The Bribery Act 2010 came into force on 1 July 2011 in the UK. It is extremely important that NI Water as a company ensures compliance with the provisions of the Act. This includes compliance in its relationships with its customers and other third parties it does business with.
Bribery is the offer, promise, giving, demanding or acceptance of an advantage as an inducement for an action which is illegal, unethical or a breach of trust. Corruption is any form of abuse of entrusted power for private gain and may include, but is not limited to, bribery.
NI Water has a comprehensive anti-bribery and corruption policy in place, which is available on request.
It is our policy to conduct all of our business in an honest and ethical manner, taking a zero-tolerance approach to bribery and corruption. We are committed to acting fairly, professionally and with integrity in all of our business dealings and relationships and in implementing and enforcing effective systems to counter bribery and corruption.
We also expect third parties we do business with, whether suppliers, joint venture partners or agents, to have similarly robust policies and procedures in place. Such policies and procedures should clearly state that representatives of your business will need to comply with your policies and that any form of bribery or corruption will not be tolerated by your organisation.
We would also expect third parties to carry out regular checks, as we do, to make sure their representatives, working with NI Water, are acting within the law. As part of NI Water’s risk assessment process, we may need to communicate with your organisation and request for certain confirmation or reports in relation to NI Water’s business.
If we become aware that any of your representatives have offered unlawful payments or other inducements to our employees or agents, we shall report this to you. We would also urge you to tell us if you become aware of any of our representatives acting in an unacceptable manner.
If we invite any of your representatives to any of our events that provide hospitality, it is not with the intention of inducing them to conduct business with us. It is your responsibility to have appropriate guidance in place to ensure your representatives are aware of circumstances where they can and cannot accept corporate hospitality invitations.
We hope the reason for our zero-tolerance approach to bribery and corruption is clear. If you have any queries or concerns, please contact our Head of Corporate Governance (02890 354813 extension 23507 – george[DOT]ong[AT]niwater[DOT]com) who will be happy to deal with your questions.
Sara Venning
Chief Executive
Northern Ireland Water