Ethics L3 Flashcards
When was the RICS founded?
1868
When did the RIC receive its royal charter?
1881
What does RICS stand for?
Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
Who is the current CEO of the RICS?
Justin Young
Who is the current president of the RICS?
Ann Grey
How many members are there?
137,500 members
What is a royal charter?
Gives a company independent legal standing and is granted by the crown
What is the structure of the RICS?
- The Royal Charter and Bye-Laws - Governed under the terms of the Royal Charter, it was amended in 2020. (amendments enabled a more globally diverse Governing Council, a new role of “Chair of Governing Council” and Established a new “Standards and Regulation” Board.
- Governing Council - Over 20 members and provides direction, strategy and management.
- The Standards and Regulation Board - Regulatory Functions eg. tribunal, Dispute Resolution Appointments, Assessments, CPD etc. They all resigned in June 2023 and there is currently an interim board.
- (both at same level) - The Management Board - Audit, Finance, Knowledge
- 17 Specialist Professional Groups.
What was the Levitt Report?
In 2021 Alison Levitt provided an independent review following the commissioning of a treasury Management audit. She commented that there was no clarity, structure or purpose to the RICS and so another independent review was commissioned to look into this.
When was the Bichard Review published?
June 2022
What did the Bichard report look into?
Looked into the purpose, governing structure, future culture and strategy.
How many recommendations did Lord Bichard make?
36
What recommendations did the Bichard Review make?
1.New management board
2. new strategy and regulatory board0
3. elections to be held for RICS committees
4. amendment to royal charter
5. MATRICS reinvigorated
6. diversity and inclusion panel
7. Public Interest Panel to be made
8. review into public interest piece every 5 years
9. Fund set up for public interest activity to undertake pro-bono work and scholarships for students in communities that are not well represented in surveying.
How many of the recommendations has the RICS said it will adopt following the Bichard Review?
All of them
What has the RICS done so far to adopt the changes recommended in the Bichard Review?
- April 2023 - new governing council elections
- April 2023 - Support package for members, including CPD events
- New diversity equality and inclusion panel chair
- new sustainability panel chair
What are the 4 rules for members regarding CPD?
- 20 hours per year
- 10 hours must be formal
- Rules of conduct need to be included in CPD every 3 years
- Record your CPD by 31st Jan each year
How many hours CPD must APC candidates undertake?
48 Hours
What is “formal” cpd?
Learning where there are clear learning objectives
When did the new rules of conduct come into force?
2nd Feb 2022
What are the 5 rules of conduct?
- You must act with Honesty and Integrity and comply with obligations
- You must maintain professional competency and ensure services are provided competently
- You must provide good quality and diligent service
- You must treat others with respect and encourage diversity and inclusion
- You must act in the public interest, take responsibility and prevent harm and maintain public confidence
What are members obligations under the Rules of Conduct 2022?
- Record and do CPD
- Cooperate with the RICS
- Provide information to RICS promptly
What are firms obligations under the Rules of Conduct 2022
1 Have Complaints Handling Procedure with ADR and complaints log
2. Have PI cover
3. have professional arrangements in place if a sole trader
4. cooperate with the RICS
5. Share info with RICS promptly
6. Display regulated by RICS on material
7. Report to RICS what is required to be reported each year (i.e PI cover, annual return etc).
What are some example behaviours in the Rules of Conduct for Rule 1?
- Do not mislead by action or omission
- Do not be improperly influenced
- Open and transparent about fees
What are some example behaviours in the Rules of Conduct for Rule 2?
- Only undertake work they have knowledge skills and resources to carry out competently
- reflect on work they have undertaken and consider how they might apply learnings to future work
- Supervise employees undertaking work for them and ensure they have the correct knowledge skills and resources
- keep up to date and comply with relevant legislation etc.
What are some example behaviours in the Rules of Conduct for Rule 3?
- Understand clients objectives
- Undertake work in a timely manner
- Keep proper records
- Encourage sustainable solutions
- understand risk and benefits of using technology
What are some example behaviours in the Rules of Conduct for Rule 4?
- Treat others with courtesy
- Do not bully
- Work cooperatively
- Develop inclusive culture in workplace and identify and address unconscious bias
What are some example behaviours in the Rules of Conduct for Rule 5?
- respond to complaints promptly, openly and professionally
- manage professional fiannces responsibly
- Do not dissuade complainants from approaching ADR
- Public statements made by the firm do not undermine public confidence
Can you give me two examples of the case study scenarios outlined in the Rules of Conduct?
You have seen worrying social media content from a member
1. Rule 1 applies - must be honest
2. Rule 4 applies - you must not bully
3. Rule 5 applies - must not make statements which undermine the profession
Your client is breaking the law and dumping hazardous waste
1. Rule 1 - protect confidential information and only disclose what is necessary or permitted by law
2. Question practices which are not right
Why did the Rules of Conduct get changed?
- Simpler to understand
- Gives clear examples and illustrations
- Greater focus on respect and diversity and inclusion
- Understanding evolving technology use of data and benefits and risks
- Tackling global challenges, ethical practice has important role in sustainable development and climate change
What was the old document hierarchy?
International standards - mandatory
Professional Statements - mandatory
Practice statements - mandatory
Guidance Notes - not mandatory and best practice
What is the new document hierarchy?
RICS Professional Standards - Mandatory
RICS practice information - not mandatory
What is the RICS decision tree?
Framework of questions when you are faced with an ethical dilemma
What sort of questions does the decision tree ask you?
- Do you have facts?
- Is it legal?
- Is it in line with the rules of conduct?
- Have you consulted with others?
- Do you have clear reasoning?
- Are you informed?
- Would you be happy for your decision to become public?
What must all terms of engagement include?
- fee basis
- expenses and how they are to be calculated
- complaints handling procedure
(there are more for Valuation work in line with the red book).
What must to ensure before accepting an instruction?
- Check you are competent
- You have done a conflict check
- you have signed terms of engagement
What does the consumer rights act do?
Allows a 14 day cooling off period from when a contract is signed, i.e client can withdraw from services 14 days after TOEs signed
What must you avoid in terms of setting your fee structure?
fee fixing
aggressive fee cutting
colluding with competition
Why might you turn down an instruction?
- Not competent
- client refuses to sign terms of engagement
- insurance cap cant be agreed
- it would be a PR nightmare
- Professional indemnity doesnt cover
- Sanctions
- you dont have sufficient facts to do the work
- there is a conflict of interest which cant be managed
How high does client confidentiality go in terms of the RICS Governance structure?
RICS Byelaws require us to maintain confidentiality
What are the main two laws relating to personal data?
The Data Protection Act 2018
The UK General data Protection Regulations 2016
Who should you have to deal with personal data under the Data Protection Act 2018?
A data controller
What must a data controller do?
Decide how and why personal data is processed
What is the principle of data accountability?
Ensure that your organisation prove to the Information Comissioners Office that they comply with regulations
If there is a security breach, under the data protection act, who must to report to and what are the timescales?
Report to ICO and do it within 72 hours of the breach
What are the fines for not complying with the data protection act?
4% global turnover or £17.5 million whichever is the higher
What are your rights under the Data Protection Act?
- Right to be informed
- Right to access
- Right to rectification
- Right to erasure
- Right to restrict processing
- Right to data portability
- Right to object
- Right to not be subject to automated decision making
Are you still required to keep confidentiality on information you received prior to instruction?
Yes
How long must you hold information before you can get rid of it?
6 years and must be kept securely
What is the history of the Data protection Act?
EU used to govern it, but since BREXIT all the EU guidance was converted into the UK GDPR. It is now supplemented by the Data Protection Act.
What does the Data Protection Act 2018 do?
Creates a single protection regime and empowers individuals to take control of how their data is used by giving them 8 rights.
When would it be necessary to password protect spreadsheets containing personal data?
to protect privacy
to keep safe from corruption
to limit data to the intended user
What is the RICS guidance on Client money handling and what document status does it have?
professional standard, Client Money Handling 2019