Ho-Ho No-No: Xmas Gifts Could Soon Be Illicit Bribes, So Set Policy Now, UK Experts Advise
It’s best to be wary before getting too merry this holiday season, as far as corporate gift-giving is concerned.
New legislation that will take effect in April in the United Kingdom at least arguably prohibits some traditional corporate Christmas gifts, and now is the time for companies to be establishing policies that help protect them from being prosecuted under the Bribery Act, experts say.
Moderation is one important principle: While a bottle of single-malt scotch whiskey might well be an acceptable gift, a case might not be, suggests Alison Barr on a Barr Ellison blog post.
But Edwin Harland, who serves as a director in forensic services practice of international accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, paints a more spartan picture of future holiday gift-giving.
“This is the last year for Christmas gifts,” he tells the Telegraph. Among the items he expects to be problematic are lavish gift baskets, anything that is delivered to a home address, tablet computers and tickets to sports events at which the company providing the tckets isn’t represented.
More guidance is expected from the British government soon to help businesses establish appropriate policies.
