The Bribery Act 2010 is due to come into force in April 2011 and creates a new offence of failure by a commercial organisation to prevent a bribe being paid for or on its behalf regardless of whether the company condoned or even knew about it. The offence in question can be committed in the UK or overseas. Andrew Hoad, Corporate Partner at Rawlison Butler LLP considers how this may affect businesses.
The company may be able to defend such proceedings if it can show that it has adequate procedures in place to prevent bribery. Clause 9 of the Act states that the government is obliged to issue guidance as to what will be considered ‘adequate’, although this has not yet been published. Consultation on the proposed guidance is due to start in September this year and it is expected that the final guidance will be published in early 2011 in advance of the implementation of the Act in April 2011.
However, this should not prevent companies from reviewing their policies, systems and procedures that are currently in place to tackle bribery and amending them accordingly. They should cover issues such as gifts, hospitality, facilitation payments, vetting outside agents and advisers, lobbying and political contributions. Training and guidance on these areas should be provided to all employees as employers will be held to account for their actions. If the offence is serious, senior officers can individually be held criminally liable. Therefore, it is crucial that businesses prepare now for the implementation of the Act next year.
For more information on the new Act or for information on other services offered by the Corporate Team, please contact Andrew Hoad by emailing Andrew or by calling him on 08450 990045, or speak to your usual contact in the Corporate Team.
This document is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Professional legal advice should be obtained before taking or refraining from taking any action as a result of the contents of this document.