This duty has now come into effect and councils should ensure that there is a policy in place and training undertaken to ensure compliance.

NALC (via the civility and respect project) have produced a template policy, as has Chris Moses, our HR consultant policy template Please do make use of these to design a policy suitable for your council. The policy should be relevant to the size and resources of your council. Give staff and Councillors the opportunity to comment on the draft policy and take on board any suggested amendments.

The final document should be issued to staff and Councillors, and displayed in public areas. All staff and Councillors need to be trained on it and confirmation of receipt of training recorded. If a Councillor decides not to attend the training, the Council should document the fact. The training needs to be repeated on an annual basis, as well as reviewing the procedures in the policy in light of any changes that have affected it. You can also access Chris Moses’s presentation slides on the topic for reference and this could help guide any training undertaken.