Conflicts of Interest

Membership of HUC entitles the member to certain privileges and access to information that may be proprietary to HUC. A conflict of interest is any situation in which the personal interests of members actually, or appear to, conflict with those of HUC. This personal interest can be direct or indirect, and it can include the interests of parties connected to the member (see definition of connected person below).

Some examples of a conflict of interest for a member could include

1. Direct or indirect financial interest
2. Non-financial or personal interests
3. Involved in the direct commissioning of HUC’s services or monitoring/regulation thereof
4. Employed in a position within an organization supplying services to HUC *
5. In any of the above, or other situations that could be perceived to be gaining a commercial or reputational advantage by being a member of HUC including working for competitors of HUC
6. Any evidence of behaviour, past or present, that may conflict with the interests, reputation or ethos of HUC

* For the avoidance of doubt it should be noted that a conflict of interest does not arise if a GP / practising clinician who provides their services on a self-employed basis or via an agency, and who has no other conflicts of interest, wants to be a member of HUC.

Connected Person

A connected person can include the following criteria below

• a close family relative including the spouse or civil partner of the member
• a person carrying on business in partnership with the member or with any person listed above
• an institution which is controlled by the member or by any person listed above
• a body corporate in which the member or any connected person, listed in any of the first 4 points above, has a substantial interest.

Failing to recognize conflicts of interest can bring reputational damage to both the member concerned and HUC. Therefore members must notify the Secretary of any potential conflicts of interest at the point of application for membership or at any point during membership if their personal circumstances change. Failure to do so could lead to the immediate termination of membership.

The above-listed examples of conflicts of interest is not exhaustive and if any information came to light whereby a reasonable view would be that there was a potential conflict of interest this will be considered by the Secretary. The Secretary will attempt to identify the nature of the conflict with the input of the member/applicant concerned, any mitigation there may be and will take a decision based on these facts. The decision will be communicated in writing, to the member/applicant concerned. If the applicant/member does not agree with the finding then they can then follow the appeals process outlined below

HUC reserves the right to refuse membership to any applicant.