The Bribery Act, which will come into force in July year, aims to simplify the law on bribery by individuals. It is a criminal offence to offer, promise or give a bribe and to agree to accept one. It represents the biggest changes in UK law in this area of business for many years.
Employment Solicitor, Paul Burton, clarifies "The Act introduces a new crime of ‘failure to prevent’ bribery and UK companies must show that they have implemented ‘adequate procedures’ to prevent corrupt practices by their employees or by other parties on their behalf. It also introduces a new offence of bribing a public foreign official and raises the maximum penalty for individuals found guilty of bribery from seven to ten years’ imprisonment, and an unlimited fine."
The Government has published six guidelines which will be used to determine whether or not a company is responsible for bribery offences, these are:
- Risk assessment
- Due diligence
- Top level commitment
- Proportionate procedures – clear and accessible policies and effective implementation
- Communication
- Monitoring and review
The guidance says that companies should keep up to date with bribery risks to their business and ensure that their organisation is committed to anti-corruption from the most senior level down. Company policy should be realistic and clear and all practices should be regularly reviewed and monitored.
There is increasing cross border collaboration between international enforcement agencies making the chance of detection and prosecution far more likely. Companies should now be assessing the risks to their business and preparing policies to have in place by July 1st.
For a free initial consultation please call 01202 499255 and Paul will be happy to discuss any questions you may have.