Can my civil servant family member employ me for a project?

[Cerialkiller]

I'm a director of a limited company. (Only me, no employees) Who provides a technical service for other companies.

My family member works for a local authority has a project that needs someone with my skills and she wants to use me.

As far as I'm aware she has ticked all the boxes for using a contractor. I needed to send in a portfolio, gain approval from various departments and now I'm on their approved contractor list.

I'm concerned about legal ramifications, nepotism laws etc. Am I at risk in any way? My dealings have mostly been through my sister apart from getting set up on their system. Would any problems be on their side only or would I be better expected to get proof that they are following due process?

I've worked in a local authority before and it know that you don't need to tender for everything and for work under a certain value you can simply used one of the 'approved' contractors which is the arrangement I'm under afik.

Anyone who works for a LA knows to their core that they are dealing with the public’s money and there are higher standards for procurement and contracting practice than in the private sector. Your sister needs to find out if there is a policy in her LA on selecting an Approved Contractor and the implications of choosing a close relatives. LAs are really sensitive about acting and being seen to act very fairly and transparently regarding procurement and contractors - casual accusations of back handers and brown envelopes are rife . Personally I don’t think she should give the work to you if there are other contractors available.

Does she have to complete a declaration of interests form?

Your sister is a public (not civil) servant and needs to follow all the usual process or yes, this is fraud. Did it go for tender? Did you apply? Or is it a direct award when you have no history with the council? Has she been involved in the assessment? That’s dodgy, she should have declared an interest and it should have been assessed without her input.
you could contact the commercial team there directly. Because if she has messed this up then yes it could have serious implications for you.

Working for a government ALB I cam confirm there are a series of possible 'conflict of interest' processes your relative needs to follow.
Broadly...
They must formally declare their relationship to the provider of services before you are considered.
They cannot be involved in the selection process.
It's your relative's risk rather than yours I suspect .

Cynical answer, only if she is an MP.

But otherwise, what @Grumpyoldpersonwithcats says.

This scenario is covered in our mandatory 'anti bribery and corruption' training, which again, obviously doesn't seem to apply to MPs.

Agreed. I always find it baffling that us mere wage slaves are apparently held to a far higher standard than our Lords and Masters...

Actually there is one more potential issue in terms of employing relatives through a limited company. Any gifts/hospitality above a certain value provided by that third party may need to be declared.
You buy your relative a nice Christmas Present? This could be interpreted as a reward for your contract...

Tender isn't required below a certain amount which it won't in my case (it's not a lot of work). She has had to submit a case to include me in the 'approved' contractors list.

My concern is mainly if there can be blow back on me legally. It appears to me that due process has been followed and I have been told that it has been but could I be in trouble if it hasn't? Or would the consequences all fall on the local authority.

Obviously I'm not privy to their working practices/systems so can I be expected to know/police this as an outside contractor?

But suppose OP’s tender comes in at a competitive price and she knows her relative so will do a good job?

No she wasn't involved in the process other then putting me forward and making a case to her manager firstly. They then asked for a portfolio and business details etc to submit to the team who vet suitability of contractors and add them to the list.

I don't know if she signed a declaration of interest I can ask.

Is there any risk to me/my business? If the risk is all on the local authority then is it my responsibility to ensure they are following the law or it is reasonable for me to assume this.

Thank you I think this is what I am concerned about. She is free to take the risk if she wants but I don't want any blow back.

She's not an MP.

OP says there is no tendering process, value too low. Sister should follow processes for selecting an approved contractor.

Do her line manager and senior managers know she's your sister and is this documented formally somewhere?

My sister works in a retail chain and is not allowed to serve me if I come in to buy something. If I want a packet of chewing gum she has to call over another member of staff.

But if she worked for a local authority spending tax payers money she could put me forward and make a case for me getting 'low value' contracts that don't have to go to tender and have no oversight (and it's very easy to split up big contracts into low value ones and dodge the tender process altogether)?

Local authority ways of working absolutely stink.

So it sounds like she has followed due process and you have become an approved contractor? In this case I would say your back is covered. If it's low value she is probably operating within the letter of the law (although I'd argue not within the spirit, and wouldn't act as she has done myself).

If it went through the tender process in the correct way, there were several options on the table, they were all analysed for value in the same criteria etc. then it must be fine.

It's not like they're just doing it under the table without those higher up the chain knowing?

That’s quite a blanket statement.

I work for a local authority, this couldn’t happen in the one I work for.

I think this is the crux. Her manager knows as I've met him but I'm not sure if she has declared or needs to declare.

As others have said your DS is not a civil servant if she works for the local authority but the Nolan principles apply. She must declare as a conflict of interest- there will be a process and a plan should put in place on how the conflict will be managed. As the employee, it is on her not you to manage any issues.