Anti-Bribery and Corruption Policy

Under the UK Bribery Act, it is an offence for a person to offer, promise or give money, gifts or anything of value to another person, or to request or receive the same from another person, as an inducement or reward for performing a function improperly or where the acceptance or receipt would itself be improper.

Any form of gift, consideration, reward or advantage can constitute a bribe – it need not be an offer of money. This general law criminalises the offering of bribes to persons in both the public and private sector, i.e. it is not confined to the corruption of government officials.

The Act also contains a specific offence for the bribing of foreign public officials (see further below for examples of public officials). A prosecutor does not need to show ‘impropriety’, only that it was the offender’s intention to influence the public official in order to obtain or retain business or a business advantage.

The Bribery Act applies to any offences taking place in the UK, but also to offences taking place wholly outside the UK where they are committed by British citizens, UK residents or bodies incorporated in the UK, even in some cases where they are customary locally or permitted under local law.

The Act also introduces a new corporate offence which imposes criminal liability on any company incorporated in the UK or which carries on part of its business in the UK (including, for example, a foreign corporation with only a branch office in the UK) for failure to prevent bribery by anyone providing services for or on behalf of the company. This may include employees, agents, representatives, intermediaries, subsidiaries and joint ventures.

A company will not be guilty of the corporate offence if it can demonstrate that it has ‘adequate procedures’ in place to prevent such persons and entities from committing bribery. This Anti-bribery Policy forms part of Be Recruitment Ltd “adequate procedures”.

Individuals who commit bribery can be subject to up to ten years imprisonment and/or unlimited fines. Companies that commit an offence may also face significant fines, confiscation of the benefits of any tainted contract and debarment from tendering for public procurement work and other government contracts.

All Relevant Persons and Associated Persons are required at all times:

Bribery of any kind is strictly prohibited. Under no circumstances should any provision be made, money set aside or accounts created for the purposes of facilitating the payment or receipt of a Bribe.

Be Recruitment Ltd recognises that industry practices may vary from country to country or from culture to culture. What is considered unacceptable in one place may be normal or usual practice in another. You should seek appropriate guidance from a director of the Company.

All Relevant Persons and all Associated Persons are expected to adhere strictly at all times to the guidelines set out in this Policy.

Bribery usually involves giving or offering money, a gift or something else of value to someone in business or government in order to obtain or retain a commercial advantage or to induce or reward the recipient for acting improperly or where it would be improper for the recipient to accept the benefit.

Bribery can also take place where the offer or giving of a bribe is made by or through a third party, i.e. an agent, representative or intermediary. Both the giving and receiving of bribes are prohibited in most jurisdictions.

Bribes often involve monetary payments (or the promise of payments) but can include other benefits or advantages.

For example, bribes could include:

Be Recruitment Ltd forbids any Relevant Person from soliciting any gift or hospitality in the course of his/her employment or engagement with the Company.

Be Recruitment Ltd forbids any officer, employee, temporary worker or contractor of the Company from offering or receiving any gift or hospitality which is in breach of the relevant law.

Be Recruitment Ltd forbids any Relevant Person either directly or indirectly from making an offer of, or making a donation to any political, charitable or not for profit organisation in the course of his/her employment or engagement with the Company.

If it is with a corporate entity, for the duration of any contract between that corporate entity and the Company, as a way to obtain an advantage in a business transaction.

Any payment or gift to a public official or other person to secure or accelerate the prompt or proper performance of a routine government procedure or process, otherwise known as a “facilitation payment”, is also strictly prohibited.

Facilitation payments are not commonly paid in the UK but they are common in some other jurisdictions.