Pictured: Hannah Nichols

Specialist fraud lawyers from the Nottingham office Eversheds have devised an on line anti-bribery training tool which has been translated into 24 languages and will be adopted by 40,000 users globally.

Hannah Nichols, associate in financial services dispute resolution & fraud group at Eversheds based in Royal Standard Place, led the team of lawyers which put together anti-bribery@work - an online course designed to educate companies on new legislation relating to the UK Bribery Act 2010.

Hannah, who has been advising a number of large Nottinghamshire and East Midlands firms on the new Act, says the 30-minute on line tool was developed at the request of clients. The training tool is proving to be a phenomenal success as companies rush to find out how the Act will affect them.

"Companies recognise that they need to protect themselves against new offences created by the Act which, if breached, can result in fines or imprisonment for employees and directors," she said.

"It is vital that firms get familiar with the Act - and make sure their employees are aware of it too. The on line training tool teaches directors, managers, employees and agents about the offences created by the Act, and highlights practical examples to help staff recognise instances of bribery or corruption in situations that feel familiar to them."

The Bribery Act creates four new criminal offences, including giving and receiving bribes, bribery of a foreign public official, and a corporate offence of failing to prevent bribery by an employee, agent, or any person performing a service on your behalf, says Hannah. 

The Act defines a bribe as any 'financial or other advantage' - which includes not just cash, but gifts, hospitality, entertainment and favours too.  This means that companies need to think carefully about offering client entertainment or accepting hospitality.

Hannah said: "They have to consider whether their activities are reasonable and proportionate, and ensure they are never given with the intent that the recipient will act improperly as a result. 

"Company directors may find themselves asking 'can I still take clients to see the Test Match at Trent Bridge?' - and the answer is yes.  But with no set monetary threshold at which a gift becomes a bribe, companies do need to ensure their staff are trained to recognise the sort of offers that might fall the wrong side of the line."

While it has always been illegal to give or receive bribes in the UK, the Bribery Act overhauls the UK's anti-bribery legislation, making it one of the strictest regimes in the world.  The creation of the new offences means it is now much easier to prosecute corrupt individuals and companies.

"The recent News of the World scandal shows that bribery and corruption can pervade every aspect of society - companies need to act now to ensure that they have a defence if one of their employees is acting corruptly."

The course is hosted on a system which enables the employer to run tailored reports to show that employees received training on anti-bribery and corruption issues. The training ends with a test so that the employer has a report of  trained employees as proof they have acted properly.

Hannah added: "It is a cost effective way of training large numbers of people or where employees are spread across diverse national and international locations. The beauty of e-learning is it is a truly global solution, allowing companies to train their employees anywhere in the world, so long as they have a broadband