The Bribery Act 2010 (the Act) came into effect on 1 July 2011. The Act applies across the UK and all businesses and overseas businesses undertaking activities in the UK.

Bribery can be defined as the giving someone a financial or other advantage (does not have to be cash) to encourage that person to perform their functions or activities improperly or to reward that person for having already done so.

For example, this may involve a party seeking to influence a decision maker by giving them some kind of extra benefit, rather than by what can legitimately be offered as part of a tender process.

It is an offence to offer, give, request or accept a bribe. It is also an offence for a commercial organisation for failing to prevent bribery, which means that a commercial organisation, such as Eastlight, can commit an offence if a person associated with it bribes another person for that organisation’s benefit.

However, the Act states that the organisation will have a defence for failing to prevent bribery if it can evidence that they have put in place ‘adequate procedures’ designed to prevent persons associated with it from bribing others on their behalf.

It is the responsibility of all Eastlight staff to ensure they have awareness and comply with Eastlight policies and procedures, as members of staff could be held individually accountable for acting against the Bribery Act or against Eastlight policies and procedures.

It is everyone’s responsibility to ensure compliance with the Act. This includes employees, contractors, suppliers, consultants and any other parties that have a business relationship with Eastlight.