Last Modified: Wednesday April 27 2022 13:04
HALLE HEALTHCARE Anti-Bribery and Corruption Policy
HALLE
HEALTHCARE Anti-Bribery and Corruption
Policy
Contents:
1.
Definitions
2. Introduction
3. Purpose and scope of this policy
4. The Bribery Act 2010
5. The risks of not acting with integrity
6. The benefits of acting with integrity
7. Policy statement
8. Gifts and hospitality
9. Facilitation payments
10. Indicators of bribery
11. Political donations
12. Charitable donations
13. Local circumstances
14. Exceptional circumstances
15. Responsibility to report and the reporting process
16. Monitoring
17. Training
18. Sanctions for breach of this policy
1. Definitions
In this policy “we”, 'us”, and “the Company” mean Halle Healthcare
Ltd
“Bribe” means an inducement or reward offered, promised or
provided in order to gain any commercial, contractual, regulatory or personal
advantage; “to Bribe” and “Bribery” are construed accordingly.
“Relevant Person” means any individual (whether an officer
of employee of the Company, or a temporary worker, contractor or consultant
providing services to or on behalf of the Company) or any corporate entity who
performs functions for or on behalf of the Company.
2. Introduction
One of the Company’s core values is to uphold responsible
and fair business practice. It is committed to promoting and maintaining
the highest level of ethical standards in relation to all of its business
activities. Its reputation for maintaining lawful business practices is
of paramount importance and this Policy is designed to preserve these values.
The Company therefore has a zero tolerance policy towards bribery and
corruption and is committed to acting fairly and with integrity in all of its
business dealings and relationships and to implementing and enforcing effective
systems to counter bribery.
3. Purpose and scope of this policy
This Policy sets out the steps all of us must take to
prevent bribery and corruption in our business and to comply with relevant
legislation. It is aimed at:
• ensuring compliance with anti-bribery
laws, rules and regulations, not just within the UK but in any other country
within which the Company may carry out its business or in relation to which its
business may be connected;
• enabling any Relevant Person to
understand the risks associated with bribery and to encourage them to be
vigilant and effectively recognise, prevent and report any wrongdoing, whether
by themselves or others;
• providing suitable and secure reporting
and communication channels and ensuring that any information that is reported
is properly and effectively dealt with;
• creating and maintaining a rigorous and
effective framework for dealing with any suspected instances of bribery or
corruption.
All Relevant Persons are expected to adhere to the
principles set out in this Policy.
4. The Bribery Act 2010
The Bribery Act 2010 (the Bribery Act) came into force on 1
July 2011. The Bribery Act affects the Company in its business relations
anywhere in the world.
Under the Bribery Act it is an offence to:
1. bribe a person i.e. to offer, promise
or give a financial or other advantage to another person, whether within the UK
or abroad, with the intention of inducing or rewarding improper conduct;
2. receive a Bribe i.e. to request, agree
to receive or accept a financial or other advantage for or in relation to
improper conduct;
3. bribe a foreign public official; and
4. fail to prevent Bribery.
5. Risks of not acting with integrity
Involvement in Bribery or corruption carries many risks.
Among them are:
• a company which pays or accepts Bribes
is not in control of its business and is at risk of blackmail;
• if the Company is found guilty of
Bribery or even of failing to have adequate procedures in place to prevent
Bribery, it will be subject to unlimited fines;
• any person found guilty of Bribery will
be subject to fines and/or imprisonment of up to 10 years;
• a public exposure, or even allegation,
of bribery would entail severe reputational damage. The Company’s banking or
supply facilities might be withdrawn or be available on much less favourable
terms, and the Company could be blacklisted as an approved tenderer for both
public and private sector contracts;
• the cost of our insurance cover could increase
very significantly; and
• good people will not want to work for
us.
6. Benefits of acting with integrity
Equally, there are very clear benefits to acting with
propriety. These include:
• we increase our chances of being
selected as a supplier in both the public and private sectors;
• we remain in good standing with our
banks and our own suppliers and they will want to keep doing business with us;
• a business with high ethical standards
is a good place to work; and
• it is a requirement of the REC Code of
Professional Practice that we act with integrity at all times.
7. Policy statement
All Relevant Persons and Associated Persons are required at
all times:
• not to commit an offence listed above at
section 4 or any other offence;
• to comply with the Bribery Act
• to act honestly, responsibly and with
integrity;
• to safeguard and uphold the Company’s
core values by operating in an ethical, professional and lawful manner 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.
All Relevant Persons and all Associated Persons are expected to adhere strictly
at all times to the guidelines set out in this Policy. If you are in
doubt as to what might amount to bribery or what might constitute a breach of
this Policy, refer the matter to the Sales & Operations Director and/or the
Managing Director.
8. Gifts and Hospitality
The Company occasionally provides gifts and hospitality to clients, customers,
contractors, and suppliers. This is not prohibited by the Bribery Act
provided the following requirements are met:
• the gift is not made with the intention
of influencing a third party to obtain or retain business or a business
advantage, or to reward the provision or retention of business or a business
advantage;
• it complies with local laws;
• it is given in the Company’s name, not
in the giver’s personal name;
• it does not include cash or a cash
equivalent (such as gift vouchers);
• it is of an appropriate and reasonable
type and value and given at an appropriate time;
• it is given openly, not secretly;
• it is approved in advance by a director
of the Company.
In summary, it is not acceptable to give, promise to give,
or offer, a payment, gift or hospitality with the expectation or hope that a
business advantage will be received, or to reward a business advantage already
given, or to accept a payment, gift or hospitality from a third party that you
know or suspect is offered or provided with the expectation that it will obtain
a business advantage for them.
9. Facilitation payments
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.
10. What are the indicators of bribery?
Common indicators of corruption include those listed below.
There may well be others. For example:
• payments are for abnormal amounts (e.g.
commission), or made in an unusual way, eg what would normally be a single
payments is made in stages, through a bank account never previously used, or in
a currency or via a country which has no connection with the transaction;
• process is bypassed for approval or
sign-off of terms or submission of tender documents, payments, or other
commercial matters; those whose job it is to monitor commercial processes (e.g
Company Accountant) may be prevented from or hindered in doing so;
• individuals are secretive about certain
matters or relationships and/or insist on dealing with them personally. They
may make trips at short notice without explanation, or have a more lavish
lifestyle than expected;
• decisions are taken for which there is
no clear rationale;
• records are incomplete or missing.
11. Political contributions
You should be aware that such contributions can be (or be
seen as) Bribes in disguise. We do not make donations to political parties. No
individual is to make a donation stated to be, or which could be taken to be,
on our behalf without the prior approval of the Board. You may, of course, make
political donations in a personal capacity but please be sensitive to how such
contributions could be perceived, especially by those who are aware of your
connection with the Company.
12. Charitable donations
Bribes may even be disguised as charitable donations. Again,
for that reason, donations we make are approved by resolution of the Board and
recorded. Whilst individuals may of course make personal donations to charity,
they should not do so on behalf of the Company without prior approval from the
Board.
13. Local circumstances
We understand that different parts of the world have
different social and cultural customs. This does not affect our position that
we do not pay or accept bribes or act corruptly: we do not and will not.
However, subject to that position, we understand the need to be sensitive to
local customs. For example, there are cultures in which refusing (or even
failing to offer) a gift is considered impolite, and could alienate a key
contact. In such cases, please refer to the Sales & Operations Director
and/or the Managing Director.
Exceptional circumstances
In some circumstances a payment is justifiable. If one of
our people is faced with a threat to his or her personal safety or that of
another person if a payment is not made, they should pay it without fear of
recrimination. In such cases, the Sales & Operations Director and/or the
Managing Director however must be contacted as soon as possible, and the
payment and the circumstances in which it was made must be fully documented and
reported to the Sales & Operations Director and/or the Managing Director of
the business concerned within five working days.
Such cases will be rare. All Relevant Persons
visiting regions where they are more common should familiarise themselves,
prior to travel, with current guidance relating to those countries. The Sales
& Operations Director and/or the Managing Director should be consulted if
in doubt.
14. Responsibility to report and the reporting procedure
All Relevant Persons are contractually required to take
whatever reasonable steps are necessary to ensure compliance with this Policy
and to prevent, detect and report any suspected Bribery or corruption. All
Relevant Persons have a duty to prevent, detect and report any incident of
Bribery and any potential risks of Bribery. If you know or suspect that any
Relevant Person plans to offer, promise or give a Bribe or to request, agree to
receive or accept a Bribe in connection with the Company’s business, you must
disclose this to the Sales & Operations Director and/or the Managing
Director as quickly as possible to allow appropriate action to be taken promptly.
The Company is committed to taking appropriate action
against Bribery and corruption. This may include either reporting the
matter to an appropriate external government department, regulatory agency or
the police and/or taking internal disciplinary action against relevant
employees and/or terminating contracts with associated persons.
The Company will keep your disclosure confidential during
any investigation it undertakes to the extent that this is practical and
appropriate in the circumstances. The Company will support anyone who raises
genuine concerns in good faith under this Policy, even if they turn out to be
mistaken. The Company is also committed to ensuring nobody 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 corruption offence has taken place or may take
place in the future or because they may assist in the investigation of an
allegation of Bribery or corruption.
15. Record keeping
All accounts, receipts, invoices and other documents and
records relating to dealings with third parties must be prepared and maintained
with strict accuracy and completeness. No accounts must be kept “off the
record” to facilitate or conceal improper payments.
16. Monitoring compliance
The Company’s Sales & Operations Director and/or the
Managing Director has primary responsibility for ensuring compliance with this
Policy and will review its contents on a regular basis. S/he will be
responsible for monitoring its effectiveness and will provide regular reports
in this regard to the directors of the Company who have overall responsibility
for ensuring this Policy complies with the Company’s legal and ethical
obligations.
17. Training
The Company will provide training to all employees to help
them understand their duties and responsibilities under this Policy. The
Company’s zero tolerance approach to Bribery will also be communicated to all
business partners at the outset of the business relationship with them and as
appropriate thereafter.
18. Sanctions for breach of this Policy
A breach of any of the provisions of this Policy by any
Relevant Person who is an officer or employee of the Company will constitute a disciplinary
offence and will be dealt with in accordance with the Company’s disciplinary
procedure. Depending on the gravity of the offence, it may be treated as gross
misconduct and could render the officer or employee liable to summary
dismissal.
Breach of this policy by any Relevant Person who is a
temporary worker, contractor or consultant providing his/ her services to the
Company may lead to the immediate termination of that temporary worker’s,
contractor’s or consultant’s engagement by the Company.
Breach of this policy by any Relevant Person which is a
corporate entity could lead to the suspension or termination of any relevant
contract, sub-contract or other agreement between the corporate entity and the
Company.