CIPD 5CO03 Professional Behaviours and Valuing People Learner Assessment Brief June 2025

Learner Assessment Brief

Assessment ID / CIPD_5CO03_25_01

Level 5 Associate Diploma in

• People Management
• Organisational Learning and Development

Version 1 - Released June 2025
Expires June 2026
Study Centre information only: Last moderation window is September 2026

Centre number:	5		5			1
Centre name:	Bradfield Learning & Development Ltd
Learner number (1st 7 digits of CIPD Membership number):
Learner surname:
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Unit code:	5CO03
Unit title:	Professional behaviours and valuing people
Assessment ID:	CIPD_5CO03_25_01
Assessment start date:
Assessment submission date:
First resubmission date for centre marking – if applicable:
Second resubmission date for centre marking – if applicable:
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5CO03 Professional Behaviours and Valuing People

This unit focuses on how applying core professional behaviours such as ethical practice, courage and inclusivity can build positive working relationships and support employee voice and well-being. It considers how developing and mastering new professional behaviours and practice can impact performance.

CIPD’s insight

We provide you with this information from our website to connect you with our research and insights on the topic, so you can explore our latest thinking.  It is not intended to replace the learning and formative assessment provided by your Study Centre.

HR and standards (January 2025)

This factsheet explains what British and International standards in HR are and why they matter. It introduces the British and International HR standards already published or under development and outlines the CIPD involvement in their development. Whether or not organisations have a dedicated HR team, they will at some point need guidance on ethical and effective human resource management practice in areas such as workforce planning, recruitment, equality, diversity and inclusion, learning and development, and human capital reporting. British and International standards provide such guidance. International experts develop them, in collaboration with key stakeholders. These standards advocate responsible people management practices and support the organisations that adopt them to improve their organisational resilience and sustainability. 

https://www.cipd.co.uk/knowledge/strategy/hr/standards-factsheet

Ethical practice and the role of people professionals (November 2024)

Scandals involving workplace harassment and poor treatment of workers have highlighted what can happen when ethics aren’t integral to the way an organisation operates. Having unique access to staff and opportunities to influence an organisation’s strategy and the way it manages its workforce; people professionals are uniquely placed within an organisation. They can support the embedding of principled decision-making into daily practice. Ethics are at the heart of professionalism. To create cultures of transparency and trust, practitioners should demonstrate strong standards of integrity when advising business leaders.

This factsheet explores what ethical practice means and why it matters in an organisational context. It outlines the trade-offs involved in upholding ethical values and the challenges faced by people professionals. Finally, it looks at the profession’s role in creating ethical organisational cultures.

https://www.cipd.org/uk/knowledge/factsheets/ethics-role-hr-factsheet/

Ethics at work: an employer’s guide (February 2024)

Ethical values provide the moral compass by which we live our lives and make decisions. They also highlight why organisations should focus on creating a shared ethical culture where employees feel empowered to do the right thing rather than simply following a set of rules.

The way we make decisions is important for organisations because wrong or badly implemented decisions can significantly impact people’s lives and the reputation of organisations. But when we make decisions based on good principles, and live by good values, we can improve the lives of others and their experiences at work.

In setting out standards for the people profession, the CIPD’s Profession Map  includes ethics under ‘Core behaviours’, describing ethical practice as:

"Building trust by role-modelling ethical behaviour and applying principles and values consistently in decision-making."

Therefore, it’s vital that people professionals can define ethical behaviour, identify unethical behaviour, and take steps to create a shared ethical culture accordingly.

In this guide, we discuss the red flags to watch out for, along with practical tips and resources to safeguard your organisation and people against ethical breaches and misconduct. The guide draws on – and complements  – CIPD research, and features nine areas of action employers can prioritise to ensure they behave ethically. Please note, individual red flags may not in themselves indicate unethical behaviour, but several may be a sign of a wider issue.

https://www.cipd.co.uk/knowledge/culture/ethics/ethics-work-guide

Equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in the workplace (August 2024)

Promoting and delivering EDI in the workplace is an essential aspect of good people management. It’s about creating working environments and cultures where every individual can feel safe, experience a sense of belonging, and is empowered to achieve their full potential.  Whilst legal frameworks vary across different countries, in the UK the Equality Act 2010 provides legal protection for nine protected characteristics: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation. However, an effective EDI strategy should go beyond legal compliance and take an intersectional (that a person's different intersecting identities can advantage or disadvantage them) approach to EDI, which will add value to an organisation, contribute to the wellbeing and equality of outcomes and impact on all employees. Things to consider include: accent, age, caring responsibilities, colour, culture, visible and invisible disability, gender identity and expression, mental health, neurodiversity, physical appearance, political opinion, pregnancy and maternity/paternity and family status and socio-economic circumstances, amongst other personal characteristics and experiences. This factsheet explores what workplace equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) means, and how an effective strategy is essential to an organisation’s business objectives. It looks at the rationale for action and outlines steps organisations can take to implement and manage a successful EDI strategy, from recruitment, selection, retention, communication, performance management and training, to addressing workplace behaviour and evaluating progress. Explore our viewpoints on age diversity, disability, gender equality, race inclusion, religion and belief, and sexual orientation, gender identity and reassignment. 

https://www.cipd.co.uk/knowledge/fundamentals/relations/diversity/factsheet#6428

Preparation for the Tasks

• make sure you understand your Study Centre's instructions on how to complete and submit your assessment.
• watch the supporting video for this unit: Link to follow.
• read the CIPD’s word count policy which your Study Centre will provide for you. Remember that your work will be referred if you go over the unit word count.

Tasks

You must complete two tasks. The first one requires you to answer 6 questions, referring to the case study, about the ‘purpose and value of the people professional’. Your answers should respond accurately to the questions and should be informed by wider reading from key academic texts, articles and relevant publications.

For the second task, you will conduct a professional review of your own strengths, weaknesses and development areas.

Please ensure that your work is presented clearly, typically using sub-headings or AC references to link your responses to the questions, and that your work complies with the wordcount requirements stated at the end of the assessment brief. If you exceed the word count by more than 10% your work will be referred. References should be included within your answers (unless the question specifically states that these are not required) and full details presented in a reference list at the end of your assessment.

Task One - Case Study

You have recently taken up a new position as HR/L&D Adviser at Nexxobyte, a rapidly growing software development company. Nexxobyte was established two years ago by Kit, the only Director until recently joined by his new business partner, Aisha. The organisation has grown quickly and organically and currently consists of 23 software engineers (in three teams), three team managers, two administration staff and the two directors. Since joining Nexxobyte, the second director, Aisha, has been concerned about the way things are being run and has brought you in to help her make improvements. Aisha’s main concerns are the lack of standard procedures and the lack of management capabilities (none of the three team leaders had management training or experience prior to being informally allocated their roles by Kit). With Kit fully occupied in marketing and promoting the business, the team managers have been free to recruit and manage their teams as they choose, calling on the administration staff for support when needed. Consequently, the teams have been managed quite differently leading to inconsistent practice (e.g. different working arrangements and different access to paid L&D), several employee complaints and the loss of some valuable staff.

Q1. As part of her actions to improve systems and procedures at Nexxobyte, Aisha has established monthly on-site Management Team meetings to be attended by her, Kit, you and the three Team Leaders. She would like you to make a short presentation at the first meeting ‘appraising what it means to be a people professional, and some of the ways you can contribute at Nexxobyte.’

Provide a written response covering the points you would include in this presentation. (AC 1.1)

NOTE: there is no requirement to ‘present’ anything for this question - only to provide a written response.

Q2. You are excited by your new role and whilst you can see that there is a lot to do, you feel ready for the challenge.

Discuss two of your personal or ethical values that you believe will help you in your new role, and how consistently applying these will inform your people practice work at Nexxobyte. (AC 1.2)

Q3. Aisha has emphasised that she wants you to be a ‘a firm voice for people practice at Nexxobyte’. This means communicating with the management team in an informed, clear and confident way to convince them of the need for change and new ways of working. Consider why it is important to communicate in this way and two potential consequences (one for you and one for Nexxobyte) if you are unable to do so.(AC 1.3)

Q4. During a conversation with the two administration staff, you learn more about some of the problems there have been at Nexxobyte. Some of these involved unethical behaviour (one manager regularly approving attendance at expensive training events and conferences for his ‘favourite’ team members, whilst consistently refusing similar requests from others) and even some illegal activity (a former employee using Nexxobyte work time and equipment to operate his own separate business). Explain how, if you had been at Nexxobyte and aware of these two situations when they existed, you would have approached and raised them (AC 1.4)

Q5. You are pleased that your presentation at the manager’s meeting (see Q1) was well received. However, one manager has since commented in the Manager Chat group, “We don’t really need to change anything - the company is doing well financially and anyway people work much harder when they are not protected by a load of feel-good policies and procedures.” You want to respond to this comment in a professional and informative way which may help to change these views.

With reference to research or theory, argue the human and business benefits of people feeling included, valued, and fairly treated at work. (AC 2.1)

Q6. Following several of the complaints about unfair practice in relation to staff training, Aisha has asked you to devise a fair Staff Learning & Development Policy, which will include all staff members and will set out factors such as: allowable paid time for development activities, individual training budgets, type of learning activities that can be included, etc.

Discuss the steps you will take

• to make your design of the initiative fair and inclusive
• to check, after three months of implementation, that the initiative is as inclusive as you have intended.

NOTE: there is no need to devise a policy here, only to discuss how you will design it to be inclusive and how you will check inclusivity after three months. (AC 2.2)

Task two - Professional Review

Note: This task is not related to the Task 1 Case Study. It is just about you and your awareness of your own strengths, weaknesses and development areas.

To complete the task, you must complete all five activities below.

Q7. Using a combination of your own reflections and feedback from at least one other person, review your own behaviour against the six Associate-level standards for ‘Working inclusively’ in the CIPD Profession Map. https://www.cipd.org/uk/the-people-profession/the-profession-map/explore-the-profession-map/core-behaviours/working-inclusively/ Summarise your conclusions from this activity, along with a brief explanation of who you involved and how their feedback informed your review. (AC 2.3) You don't need to provide a reference or in-text citation for AC 2.3.

Q8. Research and identify two ways the people practitioner role (generalist or any specialist) is evolving. Summarise these two developments and the implications they have for your ongoing professional development. (AC 3.1)

Q9. With reference to your reflections and feedback at Q7, and your research at Q8, assess your current strengths, weaknesses and development areas in relation to people practice. (AC 3.2) You don't need to provide a reference or in-text citation for AC 3.2.

Q10. Following on from your self-assessments, identify two development activities you will undertake (or commence) in the next six months. Provide a brief explanation of the activities you have selected along with your reasons for choosing them. (AC 3.3)

You don't need to provide a reference or in-text citation for AC 3.3

Q11. Shifting your focus to development activities you have already undertaken within the last two years, reflect on the two activities (formal or informal) that you consider had the greatest impact on your behaviour and performance.

Provide your reflections, attached to your assessment, as either:

• your own format CPD record, edited to include just the two selected activities, or a report (or reports) from the CIPD ‘My CPD Reflections’ tool. (AC 3.4)
• You don't need to provide a reference or in-text citation for AC 3.4.

Your evidence must consist of:

• Written responses to questions 7-10, approximately 850 words (+/- 10%), refer to CIPD word count policy.
• A CPD Record or Report(s), as described at question 11. (Not included in word count)

Declaration of Authentication

Declaration by learner

I can confirm that:

1. this assessment is all my own work.

2. where I have used materials from other sources, they have been properly acknowledged and referenced.

3. I have not used Artificial Intelligence tools to generate content for my assessment.

I understand the consequences of malpractice and accept that any violation of this agreement may result in disciplinary action.

Learner name:

Learner signature:

(This must be a true signature, so a handwritten signature, or a photo or scan of a handwritten signature, or an e-signature. A typed signature is not acceptable.)

Date of submission*

Date of first re-submission (if applicable) *

Date of second re-submission (if applicable) *

*This should be the date on which you submit your assessment for marking

*This must be a true signature, so a handwritten signature, or a photo or scan of a handwritten signature, or an e-signature. A typed signature is not acceptable.
 
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