There may be situations when disclosure is necessary to avoid putting the Church into disrepute. In every situation an individual, congregation, parish or affiliation of the Church should ask itself if disclosure or non-disclosure helps to avoid putting the Church into disrepute. A good place to start is by looking at Principle 11 of the Privacy Act 2020.

An organisation may generally only disclose personal information for the purpose for which it was originally collected or obtained. Sometimes other reasons for disclosure are allowed, such as disclosure for a directly related purpose or if the person in question gives their permission for the disclosure.

For instance, an organisation may disclose personal information when:

· the information was gathered for this purpose

· the person concerned authorises the disclosure

· the information is to be used in a way that does not identify the person concerned

· disclosure is necessary to avoid endangering someone’s health or safety

· disclosure is necessary to uphold or enforce the law.

In any given event or situation, due diligence and prudence should be exercised to help protect individuals disclosing the information and avoid putting the Church into disrepute. If in doubt, seek guidance and assistance. Expertise is available from the Connexional Office.

The retention of information due to the Privacy Act is different from when you need to make a disclosure to protect the Church or avoid putting the Church into disrepute. For example, by exercising sound judgment on reasonable grounds to make a disclosure to avoid a conflict of interest or raise awareness of a potential conflict is good practice to avoid putting the Church and any other person into disrepute.

Under employment law when an employee’s conduct might reasonably be viewed by the employer as having a negative impact on the reputation of the employer’s business, the employer may consider dismissal for serious misconduct. The employer does not need to prove that there is actual damage to the business – only the potential for damage. For example, if the employer is mentioned when the conduct is referred to in the media.

If the employer decides that there may be damage to the reputation of the workplace, they must still follow a fair process with the employee in relation to taking disciplinary action. The question for the employer is whether a decision to dismiss (or take other action) is one which a fair and reasonable employer could have taken in the circumstances.

If an organisation is sensitive to public opinion and business interests may be hurt because of employee misconduct, it is important to make sure that employees know that certain standards must be met. Public servants and more senior staff are often held to a higher standard of conduct.

Employers may consider putting a clause in their employment agreements to make it clear to all employees that the employer may dismiss an employee if their conduct outside work brings the employer into disrepute or for other specified reasons.

No one is above the law so when in doubt it is better to seek advice rather than wait for something to happen. We can avoid this by seeking consultation and disclosure to avoid sticky situations ahead of time before the Church or organisation is put into disrepute.

Early identification and acknowledging what may constitute serious misconduct is important. Equally important is knowing how to avoid misconduct before it occurs. Thus, the best practice if in doubt is prevention. Don't get involved if you are unsure whether an activity poses a conflict or puts another into disrepute. Take action to reduce the risk or harm and if in doubt, disclose information about the situation and follow work ethical standards.