Code of Conduct

Role of the Code of Conduct

The Code of Conduct outlines the norms, rules, and responsibilities that staff members of TruckersMP need to comply with to serve the community to the best of their ability. In other words, it shapes the cultural, legal, ethical, and behavioural expectations that apply to its staff members. Individual actions shape how the community views TruckersMP, which is why it is important that each staff member is aware of their personal responsibility to act according to these expectations. As a global organisation that is built on an online community, it is important to set standards and guidelines to ensure that the organisation is well represented by its members. At TruckersMP, we take reports of misconduct seriously, conducting investigations where necessary, and addressing issues appropriately. It is the personal and individual responsibility of each staff member to understand and comply with the Code of Conduct. This code defines our approach to building and sustaining a culture of ethics and integrity.

Code of Conduct

Principle 1: Integrity
TruckersMP is committed to preventing and addressing any form of ethical or legal misconduct, particularly including (but not limited to) harassment, discrimination, corruption, and violating confidentiality. This commitment refers to both the internal and external working environment and defines the foundation for the other principles. Any individual to which this code applies has a personal responsibility to ensure the code is respected, encouraged, and enforced where appropriate.

Principle 2: Confidentiality
In accordance with the Privacy Policy, TruckersMP may collect and store user’s personal information; users must be able to trust that this information is securely processed. Preserving that trust requires that each staff member respects and protects the privacy and security of that information. Access to users’ personal information is limited through dynamic permissions; these permissions are granted on a need-to-know basis and each staff member is expected and required to take responsibility to protect user data from unauthorised access. In order to protect user data, staff members are required to comply with the procedures as outlined in the internal Information Security Policy, our Privacy Policy, and the applicable data protection laws. Moreover, any form of information that staff members have access to as part of their role(s) within TruckersMP is considered confidential and must be treated as such, unless otherwise specified by their managers. Internal policies are designed to maintain the safety of confidential information and may last beyond staff employment. Any form of information that is created or shared externally from our systems must be part of official storage locations in order to ensure safe recordkeeping and prevent unauthorised access; personal user data will and may never be stored outside of the appropriate systems.

Principle 3: Inclusivity
TruckersMP is devoted to creating and maintaining a respectful, safe, and inclusive community for all our staff members and users. Individuals are to be treated fairly and respectfully and have the freedom to express themselves, regardless of who is involved or what their background is. Recruitment and internal position changes at TruckersMP are based on individual merit and qualifications that are related to professional competence and thus provide equal opportunities to equal candidates. It is strictly prohibited to discriminate on the basis of race, religion, national origin, sex, gender identity, age, or any other characteristic that is protected by law. In short, the following golden rule may be used as a guide: treat others the way you would like to be treated yourself.

Principle 4: Conflicts of interest
Considering that staff members are all part of the TruckersMP community, separating personal and professional interests can sometimes be challenging, especially when personal relationships are involved. Many of our team members engage in social activities and have established connections with friends, VTC members, partners or competitors. Having such connections could potentially result in unfair advantageous or disadvantageous treatment. A conflict of interest occurs when personal interests interfere with the professional functioning of a staff member, for instance by making decisions that favour a friend or violating internal procedures and guidelines to gain or provide an unfair advantage over other actors. Staff members should avoid using their official position or any information made available to them in the course of their duties to benefit themselves, their affiliates, or any other persons with whom they have personal or social ties. Staff members are encouraged to reassign a task to other staff members when they notice or may suspect that a conflict of interest situation could arise to guarantee unbiased and fair decisions. Non-compliance with this principle may lead to accusations of abuse of authority or even corruption in more severe cases.

Principle 5: Communication
Staff members should always remember that the community exists because of its members and that the team is devoted to serving them. Considering that the community is primarily virtual, communication takes place in online environments. An inherent difficulty of communication in online environments is that it can sometimes be challenging not to be perceived in the wrong manner, given that non-verbal communication (such as the tone of messages) cannot be effectively reflected in those environments. From a public perspective, staff members are perceived as the representatives of the organisation. The personal appearance of staff members may have a direct impact on the image of the organisation and its success. Staff members are therefore expected to always communicate professionally and responsibly, in particular in public channels that community members have access to. Messages may never contain anything that might constitute threats, intimidation, harassment or bullying. In public particularly, staff members are expected to behave as role models for users. Team managers are expected to manage their team to the best of their ability and set, abide by, and enforce behaviour standards that align with this code.

Principle 6: Reporting and Enforcement
Our mission is to provide a qualitative service to users, which is only feasible if all staff members share the responsibility to continually maintain and improve that service. Users as well as staff members are encouraged to take the initiative to step forward when they suspect that misconduct has occurred. This is important since non-compliance with the code can harm the reputation of the organisation and its community. Reports will be analysed by team managers and can be filed through the feedback system by contacting the respective management team; cases that concern Upper Staff members will be forwarded to Project Management. Discretion is guaranteed to reporters, which means that identities will remain anonymous. Please ensure to provide as much information as possible and describe the context in which the violation occurred; we can only investigate cases of which sufficient information is provided. Reports will be analysed with care, including a fact-finding phase and an investigative meeting with the staff member in question to ascertain the facts. Confirmed violations may lead to disciplinary action in a manner that the action reflects the nature and circumstances of the violation. Disciplinary actions may include warnings, temporary suspensions, demotions, and (permanent) removal from the team. In case personal data is breached, the person who has been affected will be informed and the breach will be officially reported to the respective data protection authority within 72 hours of its discovery unless the personal data breach is unlikely to result in a risk to the rights and freedoms of natural persons. While we encourage honest reporting, false reporting is considered a violation on its own and will be addressed with appropriate action.