Definition

The Bribery Act 2010 is the principal piece of UK anti-corruption legislation. The Act came into force on 1 July 2011 and replaced a patchwork of older statutes with a single, modern framework. According to the Crown Prosecution Service, the Act criminalises the offering, promising, giving, requesting, agreeing to receive or accepting of a financial or other advantage intended to induce a person to perform a relevant function or activity improperly.

The Act is deliberately broad. It applies to UK nationals and UK-incorporated bodies anywhere in the world, and to non-UK bodies that carry on part of their business in the UK. For a chartered surveyor, that includes site gifts, supplier hospitality, referral fees and agent commissions.

Why this matters for Ethics, Rules of Conduct & Professionalism

  • Level 1 knowledge: you must be able to define the four offences and state the maximum penalties.
  • Level 3 competence: you are expected to evidence how you apply the Act in practice, including gift and hospitality procedures and conflict-of-interest declarations.
  • A breach can end a surveying career — personal fines and up to 10 years' imprisonment for individuals, unlimited fines for firms, and almost certain RICS disciplinary action.
  • The Act underpins Rule 3 of the RICS Rules of Conduct (2022) — to act with integrity and avoid conflicts of interest.
  • Assessors often open ethics questioning with a bribery scenario because it tests your instinctive response to an obvious integrity issue.

Key principles and the four offences

1. Bribing another person (Section 1)

Offering, promising or giving a financial or other advantage to induce a person to perform a relevant function improperly, or to reward them for having done so. There is no minimum value — a modest gift can trigger the offence if the intent is to secure improper advantage.

2. Being bribed (Section 2)

Requesting, agreeing to receive or accepting a financial or other advantage in return for performing a relevant function improperly. This covers accepting an inflated Christmas hamper from a contractor who is mid-tender as readily as it covers cash in an envelope.

3. Bribing a foreign public official (Section 6)

Offering, promising or giving an advantage to a foreign public official with the intention of influencing them in their official capacity. Importantly, facilitation payments — small unofficial payments to speed up routine services — are an offence under UK law, unlike some other jurisdictions.

4. Failure of a commercial organisation to prevent bribery (Section 7)

A strict-liability corporate offence. A firm is guilty if an "associated person" (employee, agent, subsidiary or consultant) bribes another person to obtain or retain business for the firm. The only defence is that the firm had adequate procedures in place to prevent bribery — proportionate, risk-assessed, top-level-committed, with due diligence, communication and monitoring, per the Ministry of Justice guidance.

Penalties

  • Individuals: up to 10 years' imprisonment and an unlimited fine.
  • Firms: unlimited fines, debarment from public procurement, and reputational damage.
  • Directors of convicted firms may be disqualified for up to 15 years under the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986.
Assessor tip

If you are asked "what would you do if a contractor offered you tickets to a rugby international during a tender?", the answer is: politely decline, record the offer in the firm's gifts and hospitality register, and disclose it to your line manager and the client. Never accept and decide later.

Relevant RICS guidance and legislation

  • Bribery Act 2010 — the primary statute; read alongside the Ministry of Justice's "The Bribery Act 2010 — Guidance" (March 2011).
  • RICS Rules of Conduct (effective 2 February 2022) — Rule 3 on integrity and conflicts of interest.
  • RICS Professional Statement: Countering Bribery, Corruption, Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (1st edition, 2019) — mandatory for all RICS members and regulated firms.
  • RICS Global Professional Statement: Conflicts of Interest (1st edition, 2017) — sets the standard for identifying and managing conflicts, including those arising from gifts and hospitality.
  • Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 — benefits of bribery count as criminal property; handling them is a separate offence.
  • Criminal Finances Act 2017 — introduced the corporate offence of failing to prevent the facilitation of tax evasion, which operates on the same "adequate procedures" logic as Bribery Act Section 7.

Ethics and Rules of Conduct angle

Rule 3 of the RICS Rules of Conduct requires members to "act with integrity" and specifically lists not offering or accepting gifts, hospitality or services which might suggest an improper obligation. Rule 3 also obliges firms to have in place procedures to prevent bribery and conflicts of interest — which dovetails directly with Section 7 of the Bribery Act. A member who accepts an improper benefit faces a double sanction: criminal prosecution by the CPS or Serious Fraud Office, and a disciplinary referral to RICS Regulation, which can lead to fines, reprimand or expulsion.

APC questions and answers

Q (Level 1)What are the four offences under the Bribery Act 2010?

Section 1 — bribing another person; Section 2 — being bribed; Section 6 — bribing a foreign public official; and Section 7 — the corporate offence of failing to prevent bribery by an associated person.

Q (Level 1)What is the maximum penalty for an individual convicted under the Bribery Act?

Up to 10 years' imprisonment and an unlimited fine.

Q (Level 2)What are the six principles of "adequate procedures" set out in the Ministry of Justice guidance?

Proportionate procedures; top-level commitment; risk assessment; due diligence; communication and training; and monitoring and review. Together they form the only defence available to a firm charged under Section 7.

Q (Level 2)How does your firm's gifts and hospitality policy work in practice?

All offers over a de minimis threshold (commonly £50) must be logged in the firm's register, approved in advance by a partner, and declined if they coincide with a live tender, bid evaluation or ongoing negotiation. The register is audited annually.

Q (Level 3)A client asks you to pay a small "processing fee" in cash to a foreign official to release a survey permit. What do you do and why?

I decline. Under Section 6 of the Bribery Act 2010, facilitation payments to foreign public officials are criminal offences under UK law regardless of local custom. I would explain the legal position to the client, document the request in writing, report it to my firm's money laundering reporting officer and, depending on jurisdiction, consider whether a Suspicious Activity Report to the National Crime Agency is required under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. Rule 3 of the RICS Rules of Conduct also obliges me to act with integrity and refuse.