All UK-based businesses, or businesses with operations in the UK, must comply with the Bribery Act 2010, regardless of their size or sector.
The Bribery Act prohibits bribery and corruption and makes it illegal for individuals and commercial organisations to give or receive a bribe for transactions in the UK and abroad.
The Bribery Act establishes four key offences. These are:
- Bribing. Offering, promising, or giving of a bribe to another person (section 1).
- Receiving a bribe. Requesting, agreeing to receive, or accepting a bribe (section 2).
- Bribing a foreign public official. Bribery of a foreign (non-UK) public official (section 6).
- Failing to prevent bribery. Failure by commercial organisations to prevent bribery committed by their associated persons to obtain or retain business, or an advantage in the conduct of business (section 7).
Under the Bribery Act, companies are required to prevent bribery offences in their operations.
If an organisation can demonstrate that it has appropriate procedures in place to prevent bribery, it has a defence to the section 7 offence.
Here, our experienced Regulation and Compliance Officers for regulated businesses give their top tips to ensure companies meet their obligations under the law.
Six principles should underpin a commercial organisation’s response to preventing bribery, according to official government guidance.
If a company can demonstrate that these are in place, this will act as a defence to a charge under section 7 of the Bribery Act 2010.
The six principles are:
- Proportionality.
The action an organisation should take to mitigate bribery should be proportionate to the level of risk it faces. Large multinational corporations who operate in overseas markets where bribery is prevalent will need a different level of defence than a small company exposed to a lower level of risk.
- Top-level Commitment.
Companies must demonstrate that those at the top of the organisation are invested in rolling out the appropriate policies and procedures to ensure their organisation conducts its business without bribery.
Company owners, directors and other employees in high-level executive and managerial positions should be able to show that they have actively promoted a zero-tolerance policy to bribery and have been personally involved in taking the necessary action to address any bribery risks.
- Risk Assessment.
Organisations should be able to demonstrate that they have undertaken a risk assessment of the bribery risks they face, for example they have considered the risk posed by the markets they operate in and the people they do business with.
- Due Diligence.
Government guidance states that knowing who companies are dealing with can help to protect an organisation from taking on people who might be less than trustworthy.
Businesses should consider undertaking checks before engaging others to represent them in business dealings.
- Communication and Training.
Commercial organisations are required to ensure that their bribery prevention policies and procedures are “embedded and understood throughout the organisation through internal and external communication, including training, that is proportionate to the risks it faces”.
- Monitoring and Review.
A business should be able to show that it monitors and reviews procedures designed to prevent bribery by persons associated with it and makes improvements where necessary. These should be adapted at appropriate times, for example if a business enters a new market.
RACO’s Bribery Act Compliance Service
RACO works with all types of businesses to create bespoke procedures that deliver active management for bribery prevention.
Our Bribery Act compliance services for regulated businesses includes:
- Independent and impartial advice and guidance on events, donations, gifts and rewards.
- Gift and entertainment register management.
- Policy drafting and maintenance.
- Process management for approval of gifts and entertainment.
- Generation of documentation to accept or provide gifts and entertainment to ensure there is no overlay of bribery.
- Auditing.
- Directors’ report of compliance (delivered annually).
- Training.
It is possible for any business to unwittingly fall foul of the Bribery Act. This is why our experienced team at RACO provides all the support and guidance possible to prevent it.
Compliance Experts
To find out more about how RACO can help you, call us on 0203 985 8550, email us at info@regulationandcomplianceoffice.co.uk or complete an enquiry form.
