The Code applies to all aspects of trainer activities by subject, group of persons and time.

The basic principles mentioned in this Code are general and to be followed by all members of the network regardless of any personal characteristics, circumstances or specifics.

The Code of Ethics of the KDK network is a set of professional, cultural, moral and ethical norms and rules that accomplish rules of professional ethics regulated by legislation of Ukraine in force, which contribute to the uniting of the network participants into a single team and create environment for implementing the mission and strategic goals of the network.

Goals and tasks of training and consulting activities, the values ​​of the network require the trainer to be maximally independent in usage of his professional rights and responsibilities. This suggests prevention from any external influence, pressure or interference in training activity of government bodies, political parties, other trainers, etc., as well as from the influence of the personal interests of the trainer.

Trainer is obliged to use all available knowledge and professional skills in his activity. The Coordinating Board of the network protects the trainer's professional rights and interests within its competence and powers.

In their activities, trainers comply with the legislation of Ukraine in force. Activities aimed at breaching the law, facilitating activity of other persons aimed at breaching the law are strictly forbidden.

Trainer has no right to use means and methods contradicting the current legislation of Ukraine or this Code in his professional activity. 

In his professional activity, the trainer is obliged to take into account interests of the network, to promote its implementation and development. Activities aimed at discrediting the image of the network are prohibited.

A conflict of interest is a contradiction between personal interests and professional rights of the trainer and the trainers' responsibilities to consumers, which may affect the objectivity or impartiality in the performance of trainers' professional duties, as well as whether or not performing training activities.

Members of the network do not support any business relations with partners or clients that are initiated by personal interests and/or may be in question according to business ethics. Trainers do not enter into business relations and do not act in the interests of any business, if these actions conflict with the network member's duties or in conflict with the interests of the network.

Network participants try to resolve conflicts that may arise between trainers, their professional groups and interest groups by searching for a common goal and coordinating activities aimed at achieving it. Network members try to avoid conflicts of interest. If it occurs, they resolve it through negotiations, including involving other units of the network and individual members as mediators.

Members of the network follow the established order of communication and written communication as working with state authorities, other partner institutions and organizations. Solving personal problems on behalf of the network or covering by the interests and functions of the network is prohibited. 

Compliance with the principle of confidentiality is a necessary and most important base for a trust between the coach, business as consumers of training services and the network, without it the proper implementation of training activities is impossible. Therefore, maintaining the confidentiality of any information that the trainer received from the business entity or within the network, including personal data, is mandatory. The confidentiality is not limited in time.

In particular, the principle of confidentiality applies to any information that became known to the trainer due to professional activity, the content of any communication, correspondence and other communications (including the use of electronic means) of the trainer with the business entity or the person who asked for assistance, the content of advice, consultations, explanations, documents, information, materials, things, information, prepared, collected, received by the trainer or provided to the consumer as professional assistance or other types of training activity and the fact of a person asking a trainer/consultant for help. The trainer, including the arroval of the business entity, determines the extent of confidentiality of the information belonging to him or received by him and announces it. Disclosure of information recognised confidential is prohibited under any circumstances.

Trainer creates conditions and takes measures for the storage of documents and information, including those transferred to him by the business entity, other participants and units of the network, and other materials that contain confidential information.

Taking into account the social importance and complexity of a trainers' professional duties, a trainer is obliged to have a high level of competence and professional training, thorough knowledge of current legislation and practice of its application, acquaintance with styles and formats, methods and techniques of training skills, and oratory art.

Trainer has to improve his professional level and qualifications, have sufficient information about changes in current legislation and be honest in his relations with consumers.

If the network members are unable to provide the full range of services requested by the business, they involve other trainers and partner organizations of the network (UCCI, its regional offices, central and regional higher schools, etc.) which are able to provide or organize the provision of relevant services.

With all activities, the trainer has to assert respect for the profession of trainer and consultant, promote awareness of business and society about the essence, professional standards and ethical principles of training activity. The trainer has to follow this principle in all spheres of activity: professional, public, journalistic and other.

The network participant is obliged to comply with the decisions of the Coordinating Board, adopted according to its competence.

A member of the network has to refrain from actions aimed at limiting the independence of the training profession, honor, dignity and business reputation of his colleagues, diminishing the prestige of training activity.

Criticism of activities, decisions, the order of the network activity, its units, working and self-governing bodies, members of the network, etc. is not to be aimed at spoiling the authority of the network and the training profession. Expression of a point of view in a humiliating or derogatory manner, which defames the honor, dignity and business reputation of a person, as well as the dissemination of false information, calls for stopping implementation of decisions of network units, are not allowed.

Discrimination of network members and business people on political, religious, national, age and gender grounds is excluded.

Threats and blackmail against colleagues or customers of the network in any place and at any time, offensive attitude towards colleagues, customers, rudeness during communication are unacceptable.

The network's activity is based on establishing of long-term, stable and mutually beneficial relations between the network members and business. The network recognises as members all paople seeking to engage in training activities on food safety issues. Clients of the network are enterprises and organizations of any form of ownership, legal and natural persons-entrepreneurs, self-employed persons. The network is aimed at providing high quality customer service in accordance with international standards.

The network seeks to establish long-term partnerships.

The network members have the right to advertise their professional activities in compliance with current legislation and the norms of this Code.

Advertising materials on the training activities are to be objective, reliable, clear and easy for understanding. They are to be free of hints, ambiguities or create a basis for misleading potential consumers of training services, and also to meet reasonable aesthetic requirements.

Advertising materials distributed publicly by the network participants cannot evaluate the trainer, contain criticism by trainers of other trainers, information that can discredit activities and achievements of other network participants and the network itself.

Trainers bear personal responsibility for the authenticity of advertising materials.

Competition among trainers is concentrated in the network and covers issues of qualifications, content and form of educational and consulting products, style of presenting information to the consumer.

At the consumer level, evident competition between trainers is not allowed. It is unacceptable to directly or indirectly encourage consumers to change trainers, if there are no objective reasons to believe that further assistance to the client by another trainer may harm his interests.

The network and its units form, implement and support the price policy in the market of educational and consulting services. The price policy of the network is not to be discriminatory, in case of detection of dumping, appropriate investigations are conducted.

The size and procedure of payment for training and consulting services is subject to agreement between the trainer and his client. Network participants must be registered as taxpayers and pay taxes properly.

The corporate culture of the network requires mutual trust and cooperation from trainers for the benefit of their business, including avoiding artificial generation or deepening conflicts between consumers of training services. Relations between network participants is to be built on the principles of mutual respect, compliance with the rights and guarantees of professional activity, and comply with the principles and rules stipulated by the corporate documents of the network.

Trainer must prevent statements about another trainer that influences his honor and dignity, harm his business reputation, tactless and humiliating statements, and spread false information about other trainers.

The appeal (statement, complaint, etc.) to the Ethics Committee is an appropriate format for the response to the illegal or unethical behavior of another trainer, which has caused or may cause damage to the interests of the trainer and the network. Other forms of protection of rights and interests of the network members are provided by the current legislation of Ukraine.

Each trainer has to undertake efforts to peacefully resolve a conflict involving another member of the network.

Trainer has to avoid posting in the mass media or dissemination in other ways (including through the Internet, social networks) of information that influences the honor and dignity of another trainer, disgraces him or the network.

Trainer has not to discuss with other persons information related to the personal life of another trainer, his financial situation, origin, race or nationality and other private circumstances.

Trainer has not to use anti-advertising to another trainer or to use this method in advertising own activities.

In public, scientific and journalistic activities, the network member has to comply with his professional duties, in particular those arising from this Code.

The trainer has not to use information, confidentiality of which is protected by this Code and the legislation of Ukraine, in his public, scientific or journalistic activities, without getting consent of persons interested in the non-disclosure of such information.

In his journalistic materials (articles, publications, etc.) and public speeches, the trainer has not to spread information that disgraces the honor, dignity or business reputation of other trainers, consumers of training services or the prestige of the network.

When contacting mass media, Internet resources and social networks, network participants have to follow its image, act in accordance with the network's rules of conduct.

In social networks, on Internet forums and in other electronic media, a network member may post, distribute, comment only on the information, the use of which does not harm the authority of trainers and the network as a whole.

When using social networks, Internet forums and other forms of communication, the network participant has to comply with his professional duties provided by the current legislation of Ukraine and this Code.

Inadmissible actions in the network include: 

• neglecting the network values, 

• disobeying or refusing to comply with verbal or written agreements, orders of coordinators, 

• acts of vandalism that harm the reputation of the network or the property of colleagues, clients, partners, 

• unauthorized acquisition of property, including intellectual property, or liquidation of such property, including documents without prior approval, 

• unauthorized use of methodological materials for personal purposes, including for profit, 

• forgery or providing false information when joining and while participating, 

• providing false information about education and qualifications, making changes to company records and other documents, 

• violating non-disclosure agreements, information, including personal, 

• racial, religious or other based harassment, 

• immoral or obscene behavior, 

• unauthorized placement, removal or modification of advertisements on the network, 

• offensive attitude towards a colleague, client, 

• indifference or rudeness during communication.

The Coordinating Board takes care of ensuring the real independence of trainers in the implementation of their professional activities, promotes and monitors the observance of trainers ethics by all participants of the network. The Coordinating Board of the network and its members are to set an example of strict following the general principles and corporate ethics of the network, not allow actions or inactions that are in question, show respect for both the professional rights of trainer and the right of each trainer to participate in professional self-governance.

The Committee on Ethics and Membership is the working body for ensuring the implementation of the norms of this Code.

The network members are to discuss information about violations of this code with the violators to find out the reasons for inappropriate behavior first, and then, if necessary, bring it to public discussion. The discussion of the violation is to be conducted correctly, the notification of the violation for the public is to be done in compliance with the norms of business communication ethics.

For violation of trainers ethics, refusal to comply with the norms of this Code, measures of disciplinary responsibility is to be applied to the trainer in the manner prescribed by the decision of the Committee on Ethics and Membership, namely a remark, a written warning, an obligation to undergo training and certification, restrictions on access to resources, exclusion from the network, including with the publication of this decision - as an extreme case.

Violation of the Code of Ethics, which caused serious damage, in addition to the application of disciplinary measures, may lead to initiation of a civil or criminal case in accordance with the norms of the current legislation of Ukraine.

Colleagues are reporting discovered facts of violations of the Code to the Committee on Ethics and Membership. Failure to report a violation is also considered as a violation of this Code.

The function of interpretation of the norms of this Сode is put  on the Ethics and Membership Committee. In case of claims, doubts or a conflict situation, the final interpretation of the norms of this Code is put on the Coordinating Board of the network.

Network participants try to avoid conflicts and confrontations both in the network and in relations with consumers, authorities, other structures and layers of society. As a conflict occurs, the network members try to resolve it on their own or through the mediation of other network members.

In case resolving the conflict on their own is impossible, a special temporary structure (commission, working group, etc.) is formed within the network. If such a network unit appears not able to resolve the conflict, the case is referred to the Ethics and Membership Committee, whose decision is recognised as final.