Professionalism and ethics go hand in hand, and the ability to recognise and resolve ethical dilemmas is essential to remaining effective and gaining the trust of key stakeholders.

Explore our reports, guides and report to gain insights into ethics in the workplace. Listen to our podcasts to discover more about trust and how you can support ethical behaviour in the workplace.

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Factsheets

Regularly-updated factsheets provide overviews and information on a topic

One Factsheet about Ethical practice
Factsheet
Ethical practice and the role of people professionals
Explores the role people professionals play in applying ethical values to organisational practice

Guides

Designed for practitioners, our guides provide recommendations and advice on how to apply good practice in the workplace.

One Guide about Ethical practice
Guide
Ethics at work: An employer’s guide
Red flags, practical resources and action points for employers looking to foster ethical values in their organisations

Reports

Research and analysis by experts from CIPD and partner organisations

Two Reports about Ethical practice
Report
Hidden figures: the missing data from corporate reports
A study of people risk and workforce reporting by UK FTSE 100 organisations
Report
Perspectives on ethical workplace decision-making
A review focused on helping practitioners navigate their choices about designing and implementing HR systems and practices

Thought leadership

Insight and foresight from our experts in people and the world of work

Three Thought leadership about Ethical practice
Thought leadership
How can change and transformation be more ethical?
How can we be more ethical in the way we manage organisation development and change, to ensure it’s done with, not to, our workforce, asks Sally Hopper, Assistant Director of Human Resources, Hertfordshire County Council
Thought leadership
Can capitalism be saved to better the world?
Capitalism is at a crossroads, with a growing perception that business is failing its obligations to society
Thought leadership
Work needs to be a human experience
An interview with Sam Clark, MD for UK and Ireland HR at Accenture, about ditching performance ratings and why it’s important to focus on individuals

Podcasts

Listen to episodes from our podcast series on a range of topical workplace, HR and L&D issues.

One Podcast about Ethical practice
Podcast
Creating ethical workplaces
Episode 149: We explore how organisations can support ethical behaviour at work through their people management practices, job design and building ethics into the way they do business.

Webinars

Webinar recordings providing expert guidance

One Webinar about Ethical practice
Webinar
Ethics webinar series
Watch our webinar series exploring ethical practice at work

Evidence reviews

Evidence reviews enable you to ask the critical questions and use evidence for better decision-making.

One Evidence review about Ethical practice
Evidence review
Unethical workplace behaviour: Rotten apples, bad barrels and sticky situations
This report explores what drives unethical workplace behaviour, providing recommendations to build more ethical workplaces
For Members

Bitesize research

Your regular overview of current research, inspiring insights and cutting-edge ideas in bitesize

14 Bitesize research about Ethical practice
Bitesize research
Using algorithms to make decisions ethically and responsibly
Algorithms can help speed decisions and help organisations to operate more efficiently or profitably, but what are the pitfalls particularly from an ethical perspective?
For Members
Bitesize research
How do employees respond to electronic performance monitoring?
Research investigates what factors influence employees’ responses to electronic performance monitoring
For Members
Bitesize research
The ethics of meaning and purpose at work
The ethical implications of artificial intelligence (AI) for meaningful work
For Members
Bitesize research
How does employee monitoring impact trust within organisations?
A look at the role of trust in supervisor–employee relationships, and how employee monitoring may undermine this
For Members
Bitesize research
The role of emotion in professional decision-making
Making decisions when facing ethical conflicts of interest
For Members
Bitesize research
Ethics by design
Discover how to build ethical organisations
For Members
Bitesize research
An ethical dilemma
Find out more about ethics and HR
For Members
Bitesize research
Making ethics a business priority
Read the author's full recommendations here
For Members
Bitesize research
Unethical behaviour – restoring investors’ trust
Read this analysis of corporate misconduct
For Members
Bitesize research
Building reputations builds success
Read about the importance of an ethical reputation
For Members
Bitesize research
Ethical behaviour – are CEOs falling short?
Read about trends in ethical behaviour
For Members
Bitesize research
Can job insecurity fuel unethical behaviour?
Examine the practical implications of this research
For Members
Bitesize research
What stops us from acting ethically at work?
This article looks at the barriers that prevent people from acting ethically at work and explores how ethical behaviour can be cultivated in organisations
For Members
Bitesize research
Rivalry stokes the fire of unethical behaviour
Discover the costly and destructive implications of rivalry
For Members

Learning

We offer a range of evidence-based courses tauilored to suit you and your needs.
Our Essential Insights courses are free as part of the CIPD membership.

Ethical Practice Introductory Programme

This course is one of our eight Core Behaviours Introductory Programmes, which aim to provide you with the defining behaviours of our profession.

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