Essential Legislation
Righttrack's Essential Legislation section covers programmes that will:
raise organisational awareness of specific legislation
help an organisation ensure it complies with
the legislation
Bribery Act 2010 Overview
The UK Bribery Act came into effect on 1 July 2011, replacing anti-bribery laws dating back to 1889, 1906, and 1916. The Bribery Act gives authorities the scope to investigate companies, senior staff and board members and hold them liable for the actions of employees or associated persons who paid or offered bribes.
Operations in countries with a high incidence of bribery and corruption present the most serious risk area under the new Act. Also certain business sectors which face higher levels of corruption, factors such as the use of agents and intermediaries, and certain types of transaction, add to those risks.
According to the Ministry of Justice, bribery could mean:
"Very generally, [bribery] is defined as giving someone a financial or other advantage to encourage that person to perform their functions or activities improperly or to reward that person for having already done so."
The key elements of this Act are:
It applies to both individuals and companies. Both UK and
foreign companies are covered,
provided they have some operations in the UK, and could be prosecuted by the
Serious Fraud Office (SFO)
It is a criminal offence for an individual to give or receive a bribe for the organisation
It is also a corporate offence if a business is found to have failed to prevent bribery
Non compliance could mean:
Individuals can face up to 10 years in prison and an unlimited fine
Companies can also face unlimited fines
Mitigation:
an organisation will not be liable if it can show it had adequate procedures in place to
prevent bribery. "Adequate procedures" may include providing anti-bribery training to
staff, carrying out risk assessments for the markets you operate in, or carrying out
due diligence on the people you deal with. While firms do not have to employ external
consultants or lawyers to help assess bribery risks, many are being advised to appoint
an ethics officer.
Client Entertaining and Travel
Hospitality is not prohibited by the Act but there are specific rules on this. Companies that regularly entertain business partners or engage government officials in social settings, must be aware of the heightened risks those situations can create.
Facilitation Payments
Small payments, such as those made to speed up customs processes, were already illegal under the previous law. However these payments now fall within the Bribery Act and penalties are expected to be harsher.
Using Agents
Companies face a new offence if anyone performing services for them, such as an employee, agent or supplier, pays a bribe on their behalf.
Government Interactions
The new offence of bribing a foreign public official is a significant risk for companies with government interaction, particularly in high value and strategically important sectors such as telecommunications, healthcare, oil and gas, mining, defence and construction.
Charitable Contributions
If charitable contributions are made at the request of a public official, or in return for favours or services, they can be seen as bribes.
Non-UK Companies
The Act applies to all forms of commercial organisation, including corporations and partnerships, wherever they are incorporated, if they conduct business in the UK.
Penalties
Under the current law imprisonment for up to seven years with unlimited fine will increase under the Bribery Act to a maximum of 10 years imprisonment.
Jurisdiction
The scope of the law is extra-territorial. Under the Bribery Act, a relevant person or company can be prosecuted for the above crimes if the crimes are committed abroad.
Application
The Bribery Act applies to UK citizens, residents and companies established under UK law. In addition, non-UK companies can be held liable for a failure to prevent bribery if they do business in the UK.
Liability
Companies can be liable for bribery committed for their benefit by their employees or other associated persons.
Culpability
A company or corporate entity is culpable for board-level complicity in bribery, including bribery through intermediaries. There is also personal liability for senior company officers that turn a blind eye to such board-level bribery.
Righttrack can help you to become compliant in all aspects of this powerful legislation which should include policies, controls, employee training and monitoring and a consistent case management strategy.
See the Bribery Act 2010 Workshop page for further details or
Contact Righttrack to discuss your specific requirements
In-company / bespoke training benefits
Righttrack Consultancy offers in-company training programmes that deliver results.
The training can be bespoke to the exact requirements of the client or selected from Righttrack's extensive portfolio of existing programmes. People are often pleasantly surprised that both these options can offer cost effective alternatives to sending a number of staff on a standard open (public) course.
Frequently Asked Questions:
What is the difference between an in-company and an open training programme?
What is the main benefit of bespoke training?
How much does bespoke training cost?
Bribery Act 2010 Overview
The UK Bribery Act came into effect on 1 July 2011, replacing anti-bribery laws dating back to 1889, 1906, and 1916. The Bribery Act gives authorities the scope to investigate companies, senior staff and board members and hold them liable for the actions of employees or associated persons who paid or offered bribes.
Operations in countries with a high incidence of bribery and
corruption present the most serious risk area under the new Act.
Also certain business sectors which face higher levels of corruption,
factors such as the use of agents and intermediaries, and certain
types of transaction, add to those risks.
Bribery Act 2010 Workshop
This energetic and entertaining workshop focuses on the skills and behaviours that are needed to respond to the Bribery Act 2010 as well as providing management tools to help address the requirements of the ACT.
Throughout the workshop exercises are used to involve delegates, who
are encouraged to reflect on what bribery is, as well as to understand
the impact bribery can have on the organisation and individuals.
Programmes can be bespoke to your organisation and markets.