RPC Code of Practice

The Register of Professional Contractors (RPC) provides a wide range of opportunities and resources for members to develop the skills, values and ethics that underpin their own Inspection practice, including 4 levels of Association Accreditation.

This Code of Practice is a key resource to support members of the Register in their delivery of high standards to their clients, colleagues, and a wider support network.

All members of the Register are required to indicate their acceptance of and adherence to this Code of Practice as a condition of their membership of the Register and to use the title Registered Contractor. The Code of Practice covers the following areas:

This Code of Practice is subject to periodic review by the RPC Committee, and amendments will be made through dialogue with Registered members.

 1 INTENTION

This Code of Practice is intended as a practical resource for RPC members and those who use their services. It serves to

 Allow RPC members to communicate to clients and potential clients their commitment to high standards of facilitation as engendered by their membership onto the Register and adherence to this Code of Practice.

• Protect and inform individuals and organisation’s who are inquiring about or receiving the services of RPC Registered members.
• Articulate a set of standards which is agreed by members and which, if found to be not adhered to in spirit or letter, will lead to temporary or permanent exclusion from

2  CLIENT RELATIONSHIPS

All interactions that form and evolve a relationship with clients and prospective clients are subject to the following principles: 

• Members need to recognise the importance of a good relationship for effective work and be consistent of the power and influence their role and responsibility gives them.
• A member must act in a manner consistent with a recognition of power dynamics and not exploit a client financially, sexually, or emotionally for their own personal advantage or their own needs.
• The health and welfare of the client and in organisational terms the client system is the member's primary concern.
• The dignity, intrinsic worth and uniqueness of client representatives are always to be
• Members should be respectful of their client's age, health, gender, sexual orientation, religion, ethnic group, social context and all other significant aspects of their life and identity
• Sexual harassment in the form of deliberate or repeated comments, gestures, or physical contacts of a sexual nature that are, or could be considered offensive by the client, are unethical and unacceptable.
• Members need to be prepared to declare any conflict, or potential conflict, between their relationships or professional commitments and the interests of the client. When a potential conflict of interest exists or emerges it is the member's responsibility to declare it and be prepared to work through the issues with the client.
• Members need to recognise that dual relationships - where the client or significant member of the client organisation is also an employee, close friend, relative, or partner - will likely impair their professional judgement and cause undue stress to clients and themselves.
• Members are responsible for setting and monitoring the boundaries between a professional relationship and a social one, and for making explicit such boundaries to the client.

3 CONTRACTING

The process of contracting with clients is established from the start of an engagement and is also expected to continue throughout the lifecycle of the work. It may be written or verbal or both and must be subject to the following principles: 

• Register Members are fully responsible for developing a clear and explicit contract with their client within which they feel confident to provide a high-quality service to the client.
• Contracts should be explicit regarding fees, expenses, tax/VAT and other financial liabilities, payment schedule, and cancellation of bookings by a client or member.
• The agreement needs to specify the outcomes being facilitated, success measures, expected way of working (timescale, action, interventions, methods, use of associates), responsibilities, boundaries, and checkpoints for reviewing the terms of the contract and progress of the work.
• Subsequent changes to the contract must be negotiated and agreed with the
• Particular attention should be given to the concluding phases of client work, in full recognition of the potential impact of endings.
• Should a member's professional assessment not accord with a client's decision to terminate; a Registered member should facilitate termination in a manner which is respectful of the client's
• Introducing a change of professional or ending the work should be managed with care and consideration for the client and Professionals’ dignity and well‐being.

4 CLIENT SERVICE

Register Members continually strive to understand and meet client expectations and work to bring about the agreed outcomes 

• The expectations and desired outcomes from working with a client should be explored on an on‐going basis in order to meet evolving needs, circumstances, values and beliefs.
• Register Members should work towards the development of self‐support and autonomy of clients and away from creating a relationship where their client becomes dependent upon them.

• Register Members are committed to raising awareness of the process and relationship aspects of groups in all circumstances, including when conflicts or change or direction arise.
• Register Members continually seek a group’s conscious agreement to the process and do not impose or unduly influence the direction of the group in any direction other than that
• Register Members work towards the development of equitable relationships within the group, and where appropriate highlight power dynamics in the patterns of interaction within and between individuals, the client group and the wider system.
• Registered Members are committed to creating an environment in which all participants have their views, thoughts, desires and feelings attended to.
• Members must take all reasonable steps to protect clients from physical or psychological harm during the work.
• Members are committed to disclosing anything that they become aware of during the course of work that might prevent them from working effectively with the client or group

5  CONFIDENTIALITY

Confidentiality is intrinsic to good practice and the following principles apply:

• All information exchanged with the client should be regarded as confidential unless agreed
• Neither the content of discussions with or witnessed between individuals nor individual participants’ thoughts, feelings or behavior’s, nor a summary of impressions formed should be reported on without those individual’s explicit and informed consent.
• The expectations of confidentiality imposed on clients or group members should be clarified through discussion and explicit, stated agreement.
• Where a member has any doubts about the limits of confidentiality, she/he should seek 

6  PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCE

Members have a responsibility to maintain their own effectiveness and ability to practice and to pay attention to the limits of their competence. 

• Register Members have a responsibility to actively seek developmental outcomes for themselves through any or all of the following: personal development activities, supervision, training, research, critical reflection on experiences, and self/peer review.
• Members are duty bound to acknowledge in full the source of any learning material, tools, methods, principles, or theories they present to the client, and to make clear any adaptations they themselves have made.
• Where members modify and develop theories based upon their experience, they should gather support for their ideas by circulating to other professionals for peer review, thus adding to the body of professional knowledge.
• Members of the Register are responsible for keeping an up‐to‐date record of their continuing professional development. This should be available for the RPC to review on request.

7  CO‐WORKING

Quality Professionals often receive referrals from colleagues, co‐facilitate, sub‐contract work to colleagues, or provide work to a client through a third party, or any combination of the above. In all cases the principles outlined in all sections of this Code of Practice apply to RPC members in addition to the following principles:

• A member will always have responsibility for a clear, explicit and ethical contracting relationship, whether directly or indirectly with the client, and/or in partnership with another RPC Member
• Members should take care to openly acknowledge the source of a referral of a client and to demonstrate transparency and fairness regarding any agreement to compensate, include or inform the source of the referral if client work results.
• Members entering into any co‐working arrangement should ensure that they have the relationship and contracting skill to do so, and that they support and have confidence in their co‐working partners to collaborate competently in order to meet the client’s needs.
• Concerns or questions about the conduct, competence or ethics of a colleague or co‐worker should be raised directly using personal and professional judgment to decide whether to initiate a discussion in the first instance with the individual, the client, or external

 8 COMPLIANCE

Registered Members must comply with the law of the territory in which they operate and with the requirements of the client organisation

• Members must comply with safety and insurance regulations specified by their client or negotiate an alternative. If for any reason, members are unable or unwilling to comply with any rules or regulations communicated to them by the client, members are responsible for making their position clear to their client and agreeing an alternative or terminating the
• Members should keep client information under secure conditions and ensure that anycomputer‐based records comply with the requirements of the Data Protection legislation
• If a member is convicted of any Notifiable Offences, they must inform

• Members who become aware of the intention to commit a crime in the course of their professional practice should seek advice immediately, using their judgment as to whether to initiate a discussion in the first instance with the individual, the client or external
• RPC expect to be informed of any significant misunderstanding or dispute with clients that escalates to mediation or legal recourse. Further, we require Members to inform us of the outcome of any formal proceeding and ensure that learning from any such process is recorded and pursued. 

9   PROMOTION AND REPUTATION

Members should conduct themselves personally and professionally in such a way as to promote confidence in the facilitation profession

• Members should be truthful about their skills, competence, experience, background, client feedback and qualifications and willing to provide evidence of such to RPC and clients as
• Members should only describe themselves as affiliated to any organisation in such a manner that accurately and properly represents their relationship with that organisation.
• Advertising or promotion activities should not make negative statements about
• RPC members act as representatives of the Association and its Members more generally and must at all times conduct themselves in a professional and positive manner, demonstrating confidence in RPC as an organisation, acknowledging use of RPC resources and complying with guidelines relating to use of logo and accreditation status.
• Add in – something about members should only promote themselves in a legally compliant manger, abiding by GDPR regulation for example
• Add in – members must have a publicly available, transparent method for customers to provide reviews, for example google reviews, or trustpilot
• Add in members must have a current, up to date website with clear contact details.
• Members must have at least one social media feed, where customers can get in touch, ask questions and provide feedback.
• Members must never cold call individuals as part of their marketing
• Members must never employ door to door sales, pressure sales techniques or any negotiation techniques that can bring the register into disrepute
• Members must, where required, be registered with the ICO
• Members must have a GDPR policy and documentation, easily accessible to the register.

 By joining the Register of Professional Contractors, you agree to ALL OF THE above statements and confirm that all the information provided within your application is true and accurate.