Anti-Bribery and Anti -Corruption Policy and

Procedures

This policy sets out UWL’s commitment to prevent bribery and corruption in its organisation and the manner in which UWL will manage, monitor and review university activities to ensure compliance with the Bribery Act 2010 and combat bribery and corruption.

Responsibility of : Executive Director of Finance

Approval date: 7 February 2012

Review date : 7 February 2013

Approved by Board of Governors

Consultation JMCC and UCU

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Contents 1. Introduction

2. Scope 3. The offences and penalties 4. Individual day to day guidance

5. Raising Concerns /Whistle blowing 6. Anti-Bribery and Anti-Corruption Strategy 7. Sanctions 8. The Executive Director of Finance

Appendix 1

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The University of West London Anti-Bribery and Anti-Corruption Policy

1 Introduction

1.1 Responsibility

The University of West London (“UWL”) takes its responsibility for ensuring the

establishment and maintenance of systems of internal control for the prevention and

detection of fraud, irregularities and corruption as non-negotiable and will not tolerate

fraud, corruption or abuse of position for personal or institutional gain. This

responsibility is enshrined in UWL’s Financial Regulations

http://www.uwl.ac.uk/files/The_University/Governance_and_legal_framework/Governance/fin

ance_docs. The Bribery Act 2010 (Appendix 1 below) makes it a criminal offence to

offer, promise or provide, or request or accept a bribe both in the United Kingdom

and in many of the jurisdictions in where UWL recruits its students. It is also an

offence to fail to prevent an incident of bribery committed either by UWL or by

someone associated with it in order to obtain or retain a business advantage. The

objective of UWL’s Anti-Bribery and Anti-Corruption Policy is to ensure compliance

with the provisions of the Bribery Act 2010.

1.2 Compliance

The Board of Governors, The Vice Chancellor and the executive are committed to

full compliance with the provisions of the Bribery Act 2010. UWL’s Anti -Bribery and

Anti -Corruption policy confirms this commitment. No form of bribery or corruption will

be tolerated. This commitment is underpinned by UWL’s values of honesty and

openness.

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2 Scope

2.1 Who is affected?

This anti-bribery and corruption policy applies to the Board of Governors, all

members of staff whether temporary or permanent, all agents, contractors,

consultants and intermediaries whether or not they are based in the United Kingdom.

2.2 What locations are affected?

Wherever UWL operates in the world – even where bribery may be seen as part of

the way business is done or as a “local practice” it must be clear that UWL will not

participate in or condone any form of bribery.

2.3 Definitions/ interpretations:

2.3.1 Bribery: bribes can come in many forms and are not limited simply to

acceptance of cash by an individual. Donations to UWL, sponsorship

arrangements, personal gifts, hospitality and entertainment can be bribes if

they are intended to influence UWL decision making.

2.3.2 Corruption includes dishonest and or illegal behaviour, perversion of

integrity, and bribery.

2.3.3 Facilitation or “grease” payments: These are payments demanded by

officials (or others) simply to secure or expedite the performance of their

normal duties (for example, allowing access to a government minister). This is

the way in which business proceeds in some jurisdictions, but the making of

such payments, regardless of how small, will be an offence.

2.4.1 Examples of bribery and corruption:

2.4.1 Bribery can arise in day-to-day situations such as; tendering, appointing

preferred suppliers, contractors and agents, awarding licences, grading

student work or in awarding university places.

2.4.2 Provision of lavish hospitality by UWL for public officials.

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2.4.3 Bribery and corruption could be perpetrated at any level within institutions,

governments and businesses whether as a “facilitation payment” to see an

official or as a top level donation to secure a contract.

2.4.4 Use of university funds, in the form of payments or gifts and hospitality for any

unlawful, unethical or improper purpose.

2.4.5 Authorisation of, making, tolerating or encouraging, or inviting or accepting,

any improper payments in order to obtain retain or improve business.

2.4.6 Permitting anyone to offer or pay bribes or make facilitation payments on

behalf, of UWL or do anything else UWL would not be permitted to do itself.

2.4.7 Offering or giving anything of value to a public official (or their representative)

to induce or reward them for acting improperly in the course of their public

responsibilities.

2.4.8 Awarding a university place where a student has not fulfilled admissions

requirements on the basis of acceptance of a donation.

2.4.8 Offering or accepting gifts or hospitality, where this might impair objective

Judgment, improperly influence a decision or create a sense of obligation, or if

there is a risk it could be misconstrued or misinterpreted

This list is not exhaustive.

For further examples please refer to the Ministry of Justice’s Guidance at

http://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/legislation/bribery-act-2010-guidance.pdf

3 The offences and penalties 3.1 The four offences under the Bribery Act 2010 are:

3.1.1 A general offence covering offering, promising or giving a bribe.

3.1.2 A general offence covering requesting, agreeing to receive or accepting a

bribe.

3.1.3 A distinct offence of bribing a foreign public official to obtain or retain

business.

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3.1.4 Failure to prevent bribery by those acting on their behalf. This is a new

strict liability offence.

( See Appendix 1 for further details and link to view a copy of the Bribery Act 2010)

3.2 Wide interpretation Failing to prevent a bribe is widely interpreted. UWL is responsible for, and guilty of,

an offence if a person associated with UWL bribes another person, intending to

obtain or retain business or a business advantage for UWL. An associated person

may include, for example, any employee, agent, subsidiary company or franchisee.

The offence can be committed in the UK or overseas. Senior officers can also be

convicted of an offence where they are deemed to have given their consent or

connivance to giving or receiving a bribe or bribing a foreign public official or failing

to act.

3.3 The Penalties The potential consequences of being convicted of a bribery offence include: 3.2.1 Criminal penalties for both individuals and companies;

o Individuals can be jailed for up to ten years and/or receive an unlimited

fine.

o UWL could receive an unlimited fine.

3.2.2 Director disqualification for up to 15 years.

3.2.3 Reputational damage and adverse publicity for both UWL and the individual.

3.2.4 Costs of defending case.

3.4 UWL defence to failure to prevent bribery offence

UWL will be able to defend itself against the offence of failure to prevent bribery

where it is able to show it has “adequate procedures” in place ensuring that those

who act for UWL are fully aware that bribery is not acceptable. These adequate

procedures include the implementation of an appropriate anti bribery policy which is

why this policy is so important for UWL.

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4 Individual day to day guidance

4.1 The following guidance is provided to assist in preventing bribery and

corruption but does not replace the clear and careful review of each scenario

by each individual to ensure that on each occasion that everyone acts to

prevent bribery and or corruption.

4.2 It is each individual’s responsibility to ensure:

4.2.1 Compliance with UWL Financial Regulations which set out UWL requirements

on gifts and hospitality; political contributions and charitable donations and

includes UWL’s Ethical Policy

http://www.uwl.ac.uk/files/The_University/Governance_and_legal_framework/

Governance/finance_docs

4.2.2 Compliance with this Anti-Bribery and Anti- Corruption Policy;

4.2.3 Adherence to UWL values of openness and honesty;

4.2.4 Compliance with UWL requirements concerning any conflicts of interest;

http://www.uwl.ac.uk/files/The_University/Governance_and_legal_framework/

Governance/finance_docs

4.2.5 That all activities and transactions are accurately, completely and

transparently recorded;

4.2.6 That all appropriate due diligence and risk mitigation procedures are followed

before proceeding with any contract or other arrangement;

4.2.7 Advice is sought from their line manager who will contact the Compliance

Officer or the University Legal Adviser if unsure how to proceed;

4.2.8 That any suspected or actual breaches of this policy are accurately and

promptly reported to their line manager or Compliance Officer;

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5 Raising concerns and notifications/ Whistle Blowing

5.1 Use of Public Interest Disclosure policy

When staff or students raise concerns about any reasonable suspicions they may

have concerning irregularities in the running of UWL or of activities of colleagues or

others with a contractual relationship with UWL, this will be handled within the policy

and guidance set down by UWL in its “whistle blowing” code of practice set out under

its Public Interest Disclosure Policy;

http://www.uwl.ac.uk/the_university/University_policies.jsp

6 Anti Bribery and Anti- Corruption Strategy 6.1 Training 6.1.1 UWL will provide training to ensure that those who are potentially exposed to

the risks are aware of these risks and act appropriately. The responsibility of

ensuring that relevant training is received lies with all employees and with

their line managers.

6.1.2 Training will be organised by The Human Resources Department. A separate

register will be retained by the Human Resources Department detailing the

date when training was given.

6.2 Communication of policy and internal communications

6.2.1 This policy will be publicly available on the UWL website. Communications will

be made to staff when it is reviewed.

6.2.2 This policy is fully supported by the Vice-Chancellor and his executive who

will ensure effective cross communication between departments, schools and

central administration so that there are no“silos” in relation to potential bribery

or corruption.

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6.3 Compliance Officer

6.3.1 A Compliance Officer who is a senior member of the Finance Department will

set up and manage and maintain the Notification Register which will be a

permanent confidential record of all reports of suspicious activities. The

Notification Register will be kept securely by The Executive Director of

Finance.

6.3.2 The Notification Register, Donations Register and the Gifts and Hospitality

Register (see Link to Financial Regulations below) will each be audited for

the purposes of this policy on an annual basis by the Compliance Officer and

a report made on these registers to the Audit and Risk Committee.

http://www.uwl.ac.uk/files/The_University/Governance_and_legal_framework/

Governance/finance_docs

6.4 Monitor and reviewing university activities. 6.4.1 External bodies/third parties

(i) Where UWL intends to enter into any contractual arrangements with a third

party/external body thorough due diligence shall be carried out before

entering into any contractual arrangements whether or not this is a renewal of

an existing arrangement. Appropriate records of such due diligence shall be

kept.

(ii) Appropriate contractual clauses must be included in any such arrangement

to ensure compliance with the provisions of the Bribery Act 2010. The

University Legal Adviser will provide such appropriate clauses when

requested.

(iii) All such third parties / external bodies shall be directed inter alia to this

policy.

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(iv) Ongoing contracts should be monitored by their respective contract

managers for any breach of this policy.

(v) Where there are no current provisions in a contract the contract manager

shall on review, or earlier if appropriate supply a copy of this policy to the

contractor and direct the contractor’s attention to UWL’s stance on bribery and

corruption.

(vi) UWL seeks and accepts philanthropic gifts in accordance with the CASE

(Council for Advancement and Support of Education) guidelines, CASE

Europe: Ethical Principles Behind the Acceptance of Gifts and has in place a

due diligence procedure for gift acceptance.

6.4.2 Ongoing monitoring review and records

The components of this policy will be monitored on a quarterly basis by a

monitoring group comprising; the Compliance Officer; the University Legal

Adviser; HR Assistant Director learning and Development; A Head of School,

a senior member of the Procurement Department and a senior member of

International Department to ensure that UWL’s procedures are adequate and

sufficiently robust. An annual review of this policy and training shall be

reviewed. A permanent written record of monitoring and review shall be

maintained by the Compliance Officer.

7 Sanctions

7.1 Treatment of breaches 7.1.2 Any breach of this policy by UWL employees will be treated in accordance

with statutory obligations and in accordance with UWL’s Disciplinary Policy

http://www.uwl.ac.uk/the_university/University_policies.jsp#

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7.1.3 Any breach of this policy by third parties, agents, contractors and others will

be treated as a serious matter and dealt with in accordance with the relevant

contract and in accordance with statutory obligations.

8 The Executive Director of Finance

8.1 Role The Executive Director of Finance is responsible for ensuring that UWL “has the

highest standards of stewardship probity and accountability through robust financial

processes and controls” and has responsibility for “risk management” and that (i)

staff involved with receipt and payment of money are aware of the risks of fraud and

money laundering, (ii) systems are processes are in place to minimise the risk of

fraud and any money laundering and (iii) actions plans are in place in the event of

any fraud of money laundering being identified. This Policy assists in discharging

part of that responsibility. Accordingly, the Executive Director of Finance has overall

responsibility for the maintenance and operation of this Policy and will report as

necessary to the Audit and Risk Committee in addition to an annual report provided

by the Compliance Officer.

8.2 Changes to policy UWL reserves the right to modify or add to this policy at any time. Any material changes will be considered, reviewed and communicated appropriately.

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Appendix 1

Legislation

The Bribery Act 2010 reforms the criminal law to provide a new, modern and

comprehensive scheme of bribery offences that will enable courts and prosecutors to

respond more effectively to bribery at home or abroad.

Specifically it creates:

• Two general offences covering the offering, promising or giving of an advantage,

and requesting, agreeing to receive or accepting of an advantage

• A discrete offence of bribery of a foreign public official

• A new offence of failure by a commercial organisation to prevent a bribe being paid

for or on its behalf (it will be a defence if the organisation has adequate procedures

in place to prevent bribery).

If you wish to view the legislation in full you can find out more via

http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/bribery-act.htm