Overview

• All staff‑network events now require approval from a senior civil servant before any planning begins.
• Events should be held outside working hours unless they directly benefit the organisation, in which case attendance needs a line manager’s permission.
• Networks must remain politically impartial and must not try to influence government policy, reflecting obligations in the Civil Service Code.
• Equality, diversity and inclusion networks are instructed to promote all viewpoints equally and to avoid being driven by a single issue.
• Breaches can lead to disciplinary action, with network activity subject to suspension or closure for non‑compliance, a response cited alongside recent media‑reported cases involving HMRC, the Ministry of Defence and the Civil Service Muslim Network.