The Bribery Act 2010 will make it a criminal offence for an individual or commercial organisation to offer or receive a bribe to bring about or reward the improper performance of a function or activity.
Bribery, backhanders and kickbacks can land those involved in jail, if they are convicted.
To minimise the risk of falling foul of the Act, companies are advised to put in place:
- prevention policies to cover whistleblowing procedures;
- prevention policies to cover financial and commercial controls, for example, on invoices, remuneration, etc;
- prevention policies to cover rules on gifts, hospitality and promotional spend;
- procedures on recruitment and discipline that include anti-bribery measures; and
- details on how anti-bribery measures will be enforced.