Policies

Conflict of Interest

All members of the Board of Directors are expected to use good judgment, to adhere to high ethical standards, and to act in such a manner as to avoid any actual or potential conflict of interest. A conflict of interest occurs when the personal, professional, or business interests of an employee or Board member conflict with the interests of the organization. Both the fact and the appearance of a conflict of interest should be avoided.

Upon or before hire, election, or appointment each employee and Board member must provide a full written disclosure of all direct or indirect financial interests that could potentially result in a conflict of interest. Examples include employer, business, and other nonprofit affiliations, and those of family members or a significant other. This written disclosure will be kept on file and will be updated annually and as needed.
Employees and Board members must disclose any interests in a proposed transaction or

decision that may create a conflict of interest. After disclosure, the employee or Board member will not be permitted to participate in the transaction or decision.

Should there be any dispute as to whether a conflict of interest exists:

The Executive Director shall determine whether a conflict of interest exists for an employee, and shall determine the appropriate response.
The Board of Directors shall determine whether a conflict of interest exists for the Executive Director or a member of the Board, and shall determine the appropriate response.

Safety Procedures (including concussion prevention and management)

Safety is a crucial component to our health and wellness policy. We encourage every staff and volunteer to have CPR and First Aid training. To ensure injury and concussion prevention, it is required that every participant have proper clothing and safety equipment according to the activity. In case of an injury, and if professional assistance is needed, the injured participant must be kept away from the physical activity program until a health care professional, experienced in evaluating concussions or any other injury, authorizes the safety of the injured person’s return to and participate in the program.

At every physical activity session, we will ensure that there is a designated person with CPR and First Aid training. Before all physical activity sessions, the program coordinator will construct an action plan on how to prevent concussions. The participants will be made aware of safety rules to avoid possibility of concussions and the importance of reporting possible injuries or concussions. The expectations of safe play and rules for avoiding injury will be clearly outlined at the beginning of each session.

Incident/Injury

If first aid is required, the supervisor shall ensure that the appropriate care is provided. The investigation will be conducted and the Injury Reporting and Tracking Form will be submitted to the Board or designate within 24 hours of the incident occurring (excluding weekends).

The purpose of the investigation is to determine the ‘root’ cause of the incident in order to prevent a reoccurrence. The person in charge will investigate reported incidents. Any witnesses to the incident should be interviewed. When interviewing any witnesses, they should be put at ease and advised of the purpose of the investigation to prevent reoccurrence.

The Injury Reporting and Tracking Form shall be thoroughly completed. Immediate action taken for the prevention of a reoccurrence will be indicated. Additional information may be provided on an additional sheet.

The supervisor will submit a completed Injury Reporting and Tracking Form to the Board, or designate, within 24 hours after the incident, excluding weekends and holidays. The Board, or designate, will ensure the necessary reporting requirements of the WSIB are met (3 days to report) when necessary.

Download Injury Reporting and Tracking Form

Code of Conduct

Caregiving Matters expects employees to observe acceptable standards of behaviour. Employees must not engage in behaviour that amounts to misconduct (including serious misconduct) at the workplace. This includes where employees are working on site or off-site, attending a work-related conference or function, or attending a client or other work-related event, including retreats and social events.

Misconduct

Where an employee engages in misconduct or alleged misconduct, the processes in this policy will be followed.

Behaviour amounting to misconduct includes, but is not limited to, the following:

failing to obey lawful and reasonable instructions of;
failing to follow defined policies, procedures and rules;
failing to share relevant information with;
unacceptable disruptive behaviour;
unauthorized absence from the workplace; and
repeatedly being late for work without lawful excuse.

When proven, misconduct may provide a valid reason for termination of an employee’s employment with notice.

Serious misconduct

Whether misconduct amounts to serious misconduct depends on the particular circumstances of a given case. Supervisors/managers should consider the circumstances fully as they apply to the particular employee when determining whether or not the employee has engaged in conduct that could be considered serious misconduct.

Behaviour amounting to serious misconduct includes, but is not limited to:

willful or deliberate behaviour that is inconsistent with the employee’s contract of employment;
theft;
fraud;
assault;
intoxication at work;
use of derogatory, violent or abusive language;
fighting;
failure to observe safety rules;
concealment of a material fact on engagement;
obscenity;
dishonesty in the course of the employment; and
criminal conduct including conduct that, if proven, renders the employee completely unfit for work.

Processes

A breach of this policy or related procedures may lead to disciplinary action and possible dismissal. Where it considers that an employee has engaged in serious misconduct, they may be dismissed without notice.

Each instance or allegation of misconduct will be considered on its own merits, and any mitigating circumstances will be taken into account.

Investigations into instances or allegations of misconduct will be conducted in accordance with the principles of procedural fairness.

Employees accused of misconduct will be given an opportunity to respond to the allegations against them and may have a support person present at any disciplinary meetings.

Any meetings relating to instances or allegations of misconduct or serious misconduct will be conducted by two members of the Human Resources Department, one of whom will act as a note taker.

If it is decided that the appropriate action is to dismiss an employee, the employee will be provided with the full reasons for the decision.

Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment will not be tolerated under any circumstances. Responsibility lies with every Manager, Supervisor and employee/volunteer to ensure that sexual harassment does not occur.

The principles set out in this policy are intended to apply to any work-related context, including conferences, work functions, social events and business trips.

No employee or volunteer at any level should subject any other employee, volunteer, customer or visitor to any form of sexual harassment.

A breach of this policy will result in disciplinary action. Depending upon the severity of the case, consequences may include apology, counselling, transfer, demotion, dismissal, or other forms of disciplinary action deemed appropriate.

It is strongly encouraged that any employee who feels they have been sexually harassed to take immediate action, preferably by making it clear that such behaviour is unwelcome and offensive; alternatively, or in addition, they may follow the procedures for reporting the behaviour.

Any reports of sexual harassment will be treated seriously and promptly with sensitivity. Such reports will be treated as completely confidential up to the point where a formal or informal complaint is lodged against a particular person, at which point that person must be notified under the rules of natural justice.

Complainants have the right to determine how to have a complaint treated, to have support or representation throughout the process, and the option to discontinue a complaint at any stage of the process.

The alleged harasser also has the right to have support or representation during any investigation, as well as the right to respond fully to any formal allegations made. There will be no presumptions of guilt and no determination made until a full investigation has been completed.

No employee or volunteer will be treated unfairly as a result of rejecting unwanted advances. Disciplinary action may be taken against anyone who victimizes or retaliates against a person who has complained of sexual harassment or against any employee or volunteer who has been alleged to be a harasser.

All employees and volunteers have the right to seek the assistance of the relevant tribunal or legislative body to assist them in the resolution of any concerns.

Managers or Supervisors who fail to take appropriate corrective action when aware of harassment of a person will be subject to disciplinary action.

Procedures

Complaint Process

Sexual harassment can occur at any level of the organisation, can be experienced by both men and women and may involve a co-worker, volunteer, supervisor, manager, service provider, client or customer. Lack of intent is no defense in sexual harassment cases.

Employees or volunteers who believe they are the subject of sexual harassment should take firm, positive and prompt action.

If such a course is deemed appropriate, the employee or volunteer should make the perceived harasser(s) aware that they find their behaviour offensive, unwelcome, unacceptable, and that it needs to stop immediately.

If the behaviour continues, or if the employee or volunteer feels unable to speak to the person(s) directly, they should contact their Supervisor or Manager.

The Manager will provide support and ascertain the nature of the complaint and the wishes of the complainant.

The complainant does not have to request a full formal investigation if they will be satisfied by less formal treatment of the issue.

Informal Intervention

The Manager will explain the employee or volunteer’s rights and responsibilities under organization’s policy, procedures and Equal Employment Opportunity or anti-discrimination legislation.

Informal intervention may be undertaken through a process of mediation or conciliation. During informal intervention the alleged harasser will be made aware of the allegations being made against them and given the right to respond.

This procedure will be complete when the complainant and the respondent come to an agreement on the procedure to be followed. If this occurs, no record will be made of the proceedings, and any subsequent proceedings will begin de novo. If this does not occur, the formal procedure should be followed.

Formal Complaints Procedure

Proceeding with a formal complaint requires the consent of the person complaining, particularly as witnesses or senior management may become involved. The formal procedure will be coordinated by the Manager.

Equal Opportunity

Caregiving Matters is an equal opportunity organization and will provide equality in employment for all people employed or seeking employment.

Every person will be given a fair and equitable chance to compete for appointment, promotion or transfer, and to pursue their career as effectively as others.

Consistent with this, we will not condone, and regards as unfair, all forms of unlawful discrimination or vilification, including that which relates to:

gender;
pregnancy;
potential pregnancy;
marital/domestic status;
disability;
race, colour, national extraction, social origin, descent, and ethnic, ethno-religious or national origin;
age;
family responsibilities, family status, status as a parent or career;
racial classification;
sexuality;
HIV/AIDS vilification;
religious belief or activity;
political belief or activity;
industrial activity;
employer association activity;
trade union activity;
physical features;
breastfeeding;
transsexuality;
transgender;
profession, trade, occupation or calling;
medical record; and
criminal record.

In all cases no factors other than performance and competence are to be used as the basis for performance assessment, training and development opportunities and promotions.

This policy is to be used in conjunction with the Discrimination, Harassment and Affirmative Action policies.

Procedures

Managers must make all decisions relating to appointment, promotion and career development without regard to any matters, other than the individual’s inherent ability to carry out the position. Any concerns or queries should be directed to the Human Resources Department.

Employees who believe they are being treated unfairly as a result of discrimination should notify their manager.

Equitable Access

Access

As a service provider, Caregiving Matters will make services available to everyone who is entitled to them, free of any form of discrimination on the basis of a person’s country of birth, language, culture, race or religion.

Equity

As a service provider, Caregiving Matters will develop and deliver services on the basis of fair treatment of all those clients who are eligible to receive them.

Communication

As a service provider, Caregiving Matters will use all necessary strategies to inform eligible clients of the services available, their entitlements, and how they can obtain them. Providers shall also consult with their clients regularly about the adequacy, design and standard of services.

Responsiveness

As a service provider, Caregiving Matters will be sensitive to the needs and requirements of clients from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds, and be responsive as far as practicable to the particular circumstances of individuals.

Effectiveness

As a service provider, Caregiving Matters will be focused on meeting the needs of clients from all backgrounds.

Efficiency

As a service provider, Caregiving Matters will optimize the use of available public resources through a user-responsive approach to service delivery that meets the needs of clients.

Accountability

As a service provider, Caregiving Matters will have a reporting mechanism in place which ensures it is accountable for implementing access and equity objectives for its clients.

Procedures

All staff shall, wherever feasible, have adequate support and training to provide services and information accessible to all people.

Caregiving Matters will ensure its programs are designed and constructed to provide equal access for all users.

Caregiving Matters, in its role as an employer, will ensure all people have equal access to advertised positions, interviews, equipment, office accommodation, staff training and promotion.

Caregiving Matters shall, wherever feasible, assess proposals for any new (or substantially revised) policies or programs for their direct impact on the lives of people from a range of cultural and linguistic backgrounds prior to any decision to pursue such proposals.

Any new (or substantially revised) policies or programs that impact in different ways on the lives of people from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds shall, wherever feasible, be developed by Caregiving Matters in consultation with people from those backgrounds.

Caregiving Matters shall, wherever feasible, for any new (or substantially revised) policies or program initiatives have a communication strategy developed and sufficiently resourced to inform people from relevant cultural and linguistic backgrounds of these changes.

Caregiving Matters shall provide resources so that publicly available and accessible information on its policies and programs is where necessary communicated appropriately to people from a range of cultural and linguistic backgrounds, and especially to those identified as having a high level of non-compliance.

Caregiving Matters] shall institute complaints mechanisms that enable people (regardless of cultural and linguistic backgrounds) to address issues and raise concerns about its performance.

Caregiving Matters shall require that any agents, contractors, or partners deliver outcomes consistent with this policy, and shall, in bidding for tenders or contracts, budget, where appropriate, for special provision for linguistic and cultural diversity.

Caregiving Matters shall, where necessary and feasible, provide for the special needs of clients from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds by providing language assistance through the use of interpreters or facilitators.

Caregiving Matters shall, where necessary and feasible, provide for the special needs of clients in remote areas through developing outreach and community liaison arrangements.

Caregiving Matters shall consider cultural diversity issues in the design and delivery of any training programs it provides.

Caregiving Matters staff shall, where necessary, receive ongoing cultural diversity training so that they develop knowledge and skills to work effectively from a cultural framework.

Caregiving Matters shall, where necessary and feasible, provide information in languages other than English, and through print, electronic media, and disability-appropriate methods of communication.

Caregiving Matters shall, where appropriate, consult with other providers and government agencies to ensure co-ordination of services appropriate to clients’ needs.

Caregiving Matters shall promote diversity in the membership of its boards, committees and working groups.

Caregiving Matters shall protect the privacy of individual clients. Consideration will be given to:

collecting only data essential to the particular service delivery or evaluation purpose;
guaranteeing anonymity; and
ensuring that all data collection proposals are non-intrusive.

Code of Ethics

Caregiving Matters commits itself to operating in accordance with an ethical code drawn up through agreed procedures following consultation with members, clients, employees, volunteers, and stakeholders.

Procedures

The Ethics Committee shall organize consultation with members, clients, employees, volunteers, and stakeholders on:

The values that the organisation wishes to embody, and
The specific ethical imperatives that are implied by these values.

The discussions around these issues should be used as a means to raise awareness of the significance of ethical attitudes to the effective operation of the organization.

The Committee shall then

Review the policies of the organization to ensure that these are not in conflict with the organization’s ethical principles, and
Draw up a draft Code of Ethics for the organization.

It should be noted that the organization’s ethical position is represented both by the organization’s policies and by its Code of Ethics, and any particular ethical guideline does not necessarily need to be repeated in both.

Volunteer Management and Screening

All volunteers shall be treated with respect and gratitude for their contribution.

Volunteers shall be employed at the discretion of management.

Volunteers shall carry out duties assigned by management.

All volunteers shall, as far as possible,

be protected from harm
be relieved of liability for acts performed in the discharge of their volunteer functions.

Procedures

Recruitment

All volunteers are subject to the screening, approval, and probationary procedures set out in the appropriate section of the Recruitment Policy. Recruitment of volunteers shall also take into account Caregiving Matter’s commitment to cultural diversity under its Access and Equity Policy.

Induction

All volunteers shall be offered appropriate information and training to discharge their functions, and successful completion of this training shall be a condition of carrying out these functions.

Supervision

All volunteers shall receive appropriate supervision in the exercise of their functions.

Reimbursement

All volunteers shall be reimbursed for all approved expenditure incurred in the exercise of their functions, as set out in the Reimbursement of Expenses Policy.

Dispute resolution

All volunteers shall be entitled to appeal to the procedures set out in the Constitution.

Supervision

All volunteers shall receive appropriate supervision in the exercise of their functions.

Complaints Policy and Procedures

Caregiving Matters places customer satisfaction as a high priority. If a client/customer has a complaint against the organization or a member of the organization, there are a number of steps that need to be followed.

Step 1

When the client complains, you need to take the matter seriously and deal with it appropriately. Listen carefully to the person making the complaint. If they are emotional at the time of the complaint, some of the facts may be difficult to ascertain correctly and objectively. You need to ensure that they give you all the correct information.

Step 2

It may be better to take the matter to the supervisor, especially if the complaint is about a staff member. Details need to be accurate. All information about the complaint should be documented to ensure that the information remains consistent. Fill out the Complaints Form below.

Step 3

Depending on the type of complaint it may be sufficient that the supervisor listens and deals with the issue with the client. For quality assurance the documentation of the complaint will be noted and records kept of the action taken.

Step 4

Where the issue is not able to be dealt with at the supervisor level the manager of the section may be involved in the issue. They may discuss the matter with the client and the staff member either separately or together, to try to resolve the issue. Again the meeting is documented and records kept on file for quality assurance records.

Step 5

Where a number of complaints about the same issue are received, the quality assurance section may implement an action plan to investigate and improve an area.

Step 6

Evaluation on the issue is undertaken at a predetermined date to ensure that improvement has occurred.

Download Complaint Form

Quality Assurance

Caregiving Matters policy is to maintain an effective and efficient quality assurance process planned and developed in conjunction with all management and staff functions and stakeholders, outlined in a series of policies and procedures (including external contracts, regulations and codes of practice) which are designed to eliminate deficiencies and inaccuracies and to ensure high quality standards.

The assurance of quality is fundamental for all work undertaken by Caregiving Matters and should be implemented by all staff in their work. To that effect we shall:

Maintain consistency in work method throughout in accordance with set policies, procedures, regulations and codes of practice and without significant deviation.
Ensure that all policies, procedures, relevant regulations and codes of practice are implemented and systematically reviewed to reflect our values.
Regularly monitor and measure the quality of its work methods, outputs and outcomes with a view to ensuring high quality standards, best value and continuous improvement.

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