The Bribery Act comes into force in July 2011

After being delayed at the start of the year, the Bribery Act 2010 will now come into force in July 2011. The following provides a brief update to our Bribery Act 2010 Insight issued in November 2010.

The Act sets out four bribery offences:

1. Bribing another person
2. Being bribed
3. Bribery of foreign public officials
4. The failure of commercial organisations to prevent persons associated with them from committing bribery on their behalf

The Ministry of Justice’s ‘Quick Start Guide’ states that there is a full defence if an organisation can demonstrate it had adequate procedures in place to prevent bribery. It also notes that organisations do not need to put bribery prevention procedures in place if there is no risk of bribery on behalf of the organisation.

Therefore, as part of its general risk assessment, your organisation will need to consider whether there is a risk of bribery being committed on its behalf. When assessing the risk level, organisations should consider the nature, size and complexity of their business.

The Government has produced guidance which contains six principles (summarised below) which will help organisations decide what, if anything, they need to do differently

Proportionality

An organisation’s procedures to prevent bribery by persons associated with it are proportionate to the bribery risks it faces and to the nature, scale and complexity of the organisation’s activities. They are also clear, practical, accessible, effectively implemented and enforced.

Top-level commitment

The members of top-level management of an organisation are committed to preventing bribery by persons associated with it. They foster a culture within the organisation in which bribery is never acceptable.

Risk assessment

The organisation assesses the nature and extent of its exposure to potential external and internal risks of bribery on its behalf by persons associated with it. The assessment is periodic, informed and documented.

Due diligence

The organisation applies due diligence procedures, taking a proportionate and risk based approach, in respect of persons who perform or will perform services for or on behalf of the organisation, in order to mitigate identified bribery risks.

Communication (including training)

The organisation seeks to ensure that its bribery prevention policies and procedures are embedded and understood throughout the organisation through internal and external communication (including training) that is proportionate to the risks it faces.

Monitoring and review

The organisation monitors and reviews procedures designed to prevent bribery by persons associated with it and makes improvements where necessary.