The Bribery Act 2010: Guidance

The Bribery Act 2010, effective across the UK, creates an offence for commercial organisations that fail to prevent bribery by associated persons. A full defence exists if the organisation can prove it had adequate procedures in place to prevent bribery. Section 9 of the Act required the Secretary of State to publish guidance on these preventative procedures, which is called the The Bribery Act 2010. Guidance: about procedures which relevant commercial organisations can put into place to prevent persons associated with them from bribing (section 9 of the Bribery Act 2010 which applies UK-wide, with input from devolved governments in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The guidance describes three basic circumstance involving bribery:

• Offences of bribing another person (Section 1).
• Bribery of a foreign public official (Section 6).
• Failure of commercial organisations to prevent bribery (Section 7).

The guidance goes on to explain the policy behind section 7 and helps organisations of all sizes implement suitable anti-bribery procedures, it is based on six non-prescriptive flexible principles, not a one-size-fits-all standard. The six non prescriptive principles are intended as flexible and outcome focussed, allowing for the variety of circumstances commercial organisations find themselves in

• Principle 1. Proportionate procedures: A commercial organisation’s anti-bribery procedures should be proportionate to its risk level and operations, and also be clear, practical, accessible, and effectively enforced.
• Principle 2. Top-level commitment: Top-level management of a commercial organisation is committed to preventing bribery and promoting a culture where bribery is never acceptable.
• Principle 3. Risk Assessment: A commercial organisation periodically conducts informed and documented assessments of its internal and external bribery risks involving associated persons.
• Principle 4. Due diligence: The commercial organisation uses proportionate, risk-based due diligence procedures for those performing services on its behalf to mitigate identified bribery risks.
• Principle 5. Communication (including training): The commercial organisation promotes understanding of its anti-bribery policies through proportionate internal and external communication and training.
• Principle 6. Monitoring and review: The commercial organisation regularly monitors, reviews, and improves its anti-bribery procedures to ensure their effectiveness.

Organisations are encouraged to take a proportionate, risk-based approach, focusing efforts where bribery risks are highest. The terminology used in the guidance follows the Bribery Act, and a variety of case study examples are given which are illustrative, not exhaustive or legally binding.

• Case Study 1. Principle 1: Facilitation payments. A medium-sized company (‘A’) identified facilitation payments, disguised as ‘inspection fees,’ as a bribery risk in importing and transporting goods to a new foreign customer (‘B’) through its agent (‘C’).
• Case study 2 – Principle 1: Proportionate Procedures. A UK-based small to medium installation company relies on independent consultants to win business, but recognises the risk of bribery, especially due to cash transactions and difficulty monitoring consultant expenses.
• Case study 3 – Principles 1 and 6: Joint venture. A medium-sized company (‘D’) planning a joint venture with a local miner (‘E’) recognises significant bribery risks in dealings with local public officials.
• Case study 4 – Principles 1 and 5: Hospitality and Promotional expenditure. An engineering firm (‘F’) hosts annual events to appreciate business partners, covering travel and accommodation costs only for attending foreign public officials.
• Case study 5 – Principle 3: Assessing risks. A small specialist manufacturer aiming to expand into emerging markets lacks expertise and is uncertain how to assess related risks.
• Case study 6 – Principle 4: Due diligence of agents. A medium-large manufacturer (‘G’) seeks to enter a foreign emerging market via a government contract, aiming to appoint a reputable local agent and minimise bribery risks.
• Case study 7 – Principle 5: Communicating and training. A small UK manufacturer (‘J’) has hired a local agent (‘K’) to help secure contracts in a high-bribery-risk foreign country.
• Case study 8 – Principle 1, 4 and 6: Community benefits and charitable donations. Company ‘L’ exports seeds globally and, during talks in country ‘M,’ learns from a local farming co-op leader about challenges caused by limited antiretroviral drugs amid a high HIV rate.
• Case study 9 – Principle 4: Due diligence of agents. A small UK company (‘N’) faces bribery risks from its reliance on agents in country ‘P’ and must quickly finalise an agreement with a new agent (‘Q’) for a business opportunity there.
• Case study 10 – Principle 2: Top level commitment. A small to medium component manufacturer entering bribery-risk markets is preparing by having a senior manager participate in a sector-wide anti-bribery initiative.
• Case study 11 - Proportionate procedures. A small export company using foreign agents recognizes bribery risks and is planning to implement proportionate, risk-based prevention procedures.

Click here for a template policy and procedures: File:Bribery Act.pdf.

[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings

• Anti-bribery and Ethics - A Construction Perspective
• Bribery.
• Bribery Act 2010.
• Cartel.
• Collusion.
• Declaration of non-collusion.
• Ethics.
• Ethical labour sourcing standard for construction.
• Facilitation payments.
• Gifts, bribes and kickbacks.
• Inducement.
• Modern slavery.

[edit] External links

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5d80cfc3ed915d51e9aff85a/bribery-act-2010-guidance.pdf