For this assessment you should assume that you work in a people practice team in a medium sized organisation.

3CO03 Core behaviours for people professionals

This unit introduces the core behaviours for people professionals, focusing on ethical practice, professional values and professional development. It considers how certain ways of thinking and acting should be universally consistent, even in new and challenging situations, to promote a sense of wellbeing and inclusivity in the organisation.

CIPD’s insight 

Ethical practice and the role of people professionals (November 2023)

Scandals involving workplace harassment and poor treatment of workers have highlighted what can happen when ethics aren’t integral to the way an organisation operates. Having unique access to staff and opportunities to influence an organisation’s strategy and the way it manages its workforce; people professionals are uniquely placed within an organisation. They can support the embedding of principled decision-making into daily practice. Ethics are at the heart of professionalism. To create cultures of transparency and trust, practitioners should demonstrate strong standards of integrity when advising business leaders.

This factsheet explores what ethical practice means and why it matters in an organisational context. It outlines the trade-offs involved in upholding ethical values and the challenges faced by people professionals. Finally, it looks at the profession’s role in creating ethical organisational cultures.

https://www.cipd.org/uk/knowledge/factsheets/ethics-role-hr-factsheet/ 

HR and standards (December 2022)

This factsheet explains what British and International standards in HR are and why they matter. It introduces the British and International HR standards already published or under development and outlines the CIPD involvement in their development. Whether or not organisations have a dedicated HR team, they will at some point need guidance on ethical and effective human resource management practice in areas such as workforce planning, recruitment, inclusion and diversity, learning and development, and human capital reporting. British and International standards provide such guidance. International experts develop them, in collaboration with key stakeholders. These standards advocate responsible people management practices and support the organisations that adopt them to improve their organisational resilience and sustainability.

https://www.cipd.co.uk/knowledge/strategy/hr/standards-factsheet

Equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in the workplace (November 2022)

Promoting and delivering EDI in the workplace is an essential aspect of good people management. To reap the benefits of EDI, it’s about creating working environments and cultures where every individual can feel safe, a sense of belonging and is empowered to achieve their full potential. Whilst legal frameworks vary across different countries, in the UK the Equality Act 2010 provides legal protection for nine protected characteristics: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation. However, an effective EDI strategy goes beyond legal compliance and seeks to take an intersectional approach adding value to an organisation, contributing to the

wellbeing and equality of outcomes and impact on all employees. This includes: accent, age, caring responsibilities, colour, culture, visible and invisible disability, gender identity and expression, mental health, neurodiversity, physical appearance, political opinion, pregnancy and maternity/paternity and family status and socio-economic circumstances amongst other personal characteristics and experiences. This factsheet explores what workplace equality inclusion and diversity (EDI) means, and how an effective strategy is essential to an organisation’s business objectives. It looks at the rationale for action and outlines steps organisations can take to implement and manage a successful EDI strategy, from recruitment, selection, retention, communication and training to addressing workplace behaviour and evaluating progress.

https://www.cipd.co.uk/knowledge/fundamentals/relations/diversity/factsheet#6428

Ethical practice and the role of people professionals (November 2023)

Scandals involving workplace harassment and poor treatment of workers have highlighted what can happen when ethics aren’t integral to the way organisations operate. With unique access to staff throughout their careers, as well as opportunities to influence an organisation’s strategy and the way it manages its workforce, people professionals are uniquely placed to support embedding principled decision-making into daily practice. Ethics are at the heart of professionalism. To create cultures of transparency and trust, practitioners should demonstrate strong standards of integrity when advising business leaders.

This factsheet explores what ethical practice means and why it matters in an organisational context. It outlines the trade-offs involved in upholding ethical values and the challenges faced by people professionals. Finally, it looks at the profession’s role in creating ethical organisational cultures.

https://www.cipd.co.uk/knowledge/culture/ethics/role-hr-factsheet

Ethics at work: an employer’s guide (February 2024)

Ethical values provide the moral compass by which we live our lives and make decisions: ‘doing the right thing’ because it’s the right thing to do. However, there are several reasons why unethical behaviour continues to happen in the workplace, from individual actions and choice to industry-wide indiscretions and compromising decisions.

In this guide, we discuss the red flags to watch out for, along with practical tips and resources to safeguard your organisation and people against ethical breaches and misconduct. The guide draws on – and complements – the latest CIPD research, and features nine areas of action employers can prioritise to ensure they behave ethically. If you’re an employer or manager looking to foster and encourage ethical behaviour in your organisation, you’ll find the practical advice you need in this guide.

https://www.cipd.co.uk/knowledge/culture/ethics/ethics-work-guide

About CPD

Continuing professional development (CPD) is defined as learning experiences which help you develop and improve your professional practice. This can include building on your strengths, as well as developing yourself where you have capability gaps. That’s why it’s so important for you, and why we’re committed to providing you with as many opportunities, tools and resources to embed CPD into the flow of your work and life.

https://www.cipd.org/uk/learning/cpd/about/

Please note that the purpose of this insight is to link you to CIPD’s research and evidence within the subject area, so that you can engage with the latest thinking. It is not provided to replace the study required as part of the learning or as formative assessment material.

Preparation for the Tasks:

• At the start of your assessment, you are encouraged to plan your work
  with your assessor and where appropriate agree milestones so that they can help
  you monitor your progress.
• Refer to the indicative content in the unit to guide and support your evidence.
• Pay attention to how your evidence is presented.
• Make sure that the evidence generated for this assessment remains your own
  work.
• Completing and acting on formative feedback from your assessor.
• Reflecting on your own experiences of learning opportunities and continuing professional development.
• Reading the CIPD Insight, Fact Sheets and related online material on these topics.

You will also benefit from:

Task – draft material for a

Code of Ethical and Professional Practice.

For this assessment you should assume that you work in a people practice team in a medium sized organisation. 

The People Practice Director has decided to introduce a ‘Code of Ethical and Professional Practice’ for the team, and they would like everyone to contribute to this. 

For your part, the Director would like you to explain your thoughts in relation to five key aspects of ethical and professional practice at work. These are:

• values and how they impact behaviour
• conforming with legislation
• working inclusively
• being inquisitive about the world of work
• being pro-active in continued professional development (CPD).

To structure your response, they have set five questions (see below), one for each of the five aspects of practice. They have asked that you respond clearly to the questions, including any examples or references that you think will be helpful.

1) Please explain:

a) ethical principles’ and how these can inform the way people behave at work.

b) professional values’ and how these can inform the way people behave at work. (AC 1.1) 

2) Please give three examples of how you, as a member of the people practice team, conform with the Equality Act 2010 (or any updates), or regulation and law relating to ethics and professional practice in your own country. (AC 1.2) 

3) Please summarise different ways people practitioners can demonstrate respectful and inclusive working in relation to:

a) contributing views and opinions

b) clarifying problems or issues

c) working effectively as part of a team (AC 2.1)

4) Please provide three recommendations for how people practice team members can find out about current issues and developments in the world of work and people practice. (AC 2.2)

5) Briefly explain how people practitioners can be proactive in their approach to continued professional development (CPD), using your own approach as an example. (AC 2.3)

Your response to this question should be supported by a copy of your own CPD Record, which must detail:

• at least three development activities you have undertaken within the last two years

• your reflections on what you learned from each activity and how that learning has

impacted your professional practice or behaviour.

Present your CPD record as an attachment, either in the form of a formal/structured CPD Record or as pages from the CIPD ‘My CPD Reflections’ tool or another appropriate format as agreed with your centre. (AC 2.3)

Your evidence must consist of:

• A written response to questions 1 – 5.

      (Approximately 2000 words, refer to CIPD word count policy).

• A CPD Record.

(Not included in word count).

 Assessment Criteria Evidence Checklist

You may find the following checklist helpful to make sure that you have included the required evidence to meet the task. This is not a mandatory requirement as long as it is clear in your submission where the assessment criteria have been met.

Declaration of Authentication

Declaration by learner

3CO03 Core behaviours for people professionals

Assessment Criteria marking descriptors.

Assessors will mark in line with the following assessment criteria (AC) marking descriptors, and will indicate where the learner sits within the marking band range for each AC.

Assessors must provide a mark from 1 to 4 for each assessment criteria within the unit. Assessors should use the mark descriptor grid as guidance so they can provide comprehensive feedback that is developmental for learners. Please be aware that not all the mark descriptors will be present in every assessment criterion, so assessors must use their discretion in making grading decisions.

The grid below shows the range for each unit assessment result based on total number of marks awarded across all assessment criteria. 

To pass the unit assessment learners must achieve a 2 (Low Pass) or above for each of the assessment criteria.

The overall result achieved will dictate the outcome the learner receives for the unit, provided NONE of the assessment criteria have been failed or referred.

Please note that learners will receive a Pass or Fail result from the CIPD at unit level. Referral grades can be used internally by the centre.