Leuven (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – The staff at Leuven City must adhere to a new code of conduct that prohibits both workplace kissing and negative comments about municipal policy on social media. Alderman Cornillie emphasises respect among colleagues as the driving force behind the ‘Kompas’ code.
Leuven staff members remain subject to a new employee code that condemns criticism of social media policy and restricts workplace intimacy during all work hours, including office celebrations and year-end events. Alderman Bert Cornillie (Vooruit), who handles Human Resources matters, stressed to staff about maintaining professional boundaries by declaring in an interview,
“Not kissing colleagues at work is one of the pieces of advice that stands out because some workers feel annoyed by it.“
“We are thinking of daily greetings in the morning, but also on birthdays or New Year’s Eve. We have noticed that people are already more likely to keep their distance since COVID-19 and now with the flu epidemic. This code of conduct fits in with a policy concern to treat each other with respect.”
“That’s not so crazy. Other organisations also make such agreements. Criticism is better done internally. We are a large organisation with about 1,400 employees. Then you need clear guidelines, the alderman believes”.
“The examples we give are based on experiences within the city over the past decades, as well as events that we know from other local governments or private companies. We have no reason to think that the city’s employees would not act according to this deontology, but that does not mean that everyone should not know that this code exists and what it means in practice. This is a living instrument that will adapt to the context and questions of employees.”
“The ‘Kompas’ is a “concrete translation of the articles on deontology from the Flemish Decree on Local Government into a code of conduct for our organisation. This is mandatory, just like the legal position regulation and the employment regulations. In the brochure, we refresh the rules using concrete examples”,
Cornillie concludes.
What is the context of the code of conduct?
The ‘Kompas’ code of conduct is grounded in Flemish local government law and serves as a practical interpretation of deontological principles. Corneille explains that the brochure serves as a “refresher of the rules using concrete examples,” aligning with legal and employment regulations. In Leuven, a collaborative environment fosters innovation among government, academia, industry, and civil society.
KU Leuven maintains an ICT Code of Conduct as an internal policy for staff members, which applies to all ICT resources and their users for responsible and secure use practices. Customers who follow the ICT Code of Conduct must keep their ICT resources in proper condition while securing their devices by obtaining proper software licenses.
