What an Employer Needs To Know About Their Anti-Corruption and Anti-Bribery Duty in England

As an employer, you should have a zero-tolerance approach towards corruption and bribery in the workplace. This is because one of your duties as an employer is to ensure that you take reasonable preventative procedures against corruption and bribery offences. Consequently, your company policies should include adequate procedures that promote anti-corruption and anti-bribery in the workplace. Failing to have adequate procedures in place is a serious matter that could result in a civil or criminal penalty. Hence, this article will explain what you need to know about your anti-corruption and bribery duty in England. 

What are Corruption and Bribery?

Corruption is where a person abuses their power or position of trust to gain something personally. Similarly, bribery is where a person offers, promises, requests, or gives someone money, favour, or advantage to influence their judgement. 

Within your business, bribery is illegal. It is also against the law to agree to or receive bribes. It does not matter if it:

• happens in private business conduct or public relationships, such as by government officials;
• is a direct or indirect bribe; and
• is the same person or a different one who made the bribe or someone else on their behalf delivers it.

Why Should I Have an Anti-Corruption and Anti-Bribery Policy?

Put simply, bribery is against the law. Consequently, you must prevent corruption and bribery from occurring by someone associated with your business, such as your employees. If someone associated with your business is involved in bribery, your business could be liable if you have not established adequate procedures to stop it from happening. Ultimately, it does not matter that you may not be aware of bribery happening. 

By having an anti-corruption and anti-bribery policy, you can implement procedures to prevent bribery regarding your business. This could aid your business in not being liable should bribery occur. It can also assist in identifying and monitoring any corruption or bribery and how to respond to instances of bribery should you identify any.

What Should an Anti-Corruption and Anti-Bribery Policy Contain?

An anti-corruption and anti-bribery policy is a statement by your businesses that you will not tolerate these acts. This zero-tolerance policy should apply to your employees and anyone who works with you, such as agency workers, suppliers and contractors. Your policy should be proportionate and workable to aid compliance and avoid improper performance.

While your anti-corruption and anti-bribery policy should be tailored to the level of risk within your business, there are specific points it should include. For example, it should outline:

• what you consider to be bribery and corruption;
• who the policy is relevant to;
• the measures you will take to reduce and control bribery risks, such as any anti-bribery training;
• what your rules are for your employees in terms of accepting gifts, hospitality and donations;
• how your employees should conduct business, such as when negotiating contracts; 
• what your company rules are preventing and avoiding conflicts of interest;
• how your employees should conduct themselves should they encounter bribery;
• what the consequences are for being involved in bribery and corruption both in terms of your business, such as disciplinary action and in terms of the law; and
• who is responsible in your business for updating and reviewing the policy. 

Key Takeaways

As an employer, you can be liable if employees within your business are involved in corruption or bribery. However, if you have procedures to help prevent bribery and corruption, you could potentially not be held liable. It is, therefore, essential that you have adequate procedures in place. For example, an anti-corruption and bribery policy should define what bribery and corruption mean and make clear what your employees should and should not do concerning potential bribery and corruption.

If you need help understanding your anti-corruption and anti-bribery duty in England, our experienced employment lawyers can assist as part of our LegalVision membership. For a low monthly fee, you will have unlimited access to lawyers to answer your questions and draft and review your documents for a low monthly fee. So call us today on 0808 196 8584 or visit our membership page.

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