The Bribery Act 2010, which received Royal Assent on 8th April, was expected to enter into force before the end of this year; however, it has now been announced that it will not be implemented until April 2011.
It seems that the reason behind the delay is to allow the government time to undertake a consultation regarding the procedures which commercial organisations can put in place to avoid falling foul of the corporate offence of failing to prevent bribery, and also to allow companies a reasonable period to ensure they conform to these guidelines.
The consultation (described as short) will commence in September with the guidance on the defence of 'adequate procedures' being issued early in 2011.
The good news here is that companies are being afforded a longer period of time to revise and implement bribery policies and procedures. This does not mean, however, that companies are advised to await the government guidance before they start preparing for the Bribery Act.
Even without the Bribery Act, bribery is still an offence and businesses should have policies in place to prevent and detect bribery. If you have a Policy, now is the time to be updating it for the new legislation and if you don't, you really should have.
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