Bribery in the Workplace

Bribery is a serious offence that can have detrimental effects not only on the perpetrators but the entire organisation.

The effects of bribery can be very damaging and have contributed to the fall of major organisational giants. It’s imperative for companies to have a solid anti-bribery policy that includes the definition of bribery, details expected employee behaviours, and outlines the legally accepted do’s and don’ts.

The 2010 Bribery Act

The 2010 Bribery Act came into effect in July 2011. The act updated previous bribery law to state that genuine hospitality or similar business expenditures that are ‘reasonable and proportionate’ aren’t illegal. The law offers instances of ‘reasonable and proportionate’ for a business. These include; taking clients to dinner, providing tickets to events and other proportional gifts.

What is Bribery?

Bribery is providing payments to officials for routine operations in the normal course of their duties.

How to Establish an Anti-Bribery Policy

As a manager or a business owner, it’s important to protect the organisation against bribery using an effective and reinforced anti-bribery policy. The anti-bribery policy should include measures and avenues for reporting bribery as well as whistle-blowing procedures.

Staff must be trained on the anti-bribery policy. Additionally, the anti-bribery policy should be regularly reviewed to ensure that it’s guarding against any bribery issues.

Managers and business owners must ensure that the severity of bribery is made clear and all staff members are trained on the anti-bribery policy. All employees should understand that bribery is gross misconduct that can lead to sacking.

Get Help from DLP

DLP can provide advice on the bribery law and help businesses guard against any bribery act breaches.