Bribery - The price to pay?

Whilst Sam Allardyce may have lost his job and damaged his reputation with his recent admissions, is bribery and corruption restricted to the lucrative world of sport, or should employers be concerned about the impact of bribery and corruption within their business?
Whilst most employers would like to think that they, and their employees, are completely above the potential to be bribed, I am sure most people assumed that the high salary being paid to Sam Allardyce would be enough to remove the temptation to earn an extra few quid on the side.
Graham Millar, Head of Employment Law, Gilson Gray, reminds employers of their obligations under the Bribery Act 2010. A bribe is defined as “a financial or other advantage” offered, promised or given to induce a person to perform a relevant function or activity improperly, or to reward them for doing so.
The Bribery Act introduced a separate criminal offence for a commercial organisation who has failed to prevent bribery by an associated person for its benefit. Associated person will include all your employees, as well as consultants, agency workers and even volunteers. The consequences of breaching the Bribery Act are severe – Individuals can face up to 10 years imprisonment; businesses can receive an unlimited fine.
Every employer needs to be able to demonstrate that they have “adequate procedures” to avoid bribery and corruption. Rather helpfully there is no statutory definition of adequate procedures and it will involve a number of court cases before we have a clearer idea of how this will be interpreted.

The way to establishing adequate procedures includes:

• Policy – make sure there is a clear and detailed anti-corruption and bribery policy within your staff handbook;
• Communication – make sure that you can establish that everyone has seen the policy, from top to bottom;
• Educate – It is no longer good enough to tick the box saying you have a policy. You need to be able to establish that proper training was provided to all your employees about their obligations;
• Maintenance – make sure there is ongoing monitoring and review of your policies, ideally with one person being responsible within your organisation.

It all sounds relatively straightforward, however, I suspect there will be a few anxious meetings within the English FA over the coming weeks to find out whether or not there is such a policy within the FA, whether big Sam had been made aware of the policy, and whether he had received his training. If not, it will be interesting to see whether or not the Crown Prosecution Service shows an interest in this case.
To discuss any aspects of the Bribery Act, including the preparation of your own policy, or, indeed, training for your staff, then please contact Graham Millar or anyone else at the Gilson Gray Employment Law Team.

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For More Information Contact:
Graham Millar
Mobile: 07841 920 102
Direct Dial: 0141 530 2023
Email:gmillar@gilsongray.co.uk

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For More Information Contact:
Stuart Robertson
Mobile: 07793 821 521
Direct Dial: 0141 433 7752
Email:srobertson@gilsongray.co.uk

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For More Information Contact:
Rachael Henderson
Direct Dial: 0141 530 2039
Email:rhenderson@gilsongray.co.uk

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The information and opinions contained in this blog are for information only. They are not intended to constitute advice and should not be relied upon or considered as a replacement for advice. Before acting on any of the information contained in this blog, please seek specific advice from Gilson Gray.