Tawanna Wedderburn, former chief executive of the Bermuda Health Council, will tackle workplace ethics in an upcoming Bermuda Chamber of Commerce discussion.

The chamber announced today that Ms Wedderburn will give a lunch-and-learn tackling the meaning of ethics in the workplace, the ideal ethical workplace and dealing with unethical colleagues.

It was not said whether Ms Wedderburn would discuss her experiences at the BHeC, where she alleges there was political interference leading to her termination last December.

She is now the executive director of Transcendence, a company promoting emotional wellbeing for individuals and companies through counselling, consulting, and human resource support services.

A press release from the chamber said real-life scenarios would be used in the talk to enable participants to practise ethical decision-making skills.

“Examples may include situations involving confidentiality, discrimination and harassment and conflicts of interest,” the chamber said.

Ms Wedderburn said: “Every ethical dilemma we face gives us many opportunities to improve a company’s success and promote the degree to which an employee feels happy and fulfilled at work.”

The chamber said this lunch-and-learn is the first time this type of training is being offered to companies in the non-profit and private sectors, by a local senior professional with experience in ethics consultations, who has led ethics training for several years.

Ms Wedderburn has more than 20 years’ experience in the field of mental health, having worked in hospitals in Canada and Bermuda, before leading the island’s health regulator for several years to improve the quality of healthcare in Bermuda. She sat on the hospital’s ethics committee for ten years, assisting with the sub-committee for ethical consultations, reviewing ethical policies within the hospital setting and receiving annual training from the Department of Bioethics, Dalhousie University in collaboration with the Bermuda Hospitals Board. In addition, Ms Wedderburn has taught ethics in the workplace for senior managers and managers for three years in the public sector.

This session will be held on-site in the chamber boardroom at 1 Point Pleasant Road, Hamilton on June 11, from 12.30pm to 2pm.

Tickets are $25 for chamber members and $35 for non-members and can be purchased in advance from the chamber. Call 295-4201, e-mail tcminors@bcc.bm or visit the chamber website at www.bermudachamber.bm for more information