Purpose of this policy
The purpose of this policy is to establish controls
to ensure compliance with all applicable
anti-bribery and corruption regulations, and to ensure that Wise Owl's business is
conducted in a socially responsible manner.
Policy statement
Bribery is the offering, promising, giving, accepting or soliciting of an advantage as an
inducement for action which is illegal or a breach
of trust. A bribe is an inducement or reward
offered, promised or provided in order to gain any
commercial, contractual, regulatory or
personal advantage.
It is our policy to conduct all of our business in
an honest and ethical manner. We take a zero-tolerance approach to bribery and corruption. We are committed to acting professionally,
fairly and with integrity in all our business dealings and relationships wherever we operate
and implementing and enforcing effective systems to
counter bribery.
We will uphold all laws relevant to countering bribery and corruption in all of the jurisdictions in
which we operate. However, we remain bound by the laws of the UK, including the Bribery
Act 2010, in respect of our conduct both at home and abroad.
Bribery and corruption are punishable for individuals by up to ten years' imprisonment and a
fine. If we are found to have taken part in corruption, we could face an unlimited fine, be
excluded from tendering for public contracts and face damage to our reputation. We therefore
take our legal responsibilities very seriously.
Scope
In this policy,
third party
means any individual or organisation you come into
contact with
during the course of your work for or with us, and includes
actual and potential clients, customers,
suppliers, distributors, business contacts, agents,
advisers, and government and public
bodies, including their advisors, representatives and officials, politicians and political parties.
This policy applies to all individuals working at all levels and grades, including senior
managers, officers, directors, employees (whether permanent, fixed-term or temporary),
consultants, contractors, trainees, seconded staff,
home-workers, casual workers and agency
staff, volunteers, interns, agents, sponsors, or any other person associated with us, or any of
our subsidiaries or their employees, wherever located (collectively referred to as
employees
in this policy).
This policy covers:
- Bribes;
- Gifts and hospitality;
- Facilitation payments;
- Political contributions;
- Charitable contributions.
Summary of policy
Employees must not engage in any form of bribery, either directly or through any third party
(such as an agent or distributor). Specifically, employees must not bribe a foreign public
official anywhere in the world.
Employees must not offer or give any gift or hospitality:
-
which could be regarded as illegal or improper, or
which violates the recipient's
policies; or
-
to any public employee or government officials or
representatives, or politicians or
political parties; or
-
which exceeds £10
in value for each individual gift or £100
in value for each
hospitality event (not to exceed a total value of £1,000
in any financial year), unless
approved in writing by the employee's manager.
Employees may not accept any gift or hospitality from our business partners if:
-
it exceeds £10 value for each individual gift or £100
in value for each hospitality
event (not to exceed a total of £500
in any financial year), unless approved in
writing by the employee's manager; or
-
it is in cash; or
-
there is any suggestion that a return favour will
be expected or implied.
Where a manager's approval is required above, if the manager is below Director level then
approval must be sought from an appropriate Director.
If it is not appropriate to decline the offer of a
gift, the gift may be accepted, provided it is then
declared to the employee's manager and donated to charity.
We appreciate that the practice of giving business
gifts varies between countries and regions
and what may be normal and acceptable in one region
may not be in another. The test to be
applied is whether in all the circumstances the gift or hospitality is reasonable and justifiable.
The intention behind the gift should always be considered.
Within these parameters, local management may define specific guidelines and policies to
reflect local professional and industry standards.
Where this policy requires written approval
to be given, the Company Secretary shall put in place a process to maintain a register of all
such approvals.
Facilitation payments
Facilitation payments are a form of bribery made for the purpose of expediting or facilitating
the performance of a public official for a routine
governmental action, and not to obtain or
retain business or any improper business advantage.
Facilitation payments tend to be
demanded by low level officials to obtain a level of service which one would normally be
entitled to.
Our strict policy is that facilitation payments must not be paid. We recognise, however, that
our employees may be faced with situations where there is a risk to the personal security of
an employee or his/her family and where a facilitation payment is unavoidable, in which case
the following steps must be taken:
-
Keep any amount to the minimum;
-
Create a record concerning the payment; and
-
Report it to your line manager.
In order to achieve our aim of not making any facilitation payments, each business of the
Company will keep a record of all payments made, which must be reported to the Company
Secretary, in order to evaluate the business risk and to develop a strategy to minimise such
payments in the future.
Political Contributions
We do not make donations, whether in cash or kind,
in support of any political parties or
candidates, as this can be perceived as an attempt
to gain an improper business advantage.
Charitable contributions
Charitable support and donations are acceptable (and indeed are encouraged), whether of in-kind services, knowledge, time, or direct financial
contributions. However, employees must
be careful to ensure that charitable contributions
are not used as a scheme to conceal
bribery. We only make charitable donations that are
legal and ethical under local laws and
practices. No donation must be offered or made without the prior approval of the compliance
manager.
All charitable contributions should be publicly disclosed.
Employees' responsibilities
Employees must ensure that they read, understand and comply with this policy.
The prevention, detection and reporting of bribery
and other forms of corruption are the
responsibility of all those working for us or under
our control. All employees are required to
avoid any activity that might lead to, or suggest,
a breach of this policy.
You must notify your manager
OR
the Company Secretary
as
soon as possible if you believe or suspect that a conflict with or breach of this policy has
occurred, or may occur in the future.
Any employee who breaches this policy will face disciplinary action, which could result in
dismissal for gross misconduct. We reserve our right to terminate our contractual relationship
with other workers if they breach this policy.
Record-keeping
We must keep financial records and have appropriate
internal controls in place which will
evidence the business reason for making payments to
third parties.
Employees must declare and keep a written record of all hospitality or gifts accepted or offered,
which will be subject to managerial review.
You must ensure all expenses claims relating to hospitality, gifts or expenses incurred to third
parties are submitted in accordance with our expenses policy and specifically record the
reason for the expenditure.
All accounts, invoices, memoranda and other documents and records relating to dealings with
third parties, such as clients, suppliers and business contacts, should be prepared and
maintained with strict accuracy and completeness. No accounts must be kept "off-book" to
facilitate or conceal improper payments.
How to raise a concern
Employees are encouraged to raise concerns about any issue or suspicion of malpractice at the
earliest possible stage. If you are unsure whether
a particular act constitutes bribery or
corruption, or if you have any other queries or concerns, these should be raised
with your line manager OR the Company Secretary.
What to do if you are a victim of bribery or corruption
It is important that you tell the Company Secretary
as soon as
possible if you are offered a bribe by a third party, are asked to make one, suspect that this
may happen in the future, or believe that you are a
victim of another form of unlawful activity.
Protection
Employees who refuse to accept or offer a bribe, or
those who raise concerns or report
another's wrongdoing, are sometimes worried about possible repercussions. We aim to
encourage openness and will support anyone who raises genuine concerns in good faith
under this policy, even if they turn out to be mistaken.
We are committed to ensuring no one suffers any detrimental treatment as a result of refusing
to take part in bribery or corruption, or because of reporting in good faith their suspicion that
an actual or potential bribery or other corruption
offence has taken place, or may take place in
the future. Detrimental treatment includes dismissal, disciplinary action, threats or other
unfavourable treatment connected with raising a concern. If an employee believes that
he or she has suffered any such treatment, they should inform one of the
directors immediately. If the
matter is not remedied, and the person is an employee, they should raise it formally using the
company's Grievance Procedure.
Who is responsible for the policy?
The board of directors has overall responsibility for ensuring this policy complies with our
legal and ethical obligations, and that all those under our control comply with it.
The Company Secretary has primary and day-to-day responsibility for implementing this
policy, and for monitoring its use and effectiveness and dealing with any queries on its
interpretation. Management at all levels are responsible for ensuring those reporting to them
are made aware of and understand this policy and are given adequate and regular training on
it.
Monitoring and review
The Company Secretary will monitor the effectiveness and review the implementation of this
policy, regularly considering its suitability, adequacy and effectiveness. All employees are responsible for the success of this policy and should ensure they use it to
disclose any suspected danger or wrongdoing.
Employees are invited to comment on this policy and
suggest ways in which it might be
improved. Comments, suggestions and queries should
be addressed to the Company
Secretary.
This policy does not form part of any employee's contract of employment and it may be
amended at any time.
