Gift vs Bribery: What HR Needs to Know

As we head towards the festive season, gift-giving is a common occurrence. From Secret Santa with your colleagues to taking clients out for dinner, presents can be a tangible way of showing appreciation. However, in the workplace, HR needs to be mindful of the difference between a well meaning gift vs bribery.

HR teams must ensure their organisation has an anti-bribery policy and training available to its people. There should be a thorough understanding of the law, with methods firmly in place to prevent bribery.

Gift vs Bribery: HR’s Legal Obligations

The Bribery Act of 2010 criminalises:

• The act of bribing somebody
• The act of accepting a bribe
• Bribing foreign public officials
• Failing to prevent bribery by associated persons

The final point is where organisations can become liable for the offence of their employees if it is deemed that the company did not put in place adequate preventions.

It’s important to note that ‘associated persons’ broadens the scope beyond just employees – it also involves and applies to contractors, freelancers, partners, and consultants.

Having an up-to-date anti-bribery policy will be crucial for organisations who want to ensure their people are fully informed on what is legal and acceptable, as both a preventative measure and as evidence of the organisation having the proper safe guards in place if a case does ever arise, particularly as the government can give unlimited fines.

Anti-Bribery Policy

When creating or updating your anti-bribery policy, your HR team should ensure the policy reflects the level of risk your organisation faces, such as due to your industry or sector. The policy should include:

• How you reduce and control the risk of bribery
• Rules for avoiding conflicts of interest
• Rules around associated persons accepting gifts, including in the form of donations or hospitality
• Guidance on how you conduct your business, such as with respect to negotiating contracts

It’s also important to ensure there is clarity around the consequences of the anti-bribery policy being broken – it must be clear to employees that it counts as gross misconduct.

It should also outline how suspected bribes can be reported, such as by linking to your organisation’s whistle-blowing policy and ensure there is no risk to the employee who does report a case.

You may choose to include illustrative examples of gifts vs bribery in your anti-bribery policy to ensure full understanding and methods for how you will review and update your policy in the future.

Further Protection & Training

It should be ensured that everyone has a thorough understanding of the policy and that its most up-to-date version is stored somewhere accessible and clearly signposted for employees who may want to refer to it. For this, an HR system which serves as a single source of truth can be invaluable.

Other practices around bribery and gifting your HR team should consider include:

Recording All Gifts

To avoid reputational damage, HR should work with managers and leadership to ensure all gifts being received and given by the organisation and its people are well documented. This should include what the gift is, its value, when it was received, who gave the gift and to whom, as well as the intention of it – was it a thank you for working well on a project, a Christmas gift, celebrating the company achieving a milestone?

These records not only supply evidence of due diligence but also help protect the organisation in cases where bribery allegations arise. With the advanced reporting tools available in xcd’s Salesforce HR software, HR teams can efficiently track, document, and analyse gift exchanges, ensuring compliance with anti-bribery policies while minimising risks.

Be Fair

If management are considering giving presents to their teams, they should be sure to communicate with each other to ensure there’s no significant disparity between what is being given to different teams or people of different seniorities. This is in order to reduce the risk of biased gift giving. This is especially crucial to consider with protected characteristics in mind so that no discriminatory behaviour takes place.

Types of Gifts

HR may also need to consider the types of gifts that are given out during festive periods.

For example, although alcohol is a common gift for Christmas celebrations it may have the potential to cause issues if given to someone who is teetotal or those with religious beliefs that prohibit alcohol.

With this in mind, you may opt to instead offer a couple options that sit at the same price point which allows all staff to choose the gift they would like most. Alternatively, you can give out vouchers worth the exact same amount for the same store, enabling your people full autonomy with what their gift is.

If you are currently reviewing and updating your organisational policies, you should read: What is a menopause policy and how can HR create one?

Streamline Policy Management with a Salesforce HR System

Navigating complex policies, such as anti-bribery measures, requires a reliable and flexible HR system. With xcd’s HR platform, built on Salesforce, your organisation can centralise policy management, deliver training effectively, and ensure compliance with ease.

From tracking gifts to managing whistle-blowing reports, our HR software simplifies the process, offering tools to help you maintain transparency and protect your organisation’s reputation.

Take the first step towards an organised and compliant HR function. Discover how our Salesforce HR system can support your policies and processes.