BRIBERY ACT - NOW IN FORCE

The Bribery Act 2010 was finally introduced on 1 July 2011. There are 4 offences within the Act.  These are:

1.      Bribery - offering, promising or giving a reward to a person to induce that person to do something improperly.

2.      Being bribed - taking, agreeing to take, or requesting a reward in return for doing something improperly.

3.      Bribing a foreign public official - this is a specific offence relating to an attempt to influence a foreign public official.

4.      The corporate offence - this occurs when an organisation fails to stop people who are operating on its behalf from being bribed or offering bribes.

Bribery Policy

a)   Initially, and most importantly, ensure that you have an adequate anti-bribery policy in place
b)   Identify risk areas where bribery is most likely to occur.  You should identify risk areas in your company where bribery is more likely to occur. For example, a negotiating team who meets with external clients to secure business, or truck drivers stationed in volatile countries and passing through armed customs checkpoints
c)    Address any employee concerns.  As an employer, you should ensure that you fully address all concerns that your workforce may have regarding bribery. As this is new legislation, they may require clarification as to how the law will affect tasks that they may have been doing for years, such as arranging corporate hospitality events
d)   Checklist for reviewing policies associated with bribery.  As your company will have other policies in place these should be reviewed as a result of implementing a Bribery policy, and updated in accordance with  Government guidelines to ensure compliance with this new piece of legislation.

Should you require any help with devising new policies, do not hesitate to contact us on 01738 632 561 or email admin@fairways-uk.com.

MINIMUM WAGE OCTOBER 2011

Increases to the minimum wage rates, which take effect from 1 October 2011 has been announced by the Government:-

•   Standard adult rate (workers aged 21 and over): £6.08

•  Development rate (workers aged between 18 and 20): £4.98

•  Young workers rate (workers aged under 18 but above the compulsory school age who are not apprentices): £3.68

•  Apprentice rates - under 19 or those aged 19 and over but in the first year of their apprenticeship: £2.60

•   All other apprentices: national minimum wage at appropriate age rate.

The Bribery Act comes into force on 1 July 2011

The Ministry of Justice has finally published the long-awaited guidance on the Bribery Act coming into force on 1 July 2011.

How the new anti-bribery legislation will work:-

The Bribery Act 2010 attracted a lot of criticism from the business community when first published – the CBI, for example, declared it unfit for purpose. There was a fear it would result in the criminalisation of normal business practices, such as corporate hospitality. As a result of these criticisms, the government revised the initial draft guidance it had produced and has now published a final version.

Businesses now need to review their activities and act fast, if they believe they may be at risk, as the Act is coming into force in less than three months’ time.

Breaches:-

There are four offences under the Act. which are:

• giving a bribe to encourage a person to perform their duty improperly;
• receiving a bribe with the intention that a duty will be performed improperly as a result;
• bribing foreign officials in order to retain or obtain business, or a business advantage, where there is no   express legal permission or obligation to do so;
• failing to prevent a bribe (this applies to commercial organisations only).

These offences are punishable by unlimited fines and prison sentences of up to 10 years. Directors may be held personally liable if they consent or connive in a bribe committed by their organisation.

HR SEMINAR

Fairways of Perth is giving you free HR support, updates and advice this Thursday in Edinburgh with Ingenuity Scotland.

Only a few places left..!!

Register your details at http://www.smeinar.co.uk/

LEGAL COMPLIANCE MADE EASY FOR YOU

According to the Tribunals Service, the number of tribunal claims raised in the last year alone has increased by 56%.
Are you ready for new legislation?
Are you compliant to ensure you don’t become one of these statistics?

Compliant – or think you are?

The Equality Act which came into force on the 1st October 2010, consolidated nine different pieces of legislation – do you know what legislation entails?

As an employer you need to know how the different types of discrimination as defined in the Act, can affect employment related issues.
What about changes to retirement?

From the 30th March 2011, it will no longer be possible to enforce retirement upon your employees at 65 years and older (except in very few circumstances.) What procedures will you follow after this date to ensure legal compliance?

Health & Safety in the workplace

Are your employees safe?
Have you carried out risk assessments?
Do you have a health and safety policy?

If you employ more than 5 people, it is a legal requirement to have a written assessment of risk in the workplace to protect your employees and prevent you from ending up in court to be prosecuted.

Fairways have the the right solutions, policies, systems and procedures to help you:

a) Manage your business effectively
b) Manage risk
c) Comply with all employment legislation, HR, health and safety and training

Fairways has a comprehensive range of packages to suit your business needs from retained services at a fixed cost to one–off consultancy to a variety of training programs and workshops.

Fairways only deliver what you need, when you need it. We work with you, for you to deliver meaningful results into your business. What’s more is that we stay with you to ensure implementation is an easy process for you.

Our services are designed to be delivered to save you money and time, leaving you to do what you do best – manage your business.

When you work with Fairways, we work with you to ensure you are provided with the right solutions at the right time for your business. Therefore whatever HR business challenges you face, Fairways will be working with you, for you, to enhance your organisation's performance. As there’s nothing more important in your business than your people, it’s important you have professional advice and support so when it comes to your HR - do it Fairways; you deserve the best.

Contact us now on 01738 632561 for your free consultation

CONTRACTS OF EMPLOYMENT

Employers are legally obliged to issue a statement of terms and conditions of employment within two months of the date of the employment commencing.

This gives you, the employer the opportunity to set out clearly what you expect of your employees. A well drafted contract of employment will serve you well if difficulties present themelves during the course of employment.   These terms and conditions also provide employees with a clearer understanding of their rights and obligations under UK employment legislation.

Rather than providing employers with a generic statement, Fairways tailors the terms of all documents to meet the specific needs of your business and don’t just provide an ‘off the shelf’ generic template document.

At Fairways, we recognise that every organisation is unique and that one size does not fit all business operations therefore ‘working with you, for you’ we ensure that the terms and conditions of employment provided, always ensures you remain legally compliant.

Contact us today on 01738 632 561 to arrange a free consultation or email admin@fairways-uk.com

Do it Fairways!

UNFAIR DISMISSAL QUALIFYING PERIOD

The UK government is currently considering increasing the current one-year qualifying period of service an employee requires before bringing a claim of unfair dismissal to two years (although no qualifying period applies in relation to certain forms of 'automatic' unfair dismissal).   Further information is expected in spring 2011 and we shall keep you informed of updates.