Gifts:
The acceptance of gifts may put a member of staff under an obligation to the donor and these rules shall apply:
- Only token gifts may be accepted if they have a general "purpose" such as a launch of a product or service, or are a Christmas gift, etc. Staff members may not accept any gift connected to a specific story before it is written.
- Gifts worth more than R100 may not be accepted by any member of The Star. If such a gift has been delivered and its return could be awkward or misconstrued, it should be given to the Editor who will decide what should be done with it.
- A standard letter of acknowledgement must be sent to donors. This letter will be written by the Editor.
Hospitality
Staff members who receive tickets/invitations to sporting and cultural events (such as golf days) must declare these to their head of department, who will maintain a list of these invitations and who has accepted them. The head of department must approve attendance of such an event and so inform the editor.
Only one additional ticket for a partner should be accepted.
Free or subsidised services
Staff members may not accept any free or subsidised service without the approval of the editor.
Subsidised services courtesy of the company (e.g. corporate rates at hotels, reduced M-Net subscriptions) are acceptable. If a staff member needs a service to perform his/her job (e.g. cellphone or satellite TV), the company should pay.
Reviews
Staff tasked with reviewing may accept books, CDs, computer software and movie and theatre tickets for review purposes. However, the company must pay the bills for restaurant reviews.
Vehicles
Your attention is drawn to this clause in The Star's Code of Ethics: "No individual may accept the loan of a vehicle, except for test-drive purposes".
The Editor must approve such loans.
Consultancy, Promotional and Freelance Work
To avoid any conflicts of interests, or the appearance thereof, you may not accept ANY outside work without the permission of the Editor, or the executive designated by him.
This rule is contained in The Star's Code of Ethics, namely: "Staff may only accept outside commissions, part-time employment or freelance work for other publications with the knowledge and consent of the editor".
If permission to do outside work is granted, remember that such work may not be done during working hours or using company resources.
