BRIBERY & CORRUPTION POLICY

 

Burning Bright Productions Limited (“Burning Bright”) is committed to operating a corruption-free organisation and conducting its business and any dealings with third parties professionally, with integrity and in compliance with all legal obligations. Burning Bright will not tolerate any form of bribery, corruption or related malpractice and expects its employees and any third parties acting on its behalf to adopt a similar approach. Third parties would include any individual or organisation which is engaged by Burning Bright or acts on behalf of an individual or organisation which is engaged by Burning Bright and would cover freelancers, agents, talent, sub-contractors and fixers (each a “Third Party”).

This Bribery Policy explains what is required of any person or Third Party employed or engaged by Burning Bright and what action must be taken by such person or Third Party should it encounter or suspect corruption or bribery of any kind whilst working for or with Burning Bright.

 

Bribery

A bribe is an inducement offered, given or received in order to obtain an improper advantage, be it commercially or individually. Under the Bribery Act 2010 (“the Act”) the following actions are listed as criminal offences: 

  1. To offer or give a bribe;
  2. To request, agree to receive or accept a bribe;
  3. To bribe a foreign public official ; and
  4. Failure by a company to prevent bribery by an associated person acting for that company’s benefit.

If an individual or a company is found to have committed an offence under the Act, substantial (unlimited) fines can be imposed and individuals responsible can face up to 10 years imprisonment. Obviously, a company implicated in any form of bribery or corruption would also suffer unquantifiable damage to its reputation. 

The offence outlined at point 4 above refers to “associated persons” of an organisation. This is intended to cover the entire range of persons that may perform services for or on behalf of an organisation, including employees, freelancers, agents, suppliers and subsidiaries. Burning Bright therefore requires all persons and Third Parties employed or engaged by it to comply with this policy and the Act generally at all times.

 

Hospitality and Gifts

Burning Bright recognises that hospitality is, for the most part, an accepted form of business in order to establish or build good business relations and that it is normal for employees and Third Parties to give and/or receive gifts and hospitality in the course of their engagement. However, care must always be taken to ensure that the gift/hospitality that is given or received by/from Burning Bright or Third Parties is reasonable and appropriate given the particular set of circumstances. 

As a general rule, the less lavish the gift/hospitality is and the lower the expenditure, the less likely it will be deemed a bribe. If a gift/hospitality given or received appears out of the ordinary based on the circumstances and the particular business relationship or if the gift/hospitality is beyond what would reasonably or justifiably be given in the industry, question why it is being offered. 

It is crucial that any person or Third Party giving or receiving a gift/hospitality on Burning Bright’s behalf considers the intention behind the gift/hospitality. If the giver of the gift/hospitality is hoping to persuade, induce or oblige the recipient to act improperly (as opposed to simply contributing to a legitimate business relationship) it could be deemed bribery. Please contact a member of the Business Affairs Department immediately if based on the above you are still unsure whether a gift/hospitality is reasonable and/or appropriate. 

Burning Bright operates a Company Gift Register which logs all gifts given or received by or on behalf of the company. Any person or organisation acting on Burning Bright’s behalf must register each gift received or given by it in the Company Gift Register as soon as it gives/receives the same.

 

Operating Abroad

The Act extends to the bribing of foreign officials and it is therefore crucial that any person or organisation acting on Burning Bright’s behalf abroad is made aware of Burning Bright’s policy on bribery and corruption. This clearly needs to be considered when engaging fixers and production services companies for foreign filming.

Burning Bright expects all employees and Third Parties who are required to provide their services abroad to seek local advice with regards disguised requests for facilitation payments; question the authority of those demanding any payments and ask to confirm such authority with superiors; always require receipts for any payments made; and, where necessary build in extra time to cover potential delays as a result of non-payment.

 

Code of Conduct

When working for, with or on behalf of Burning Bright it is never acceptable for employees or Third Parties to:

Failure to comply with this Bribery Policy will be deemed to constitute a material breach of an employee, worker or Third Party’s employment or engagement contract and shall entitle Burning Bright to terminate the same with immediate effect.

 

Monitoring & Review

This Policy has been drafted and approved by the board of directors of Burning Bright who take the matter of bribery and corruption extremely seriously. The board of directors will regularly review this policy, assessing the efficacy of both the terms and implementation of its code of conduct. Any improvements identified as being necessary will be made as soon as possible in order to ensure that the policy is suitable, adequate, up to date and effective at all times.

If you have any questions about this policy or the code of conduct outlined above, or, suspect that any bribery or corruption has taken place, please contact the director of production or a senior member of staff immediately.