Code of Conduct

1. Introduction

1.1 This Code of Conduct (this Code) is published by the Royal Microscopical Society (RMS) in accordance with its By-laws and applies to all members of the RMS. It sets out expectations of behaviour that the RMS requires all members to adhere to.

1.2 This Code also applies to non-members in the circumstances set out in point 2.3 below.

1.3 Any breach of this Code by a member shall be subject to the disciplinary procedures set out below and referred to in point 9 below.

2. Overview and Applicability

2.1 Every member of the RMS, regardless of their role and area of responsibility, must uphold the RMS’s values of:

(a) Treating everyone with dignity and respect
(b) Passion for our membership/work
(c) Integrity
(d) Excellence                                                                                 
(e) Leadership
(f) Innovation
(g) Teamwork

2.2 This Code applies to all members, at all times, whether or not undertaking RMS business or attending an RMS event. Without limiting the generality of the above, it will apply to a member acting on behalf of, or promoting the work of, the RMS, including, for example, members who volunteer for the RMS and members who engage in any form of online activity for the RMS. The RMS also requires the standards set out in this Code to be upheld by its members in all interactions with colleagues and members of the public, including at conferences, meetings, events, and other social activities (including at accommodation venues for any such activities), regardless of the capacity in which the member is attending.

2.3 In addition to members, the provisions of point 4 (Treating all with dignity and respect) and point 8 (Confidential reporting and self-reporting) of this Code apply also to non-members who attend meetings, conferences and other events, either hosted or sponsored by the RMS, or who otherwise engage with the RMS or its members.

2.4 Non-members who fail to comply with this Code as required above may (as appropriate):

(a) be asked to leave an event and potentially be prevented from attending any future meetings, conferences or other events hosted or sponsored by the RMS;
(b) be prevented from applying in the future for RMS membership or any RMS professional registration;
(c) be prevented from applying for any bursaries or awards administered or supported by the RMS

3. Professional Conduct

3.1 Members are encouraged to:

(a) promote the study, application and understanding of science and research within the microscopy, imaging and cytometry communities
(b) promote the work of microscopists at every appropriate opportunity in their professional lives; and
(c) promote RMS’s drive for greater diversity in science.

3.2 Members must:

(a) treat others with dignity and respect, act with integrity, and not intentionally bring the RMS, its staff or members, into disrepute;
(b) ensure that any professional activities do not unnecessarily put at risk the health, safety or welfare of any person, and must have due regard for the effects on the environment and for the sustainability of any resources;
(c) support a colleague or any other person for whom they have a duty of care who in good faith raises any concern about a danger, risk, malpractice or wrongdoing that affects others;
(d) exemplify professional behaviour in relation to any content that they publish in the public domain, including, without limitation, articles, blogs, and all forms of social media.
(e) Members may state that they are a member of the RMS and are professionally registered, but must not use the RMS logo, the coat of arms or seal, or state or imply that they are acting on behalf of, or with the authority of, the RMS, except where they have express permission from the RMS to do so.

4. Treating all with Dignity and Respect

4.1 All members and non-members must treat everyone with dignity and respect and must not use their position, personal belief, or opinion, to bully, abuse, intimidate, victimise, harass or unlawfully discriminate against any other person for any reason whatsoever, whether physically, verbally, through electronic means or in any other way.

4.2 The RMS will not tolerate harassment on any basis, including that which relates to age, disability, gender reassignment, marital or civil partner status, pregnancy or maternity, race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation, neurodivergence, social status, background, or actual or perceived intellect. Harassment is unacceptable even if it does not fall within any of the categories or examples set out in this Code.

4.3 Harassment can take many forms:

(a) Under the Equality Act 2010, it is defined as:
(i) unwanted conduct related to a relevant protected characteristic, which has the purpose or effect of violating an individual’s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for that individual; and
(ii) unwanted conduct of a sexual nature or that is related to gender reassignment or sex.

(b) Harassment can be physical, verbal, or non-verbal conduct and includes, but is not limited to, abusive spoken or written words, offensive emails, tweets or comments on social networking sites, offensive images or graffiti, and physical gestures or jokes. It also includes treating someone less favourably because they have submitted, or refused to submit, to such behaviour in the past.

4.4 Members and non-members must not recklessly or maliciously damage, or attempt to harm, directly or indirectly, the reputation, prospects, businesses or property of others.

4.5 Members and non-members must not advertise, nor write or publish in any manner, whether in physical copy or in a digital/multimedia format, any material that brings, or may bring, the RMS into disrepute, is derogatory, or could reasonably be expected to cause offence to any individual member or community of members, or to the dignity of their profession. Members and non-members must also not authorise any such material to be written or published by others.

5. Providing Guidance or an Opinion

5.1 Members who are called upon to give an opinion in their professional capacity must, to the best of their ability, give an opinion that is objective and based upon the best available knowledge and information, and must state clearly any limitations or qualifications to such opinion.

5.2 Members who believe that they have a professional or personal conflict of interest that may impair their ability to make objective judgment, must disclose such interests, where relevant, to the RMS and any relevant authority.

5.3 Members must not claim expertise or skill in any area of knowledge or professional practice in which they have insufficient qualifications or experience.

6. Council and other RMS Elections

6.1 Any breach of the nomination, canvassing or election rules for the RMS Council elections or any other RMS election, and any false or misleading information in a candidate statement or election statement, or in a nomination form, shall be deemed to be a breach of this Code.

7. Other Memberships and Criminal Convictions

7.1 A member who has had membership of another professional body terminated as the result of a disciplinary procedure must inform the RMS and must provide such information relating to the matter as the RMS may require.

8. Confidential Reporting and Self-reporting

8.1 If any person (member or non-member) becomes aware of a breach of this Code, they may report the matter to the Chief Executive of the RMS who (in the case of a breach by a member) shall address such matter in accordance with the disciplinary procedures and (in the case of a breach by a non-member) shall address the matter in accordance with point  2.3 above.

8.2 Where a breach by a member of this Code is also a breach of their employer’s internal code of conduct, or the law, that member must inform the relevant employer/authorities of such a breach.

8.3 Where a member has breached their own employer’s code of conduct and that is also a breach of this Code, the member must self-report such breach to the Chief Executive of the RMS. Failure to make a self-report is, in itself, a breach of this Code.

8.4 If an individual feels that they have been harassed or discriminated against by a member or volunteer, or by an attendee at an RMS conference, meeting, or event (including, but not limited to, at the venue, accommodation and/or during any related social activities), or has witnessed this occurring, they are encouraged to report this to a member of the RMS staff at the conference or to the Chief Executive as soon as reasonably practicable. Any report will be treated sensitively, appropriately, and in a timely fashion and in line with the framework outlined in the disciplinary procedures.

8.5 Conference, meeting or event participants asked to stop any harassment or discriminatory behaviour are required to comply immediately. If a participant engages in harassment or discriminatory behaviour then, in addition to any other sanctions under this Code, the RMS event organisers may take any necessary action including expulsion from the conference, meeting or event with no refund and/or refusal of future registration.

9. Disciplinary Procedures and Complaints Policy

9.1 The RMS’s disciplinary procedures and Complaints Policy, as set out below outline the process that will be followed in the event of this Code being breached by a member. The procedures have been created to ensure that all members are treated in a fair, reasonable and consistent manner.

Appendix A - Complaints Policy

At the RMS we are committed to providing high quality services to everyone who comes into contact with us. We are delighted to hear from those who use our services and find them helpful. However, we’re always looking to improve, and we know that sometimes things might happen which make an experience with the RMS less positive. If you feel we have not reached the standards you expect; you have felt discriminated against or unsafe; or you have any other feedback this policy explains what you can do and what will happen in such a case.

This complaints process is for RMS staff, trustees, volunteers, members, non members who attend our events, service providers and corporate partners (RMS’s ‘stakeholders’). If you are a member of staff you can also refer to the staff handbook for guidance.

1. How do I complain?

Complaints will likely relate to either our member benefits and services or the behaviour, language or conduct of an RMS stakeholder. To raise any kind of complaint, please make contact with info@rms.org.uk in the first instance. Please make sure you provide your email address and phone number so that we can keep you updated on the progress of your complaint. Your complaint will then be assigned to an appropriate member of the RMS’s Senior Leadership Team (SLT), depending on the nature of your complaint and any other relevant factors.

For all kinds of complaints, the first step of our response will be to arrange an initial conversation between you and the assigned member of our SLT. In this meeting they will discuss what happened with you and form a summary of your complaint which will be circulated to you to check we have covered your concerns. If appropriate, the next step in our process will be to arrange a 1-1 conversation with our Chief Executive, another appropriate member of the SLT, or our Executive Committee, to help us understand why this was unacceptable, and what we could do to avoid this happening in the future.

In some cases, further action may be necessary to identify the accountability mechanisms necessary to resolve it. We have aimed to make this process proportionate to the small number of complaints we receive, and transparent to ensure that everyone knows what to expect if something goes wrong.

2. Complaints against an RMS stakeholder

Our principles

At the RMS we believe that while all of us have the capacity to hurt others, most of us will also have experienced feeling hurt. We start from the principle of believing the complainant and making their safety while using RMS services a priority. At the same time, we know that being the subject of a complaint can also be stressful, and that information about how the complaint is being investigated and progressed is often withheld or not accessible. We will aim to be transparent with both parties and where the subject of the complaint is an RMS member, we will offer support if appropriate and possible, depending on the nature of the complaint.

We want to encourage everyone to learn, develop and change their behaviours. As such this policy does not set out a list of punitive measures but seeks to provide an adaptable framework for those who are willing to develop an understanding of their behaviour and be accountable for the harm we can cause others. Where this willingness is not demonstrated, it may be appropriate to terminate an individual’s membership or relationship with the RMS. This course of action will be a last resort, but we accept that it may be necessary in very serious cases.

Sometimes it will be challenging to establish exactly what has happened (for example, if an incident was not witnessed or recorded). Please be patient while we try to gather the evidence necessary. We will make sure to review anything relevant to your complaint.

Our process

We might not need to use all of these steps, and they may not need to happen in this order, but in the case of complaints against an individual we will use the following framework:

3. Complaints about our member benefits and services

In cases where are member benefits and services do not meet the standard you expect, we will use the following framework to understand your complaint and improve our outputs.

4. If you are still not satisfied

If we cannot resolve your complaint by using some/all of the mechanisms above, we will refer your complaint to the Executive Committee.  This committee is chaired by the President of the RMS.  They will explore the nature of your complaint; why a resolution could not be reached; and set out further proposals to resolve it. These will be discussed with you.

Finally, as a charity we are regulated by the Charity Commission, so you can also use the Commission’s complaints procedure if appropriate.

5. Timelines

After your initial contact we aim to get back to you within two working days to confirm that we have received your complaint, and to organise an initial meeting within 10 working days. Beyond this initial timeframe we will deal with complaints on a case-by-case basis but always strive to be prompt and keep you fully updated. We aim to resolve all complaints within 12 weeks of receiving them, but in cases where the complexity of the complaint means that we expect it to take longer we will let you know.

If we cannot resolve your complaint and need to refer it to our Executive Committee for discussion, we will let you know the date of the meeting when it will be discussed. We will come back to you within 10 working days of that meeting to update you on the discussion. Clear minutes will be taken as to the procedures to be carried out and you will receive full details of discussions relevant to your complaints. At all stages along the process, if any deadlines cannot be met you will be kept fully informed as to what is happening. Proceedings and records relating to complaints, will as far as practical, be kept confidential.

6. What we can’t do

As part of our commitment to transparency, it is important to explain our approach and why we cannot act in certain situations. The RMS is run by a small team and while we will always take your complaints seriously, we want to be realistic about our capacity to carry out (for example) significant vetting, information gathering or interviewing. In the extremely rare cases where this might be necessary the RMS would likely seek independent external support.

Some examples of where we will not be able to act include:

• Banning individuals from joining the RMS: we want to support those who join our network. As such we do not assess the historical behaviour of members, but ask all members to abide by our Code of Conduct. Any RMS stakeholder is subject to this complaints policy from the moment they join our network, and any discriminatory or inappropriate behaviour should be reported.
• Behaviour that has occurred outside of our events or network: RMS advocates for an inclusive sector where bullying and discrimination do not happen. However, this complaints policy only applies to events that take place within our network. We cannot respond to complaints about other occurrences across the charity sector.
• Complaints that make allegations about opinions but not behaviours: The RMS cannot police thoughts and we want to create an environment in which a range of opinions can co-exist respectfully and professionally. If personal beliefs are enacted in discriminatory comments, behaviours or correspondence we will act in line with this policy.

7. How we will act on the outcome of your complaint

Part of our process will be to internally review how our processes allowed this to happen and set out changes we will make to prevent it recurring. We will let you know how we are planning to change our processes and welcome feedback on how this is working, and whether it has been clearly communicated.

Last updated: 4 October 2024
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