Newsletter 9
Are you at risk?
Negligent Hiring and The UK Bribery Act
HR managers might be asking what all of this has to do with them.
The answer: They will be instrumental in assisting Board's and senior management teams to:
draft policies, procedures and contractual provisions to address the requirements of the Bribery Act
ensure that all staff receive training (which will be necessary in order for companies to defend the new criminal offence of 'failing to prevent bribery')
review and monitor the effectiveness of your organisation's anti-bribery mechanisms
check that adequate staff vetting practices are in place to prevent staff fraud
And because it extends to acts committed outside the UK, the Bribery Act will affect both UK-based and international businesses.
Companies familiar with the existing anti-corruption regime in America should be aware that unlike in the US, facilitation payments will not be lawful under the UK regime.
Organisations will have to do more than pay lip service to the new law; they will have to actively implement their anti-bribery policies and procedures and ensure they are fully embedded throughout the business.
There is an ongoing obligation for businesses to monitor risk and compliance. Clearly the level of risk will vary depending on various factors such as the sector in which the organisation operates, its size and structure and its client base. It will therefore not be enough to simply adopt an off the peg, 'one- size-fits-all' anti-bribery policy. Organisations will have to invest time in devising, drafting and implementing a policy relevant to them.
Giving the right reference
The cost of getting it wrong
A recent High Court case has once again illustrated the legal minefield facing employers.
The case concerned a former employee of good standing who had been promoted several times and received bonuses. At the time of leaving the company, he'd received a glowing reference.
Six years later a reference was sought from the previous employer. In the reply that was sent by email, incorrect suggestions were made that there had been serious concerns about his behaviour. As a consequence of this, he was dismissed from his current position. The High Court found in his favour that the previous employer owed him a duty of care and that it was liable to pay compensation as a result of the damage done by the contents of the email.
Not only does this case highlight the need for accuracy when providing references it will also discourage many companies for providing any thing more that a standard reference simply confirming dates of employment.
FSA shows its teeth
£6.9m record fine
The Financial Services Authority has fined Willis Ltd £6.9m for failings in its anti-bribery and corruption systems and controls. The FSA says that between January 2005 and December 2009, Willis made payments totalling £27m to overseas third parties who assisted it in winning and retaining business from overseas clients.
The FSA investigation found that Willis failed to ensure that it operated a sufficiently robust control environment surrounding payments to overseas third parties and "gave rise to an unacceptable risk that these payments could be used for corrupt purposes,including paying bribes". The £6.9m fine is the biggest fine imposed by the FSA in relation to financial crime systems and controls to date.
match.com Agrees to Screen for Sex Offenders
Could it come here?
Match.com's north American arm settled a lawsuit brought by a sexual assault victim by agreeing Tuesday, August 23 to conduct background checks on all members to screen out known sex offenders.
The plaintiff proclaimed victory for the millions of singles who make use of online dating services, saying Match.com's commitment to security screening could prevent attacks such as the one she suffered last year on a second date with a man who had at least six previous sex offense convictions.
If you would like to know how Eurocom are helping companies in any of these areas, give us a call on 0845 880 5888.
E-mail: info@eurocomci.co.uk
