Compliance tools · Corporate governance, employment and financial

Bribery Act 2010 compliance tool

Bribery Act 2010 (c. 23) · United Kingdom · Binding instrument

Name anyone on your staff. The system makes them your compliance person.

A member of your own staff, with no compliance background, reads the training module, answers the interview, and finishes with your Bribery Act 2010 documentation cited article by article. The knowledge stays in the business.

Every account level runs inside a dedicated Claude account. Anyone can try a toolkit in their own Claude account; compliance work runs in a dedicated one. The Claude Max plan is £90 a month, paid to Anthropic, and is not included in any level.

See a finished report before you pay

Bribery Act 2010 (c. 23) is a binding instrument in the United Kingdom. Corporate offence of failing to prevent bribery. Adequate procedures defence.

The free assessment screens every United Kingdom business against this instrument: it applies across sectors rather than to one activity.

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• Your exact position under Bribery Act 2010: what is in place, what is missing, and what to do about each gap.
• Documentation with article citations, ready for auditors, insurers, customers and public buyers.
• A trained person inside the business who understands what the regulation requires, and stays.
• A dated record of every section completed, with the reports themselves staying in your own Claude account. The toolkit is carried by an account level, see the plans.
• All of it completed in-house, at your own pace, without booking a single meeting.

Check that Bribery Act 2010 applies to your business, free →

Does Bribery Act 2010 apply to my business?

The Bribery Act 2010 applies to you if you are an individual, a body corporate or a partnership, and the corporate offence under section 7 applies to any relevant commercial organisation carrying on a business or part of a business in the United Kingdom. Trade or profession counts as a business under section 7(5).

Who does Bribery Act 2010 apply to?

It applies to all individuals and bodies corporate or partnerships, and section 7 applies specifically to relevant commercial organisations as defined in section 7(5), including bodies incorporated in the United Kingdom and bodies corporate or partnerships carrying on business in any part of the United Kingdom. Senior officers also bear personal liability under section 14(2).

Does Bribery Act 2010 apply to a small business?

The Act makes no distinction based on organisation size, so there is no size threshold, exemption or relief. The Secretary of State guidance under section 9 applies proportionality, so the nature and extent of adequate procedures depends on the size, nature and complexity of the business and its bribery risks.

When does Bribery Act 2010 apply from, and what are the deadlines?

The Act received Royal Assent on 8 April 2010 and the remainder came into force on 1 July 2011 by S.I. 2011/1418 under section 19(1). There are no reporting or notification deadlines; adequate procedures must be in place at the time an associated person commits a bribery offence for the section 7(2) defence to be available.

What does Bribery Act 2010 require me to do?

You must maintain adequate procedures designed to prevent associated persons from undertaking bribery, as required by section 7(2). The Secretary of State guidance under section 9 sets six principles: proportionate procedures, top-level commitment, risk assessment, due diligence, communication including training, and monitoring and review.

What records or documents does Bribery Act 2010 require me to keep or produce?

The Act imposes no specific records or documents requirement on relevant commercial organisations. The practical expectation is evidence of adequate procedures under section 7(2), assessed at the point of the offending conduct rather than at the point of prosecution.

What happens if I do not comply with Bribery Act 2010?

On conviction on indictment the section 7 corporate offence carries an unlimited fine under section 11(3), with no maximum cap, and partnerships pay the fine out of partnership assets under section 15(3). Individual offences under sections 1, 2 and 6 carry up to 10 years imprisonment, or an unlimited fine, or both under sections 11(2) and 11(3).

Does Bribery Act 2010 apply to a UK business selling into the EU?

The section 7 corporate offence applies regardless of whether the acts or omissions forming part of the offence take place in the United Kingdom or elsewhere, and it covers a body corporate wherever incorporated carrying on a business or part of a business in any part of the United Kingdom under section 7(5).

Does Bribery Act 2010 apply to an EU business selling into the UK?

A body corporate wherever incorporated, or a partnership wherever formed, that carries on a business or part of a business in any part of the United Kingdom is a relevant commercial organisation under section 7(5) and is caught by the section 7 corporate offence.

How do I start complying with Bribery Act 2010?

The first practical step is to put adequate procedures in place to prevent associated persons from bribing, as required by section 7(2), following the six principles in the Secretary of State guidance published under section 9.

Which ComplianceSME account includes the Bribery Act 2010 toolkit?

The Bribery Act 2010 agent toolkit is included from the Small level.

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