee shall not publicise the outcome within two weeks, to allow time for appeals.

Either party may indicate a wish to appeal against the Committee’s decision within one week of the formal notification of the outcome. The Committee shall not accept appeals except on the grounds of:

new evidence that was not available at the time of the original hearing
proven negligence on the part of a Committee member
incorrectly applied judgment on the Code of Practice or the law

At its discretion the Committee may allow the parties to attend another Committee meeting, run according to the rules 5 to 8 above, except that both parties must attend in person.
In the event that the parties are still dissatisfied, the Committee shall present the matter to the membership at the next AGM according to rules 5 to 8 above for a final decision.

Notes

The Code of Practice and the Disciplinary Procedure are intentionally brief. These notes are intended to provide some clarification.

Scope.

When they join, all members of the BCSICC sign an agreement to abide by both the BCS Code of Conduct and the Code of Practice in this booklet. This applies whether or not they are members of the BCS itself. However, members of the BCS are also subject to the BCS disciplinary procedure.

Trading Methods.

Members are not expected to understand every wrinkle of the legislation. However, they are expected to know when they need advice from members of another profession.

Representation.

Many agencies now ask for references. In some cases, references have been mis-used as ‘cold call’ sales contacts. Whilst reputable agencies will not mis-use references, it is generally a good policy to quote other agencies as agency references, and reserve previous clients to use as references for prospective clients.

Relationship with Clients.

Contract termination is a thorny area. It is good practice to ensure that a contract is even-handed, giving the contractor the same rights of termination as the agency or client. This would typically be a month’s notice on a long-term contract. Invoking the termination clause is not breaking the contract. Of course, where a contractor is taken on for a particular project or to solve a particular problem it is not unreasonable for the client to insist that the contract does not allow the contractor to terminate it before the work is complete.

Should circumstances change to the point where a member is unwilling to continue a contract for the agreed notice period (if any), the member should generally approach the client in the first instance. Most clients would rather not retain an unwilling contractor and if an agency is approached by both the client and contractor for early termination they will usually agree amicably. However, the response depends upon the reason for the change of circumstances. Whilst most clients would be sympathetic to, for instance, a long-term illness in the family, it is generally regarded as unprofessional to seek to break a contract simply to get more money. The ICC Committee support this view.

Whatever the circumstances, a contractor must not simply cease to work at a client’s site without informing the agency and the client and agreeing appropriate termination conditions.

Conduct (everything from dress style to frequency of coffee-breaks) varies widely from client to client. It is tactful for a contractor to follow the local culture, or at least not be seen to feel that being a contractor gives the right to abuse it. This is particularly important if the contractor is ever in a position to meet the client’s customers or to answer telephone or E-mail calls from outside the client’s business. Note that in a jeans-and-tee-shirt culture, being too tidy may be resented by permanent staff if they feel it shows them up.

A member should not advocate the contracting way of life to the client’s staff. There will always be questions, and usually misinformed remarks about money and worth. Whilst it is reasonable to deal fairly with these, members should not dwell on the advantages. Client management will see this as a waste of time and may see it as attempting to poach their staff. The staff may resent the implication of superiority.

If a client is following a course that is not in their best interests, a contractor should certainly point this out and give their best advice. If the client insists on going ahead against the contractor’s advice, the contractor should normally comply unless in a consultative position. The rules for consultants are different and this note does not cover them.

Conflict of interest is extremely unlikely in the normal contract way of working for one client at a time. However, where it does arise it is extremely serious and must be declared to all interested parties. There is also the possibility of outside interests conflicting with the client’s interests. A radical anti-roads campaigner whose contract with the local council is transferred to the highways department, for instance, should certainly make their position clear before accepting the transfer.

Relationships with Agencies.

Do not ‘string along’ contract leads by expressing to an agency a commitment to a contract you are unwilling to take. It is unprofessional to give verbal assurances you do not mean.

Restrictions on your relationship with agents are intended to protect the agent’s business. In the particular case where an agent or client approaches you seeking contacts for a particular position, it is entirely reasonable for you to pass details to another contractor rather than giving the agent or client the contractor’s name, though of course it is only polite to let the agency or client know that that is what you are doing.

If more than one agency contacts you about a particular opportunity, you must pick one to follow up the lead and inform the others that you are progressing the matter through another agency. You don’t have to tell them who, of course. If the agency you have chosen to represent you become clearly unwilling or unable to progress the lead, you are free, with their consent, to ask another agency to represent you. You should not accept alternative representation under any other circumstances. This rule seems harsh if your least favourite agency calls you first, and you accept their representation just before your favourite agency calls. However, you must stay with the first agency you ask to represent you.

The BCS-ICC Code of Practice