Postmen’s Christmas tips fall foul of legislation

This entry was posted on Friday, December 9th, 2011 at 9:14 am

Royal Mail has issued a warning to its postmen that their acceptance of the traditional Christmas tip may see them fall foul of the new Bribery Act.

The management of the postal service has posted official guidance on its website advising postmen not to accept gifts of more than £30, citing the Bribery Act as the reason for the extra caution.

The Bribery Act was introduced earlier this year and is believed to be amongst the most stringent anti-corruption legislation in the world. It was drawn up to fight corporate fraud by preventing payment of illegal inducements in multi-million pound business deals. Those who break it can receive unlimited fines or up to ten years in jail.

Previously, if the Serious Fraud Office wanted to prosecute a company for corporate fraud, they would have to demonstrate that senior executives at the firm were aware of the offence. Under the new laws, however, the company does not need to have any knowledge of the offence to be liable for serious fraud.

The amount of money that constitutes a bribe is not specified in the legislation, so any payment can be considered illegal if the intention is to receive an improper advantage, with tips and gifts open to interpretation in this way. People who give postal workers gifts could be drawn into an investigation if a complaint is lodged alleging that the payment is corrupt.

The Ministry of Justice has insisted that such gifts are not bribes and that ‘reasonable and proportionate’ amounts are allowable, but legal experts believe that this example demonstrates how the legislation can intrude into the everyday lives of innocent people.

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