Bribery Act 2010 Policy

The Bribery Act 2010 (“the Act”) Company Policy

All directors & contractors are required to read the following and, if necessary, follow the link for further clarification.

The Act is concerned with bribery. Very generally, this 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. So this could cover seeking to influence a decision-maker by giving some kind of extra benefit to that decision maker rather than by what can legitimately be offered as part of a tender process. The Act is not concerned with fraud, theft, books and record offences, Companies Act offences, money laundering offences or competition law. Further detail about what is covered by the Act can be found here in the official guidance.

1. Proportionality: The action individuals and organisations take should be proportionate to the risks being faced and to the size of your business. We recognise more might need to be done to prevent bribery if the organisations involved are large and complex, or if operations are in an overseas market where bribery is known to be commonplace, compared to what you might do if the organisation is small, or is operating in markets where bribery is not prevalent.
2. Top Level Commitment: Those at the top of an organisation are in the best position to ensure their organisation conducts business without bribery. Any person running or otherwise managing a business will want to show that they have been active in making sure that all staff (including any middle management) and any other key people understand that bribery will not be tolterated.  We promote pesonal involvment at all levels in taking the necessary proportionate action to address any bribery risks.
3. Risk Assessment: All personel, especially management must consider bribery risks. For example, you might want to do some research into the markets you operate in and the people you deal with, especially if you are entering into new business arrangements and new markets overseas.
4. Due Diligence: Knowing exactly who you are dealing with can help to protect your organisation from taking on people who might be less than trustworthy. You may therefore want to ask a few questions and do a few checks before engaging others to represent you in business dealings.
5. Communication: Communicating your policies and procedures to staff and to others who will perform services for you enhances awareness and helps to deter bribery by making clear the basis on which your organisation does business. You may, therefore, want to think about whether additional training or awareness raising would be appropriate or proportionate to the size and type of your business. 6 Monitoring and Review: The risks you face and the effectiveness of your procedures may change over time. You may want, therefore, to keep an eye on the antibribery steps you have taken so that they keep pace with any changes in the bribery risks you face when, for example, you enter new markets.

Risk Assessment

We are a small business and due to the nature of our work are at  minimal risk of being in breach of the Act, although any operations overseas increases that risk.

There are simple practical steps we can take to assess and mitigate risks. These are mostly obvious, and are similar to (or even the same as) those we undertake anyway to make sure you can trust the people you work with. For example, we might use simple internet searches to find out about the levels of corruption or bribery in the particular country business is being carried out in. We can further consult UK diplomatic posts or UK Trade and Investment for advice and also consult business representative bodies here in the UK and in the relevant country for up-to-date local knowledge.

There is no need for extensive written documentation or policies. We already have proportionate procedures through existing controls over company expenditure and accounting.

In micro-businesses it may be enough for simple oral reminders to key staff about the organisation’s anti-bribery policies. In addition, although parties to a contract are of course free to agree whatever terms are appropriate, the Act does not require you to comply with the anti-bribery procedures of your business partners in order to be able to rely on the defence.

Can we provide hospitality? – Yes. The Government does not intend that genuine hospitality or similar business expenditure that is reasonable and proportionate be caught by the Act, so we can continue to provide bona fide hospitality, promotional or other business expenditure.

What about facilitation payments? Facilitation payments, which are payments to induce officials to perform routine functions they are otherwise obligated to perform, are bribes. There was no exemption for such payments under the previous law nor is there under the Bribery Act. As was the case under the old law, prosecutors will carefully consider all the facts and surrounding circumstances of cases which come to their attention to assess whether a payment amounts to a bribe and, if so, whether a prosecution is in the public interest. We can continue to pay for legally required administrative fees or fast-track services. These are not facilitation payments.

What you should do if offered any inducement or cash relating to any business being carried out by Kingpin:
This should be reported as soon as possible to either This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. the two Company Directors.

Policy last updated 21 January 2025