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1 Policy Statement
This policy sets out the HIRETT’s commitment to the prevention of bribery associated with its business activities, in particular, compliance with The Bribery Act 2010 (the Act). The Act, which extends to all parts of the UK received Royal Assent in 2010, coming into force on 1 July 2011. The Act is available at: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/23/contents
The Act sets out four offences:
- the general offence of paying bribes (active bribery);
- the general offence of receiving bribes (passive bribery);
- the bribery of foreign officials; and
- the failure of commercial organisations to prevent bribery
In terms of the general offences under the Act:
- Paying bribes: it is an offence to offer or give a financial advantage with the intention of inducing that person to perform a “relevant function or activity” “improperly” or to reward that person for doing so.
- Receiving bribes: it is an offence to receive a financial or other advantage intending that a “relevant function or activity” should be performed “improperly” as a result. “Relevant function or activity” includes any function of a public nature and any activity connected with a business. “Improper performance”, as described in Guidance to the Act, “means performance which amounts to a breach of expectation that a person will act in good faith, impartially, or in accordance with a position of trust”, and is judged by whether it breaches the expectation of “what a reasonable person in the UK would expect in relation to the performance of that function of activity.” In terms of the Act, the function or activity need have no connection to the UK.
- Bribery of foreign officials: it is an offence to offer promises or give a financial or other advantage to a foreign public official with the intention of influencing the official in the performance or his or her official functions. In creating the offence, the person offering, promising or giving the advantage must also intend to obtain or retain business or an advantage in the conduct of business by so doing.
- Failure of a commercial organisation to prevent bribery: a commercial organisation will be liable to prosecution if a person associated with it bribes another person intending to obtain or retain business or an advantage in the conduct of business for that organisation. This section of The Act is applicable to the activities of companies and partnerships and applies to employees, agents or other third parties acting on the corporates’ behalf.
A violation of the Act may result in some or all of the following consequences and penalties for the company:
- Criminal penalties and possible unlimited fines for the HIRETT;
- Members of Board could face unlimited fines themselves and/ or jail sentences of up to 10 years;
- Indefinite debarment from public procurement contracts;
- Damage to reputation.
A violation of the Act may result in some or all of the following consequences and penalties for individuals:
- Prosecution;
- Unlimited fines and/ or jail sentences of up to 10 years;
- Disqualification from holding a directorship for up to 15 years.
In meeting our commitment to the business practice, the company shall:
- ensure that the company Business: Bribery Prevention Policy is appropriately implemented, communicated, monitored, evaluated and reviewed, and ensure that other HIRETT policies, which have relevance to bribery prevention and reporting, also reflect, as appropriate, the legislation and the HIRETT’s stated bribery prevention objectives.
- ensure that the underpinning policies and procedures that the HIRETT has in place to prevent bribery being committed on our behalf are effective in delivering our bribery prevention objectives, and are informed by the set of six principles set out by the Government:
Principle 1: Proportionate procedures
In pursuing our bribery prevention objectives, the HIRETT will put in place underpinning policies and procedures which are proportionate to the bribery risks associated with our business activities, as informed by appropriate regular ongoing risk assessment processes within the HIRETT.
Principle 2: Commitment of senior management
The senior management of the HIRETT are committed to preventing bribery by persons associated with the HIRETT and are responsible to the HIRETT board, which has ultimate authority for ensuring that the HIRETT has adequate controls and procedures in place to identify and manage bribery, as well as other business associated risks.
Through the heads of departments, the management will ensure that the HIRETT’s bribery prevention stance is communicated effectively and that any formal communications issued by the HIRETT carry appropriate senior management endorsement. Through the heads of departments of the HIRETT, the senior management will also ensure board involvement and oversight of the development, implementation, communication, monitoring, evaluation and review of the HIRETT: Bribery Prevention Policy and Procedures.
Principle 3: Risk Assessment
The HIRETT shall ensure, in line with its approved risk management processes, that regular assessments are undertaken of the nature and extent of our exposure to internal and external risks of bribery, and shall ensure timely actions in response to identified risks including, as necessary, making alterations to its policies and procedures to mitigate the risks and communicating these changes.
Principle 4: Due diligence
The HIRETT shall ensure that due diligence procedures in relation to bribery prevention are incorporated within the HIRETT’s wider due diligence procedures. In determining whether, and the extent to which, due diligence should be undertaken as a proportionate step to mitigate bribery risks, the HIRETT’s decisions shall be informed by the outcomes of regular processes of risk assessment. Bribery prevention objectives will be reflected in due diligence in relation to the appointment or commissioning of: agents, intermediaries, contractors, suppliers of goods, consultancy and other services, as well as appraisal of prospective business partners.
Principle 5: Communication and training
The HIRETT shall ensure that a range of tailored communications and awareness raising activities are undertaken which take account of the nature and extent of bribery risks and which promote understanding of the HIRETT’s bribery prevention stance both within and outwith the HIRETT.
Principle 6: Monitoring and review
The HIRETT shall ensure that regular processes of monitoring, evaluation and review of the effectiveness of its Ethical Business: Bribery Prevention Policy and Procedures are in place. These processes, and any required adaptation of the Policy and Procedures, will be informed by any future changes to bribery prevention legislation, the external environment in which we conduct our business, best practice guidance and the outcomes of the HIRETT’s regular risk assessments.
2 PRINCIPAL POLICY OBJECTIVES
The HIRETT prohibits any action which is intended to bring about gain of any commercial, contractual or other advantage for the HIRETT in a way which is unethical, or which is intended to bring about gain, financial or otherwise, to an individual operating for or on behalf of the HIRETT or anyone connected with that individual, in a way which is unethical.
The HIRETT shall rigorously investigate instances of alleged bribery and shall assist the police and other relevant authorities in any resulting prosecution.
The HIRETT prohibits:
- the offering or giving of any direct or channelled bribe, whether this be a financial or other inducement by any individual employee, agent or other person or body acting on behalf of the HIRETT,
- the solicitation or acceptance of any direct or channelled bribe, whether this be a financial or other inducement received or receivable by any individual employee, agent or other person or body acting on behalf of the HIRETT, from any individual or company, whether they are situated in the UK or overseas, whether the individual is operating in an official capacity (e.g. a public official or employee of an organisation), or in an individual capacity.
- the offering or giving of any direct or channelled bribe to a foreign public official, whether this be a financial or other inducement by any individual employee, agent or other person or body acting on behalf of the HIRETT. A foreign public official includes officials, elected or appointed who hold a legislative, administrative or judicial position of any kind, whether appointed or elected, of a country or territory outside of the UK.
The HIRETT is committed, within the scope of its bribery prevention objectives, to act with the aim of reducing, as far as possible, the risk that an individual or body associated with the HIRETT engages in bribery. Under the terms of the Bribery Act, a commercial organisation may be acting illegally if it fails to prevent bribery by a person associated with it who intends to obtain or retain business or an advantage in the conduct of business for that organisation. This part of the legislation applies to the following commercial activities of the HIRETT:
- consultancy (both academic and professional service);
- contract research;
- wholly-owned subsidiary companies of the HIRETT;
- joint ventures, partnerships, strategic alliances and technology licences;
- arrangements for collaborative, joint, dual degrees and articulations;
- commercial leases and construction contracts;
- relationships with recruitment agents; and
- procurement
For the purposes of the Act, the “associated” person includes individuals or an incorporated or unincorporated body. This includes employees of the HIRETT, agents, intermediaries’ subsidiaries, contractors, suppliers and other party in a joint venture where that party is performing services for the HIRETT and the bribe is paid with the intention of benefiting the HIRETT.
2 SPEFICIF POLICY OBJECTIVES
The following policy objectives apply to each member of staff and all other individuals who are operating for and on behalf of the HIRETT.
2.1 Gifts and hospitality
The HIRETT will only give and accept gifts or hospitality for business purposes. Permissible hospitality and gifts will include, for example, ceremonial or promotional gifts, mementos or relatively low value gifts which are proportionate to circumstances and not of a scale or frequency that these might reasonably be judged inducements to undertake business or to influence business decisions.
The HIRETT recognises that what is considered customary and appropriate may vary significantly from country to country and from one area of HIRETT business activity to another. The recipient must always be entitled to receive the gift or hospitality under the law of the recipient’s country.
All members of staff who accept or offer hospitality or a gift in the course of their duties are required to provide a written record of such exchanges in the approved form. A record of hospitality and gifts will be maintained by the management which will be reported annually to the board.
2.2 Expenses
The HIRETT will only pay expenses to cover costs of legitimate business activities, in accordance with the HIRETT Travel and Expenses Policy. For the purposes of this policy, legitimate business activities extend to include routine business courtesies which accord with the recognised, reasonable and proportionate norms established within the HIRETT. Where a member of staff, or other individual acting for on behalf of the HIRETT, is in doubt they must seek the advice and approval of the relevant management or Professional Service.
2.3. Political and charitable donations
The HIRETT forbids the giving of any political or charitable contribution or donation on its behalf, either financial or in kind. This policy does not apply to charitable funds set up by the HIRETT.
The HIRETT aims to ensure that the reputations of all parties, i.e. donors and all parts of the HIRETT are wholly protected from any real or perceived impropriety in the relationship that is established through the offer and receipt of a charitable gift. Charitable donations and gifts include but are not limited to cash or cheques, property, shares or bonds, tangible personal property (gifts in kind), legacy gifits, corporate sponsorship and charitable foundation gifts.
2.4. Facilitation payments
The HIRETT forbids the offering or giving of any facilitation payment, recognising that such payments are illegal under the terms of the Bribery Act. A facilitation payment is defined as an unofficial payment made to a public official in order to secure or expedite an action (See payments to foreign public officials below).
This policy is not intended to prohibit the use of any recognised fast-track process which is available to all on payment of a fee, or to prohibit a reasonable and proportionate offer of resources to assist efficient decision making, provided that these resources are supplied for that purpose only.
Where a member of staff, or other individual acting for on behalf of the HIRETT, is in doubt they must seek the advice of the relevant management or Professional Service.
2.5. Payments to foreign public officials
The HIRETT forbids any member of staff, or person acting for and on behalf of the HIRETT, to make any kind of direct or channelled payment, including a bribe or other inducement to a foreign public official, or at the official’s request or assent, to another individual, in order to influence or reward any action by that public official. Prohibited payments include any facilitation payment or payment made to expedite action with the purpose of securing proper performance of the official’s duties.
Where a member of staff, or other individual acting for on behalf of the HIRETT, is in doubt they must seek the advice of the relevant management or Professional Service.
2.6. Finance, procurement and contracting
The HIRETT will ensure that our commitment to the prevention of bribery is reflected in appropriate and effective policies, policy procedures and Financial Regulations in relation to our sales, procurement and financial/accounting and contracting practices.
2.7. Disclosure of known or suspected unethical business practice
Employees of the HIRETT are required to report to the Secretary of the HIRETT any knowledge or suspicions they have of unethical business practice. The HIRETT is committed to ensure that employees in this position know that their disclosure will be treated appropriately, in confidence and that they will be supported, provided that they are acting in good faith.
The HIRETT’s Policy on Public Interest Disclosure will make appropriate explicit provision for any individual with a concern to make a disclosure about an instance of actual or suspected bribery.
3 SCOPE OF THIS POLICY
It is the policy of HIRETT that all members of staff shall actively avoid and prevent incidents of bribery involving the HIRETT, its staff, and any persons or organizations associated with it or acting on the HIRETT’s behalf. This policy has as its objectives:
- Ensuring the HIRETT’s compliance with all applicable laws and guidance, including but not exclusively the Bribery Act 2010, and requirements of the HIRETT’s supervisory body;
- Protecting the HIRETT, its principals, and all its staff as individuals from the risks associated with breaches of the law, guidance and supervisory requirements;
- Preserving the good name of the HIRETT against the risk of reputational damage presented by implication in bribery and corrupt practices;
- Making a positive contribution to the elimination of bribery and corrupt practices within the sphere of the HIRETT’s operations;
- Monitoring our compliance with legal and regulatory bribery prevention requirements, and conduct an annual bribery prevention compliance review, the findings of which are to be reported to the HIRETT’s Senior Management together with appropriate recommendations for action;
- HIRETT’s Senior Management shall provide the necessary authority and resources for the ongoing implementation of a compliant bribery prevention regime.
To achieve these objectives, it is the policy of this HIRETT that:
- Every member of staff shall meet their personal obligations on bribery prevention as appropriate to their role and position in the HIRETT, and breaches of these policies and procedures may lead to action under the HIRETT’s disciplinary procedures;
- HIRETT Board shall appoint a Bribery Prevention Officer, and a deputy to cover in his or her absence, and they shall be afforded every assistance and cooperation by all members of staff in carrying out the duties of their appointment
- All members of staff shall refer issues involving potential bribery offences to the HIRETT’s Bribery Prevention Officer, including any knowledge or substantiated suspicion of bribery offences arrived at in the course of their work, whether or not the HIRETT is directly involved;
- Commercial considerations shall never be permitted to take precedence over the HIRETT’s anti-bribery and corruption commitment;
- The HIRETT’s Bribery Prevention Officer shall monitor continuously all aspects of the HIRETT’s bribery prevention policies and procedures;
- Any deficiencies in bribery prevention compliance requiring urgent rectification will be dealt with immediately by the HIRETT’s Bribery Prevention Officer, who will report such incidents to the relevant Senior Management when appropriate and request any support that may be required.
- The HIRETT’s Bribery Prevention Officer shall conduct an annual review of the HIRETT’s bribery prevention compliance, and report its findings to the HIRETT’s Senior Management.
This report will include:
- A summary of the HIRETT’s bribery risk profile and vulnerabilities, together with information on ways in which these are changing and evolving;
- A summary of any changes in the regulatory environment(s) in which the HIRETT operates;
- A summary of bribery prevention activities within the HIRETT;
- Details of any compliance deficiencies on which action has already been taken, together with reports of the outcomes;
- Details of any compliance deficiencies on which action needs to be taken, together with recommended actions and management support required;
- An outline of plans for the continuous development of the bribery prevention regime, including ongoing training and awareness raising activities for all staff.
This procedure should be reviewed at least once a year to ensure its relevance and compliance with the changes in regulations and standards or activities of the HIRETT’s.
The Bribery Prevention Officer is Mrs. Marina Randall
4 MONITORING AND EVALUTATION
This policy will be reviewed every two years.
- The procedures associated with this policy will be reviewed annually in the light of the outcomes of the HIRETT’s risk assessments.
- The HIRETT’s record of hospitality and gifts, signed off, as required, by the management/Professional Service, will be reviewed annually.
- A report will be submitted to the HIRETT Board annually which provides monitoring and review evidence of the effectiveness of the Business: Bribery Prevention Policy in meeting bribery prevention aims and objectives.
5 IMPLEMENTATION
The management of the HIRETT is responsible for ensuring the effective implementation of this policy and the associated policy procedures.
The HIRETT will ensure that implementation of this policy is supported by effective procedures guidance and appropriate generic and role-based communications, training and awareness-raising measures, applicable to all individuals and bodies.