Hi all, With the current international financial crisis, credit crunch, spiralling prices of goods, job losses and scarcity of new jobs it is not surprising that the use of bribery and corruption for the purposes of satisfying needs is thriving. Frequently, it is employees who are involved in practicing corruption or giving or receiving bribes. Bribery is defined in the Collins Concise Dictionary as “the act of giving something, often illegally, to a person to procure services or gain influence.” Corruption is defined as “to be involved in bribery or other dishonest practices”. Employers are victims of bribery and corruption in a number of different ways: • The company buyer could accept a bribe from a supplier in return for agreeing to order the supplier’s products instead of those of other potential suppliers. • A company executive could bribe a potential client to award the company a tender. • A human resources official could accept a bribe in return for giving a job applicant a post. • A government official could be bribed to close a blind eye to safety contraventions or other irregularities. • A bank official could be bribed to grant to a client a loan that would not normally be granted due to the client’s failure to qualify for the loan. • A judge or arbitrator could accept a bribe in return for making an order, ruling or award in favour of the giver of the bribe. • A cabinet minister or state official could receive a vehicle or money in return for awarding an armament’s contract to the payer of the bribe. In order to stamp out these practices employers need to bring criminal charges against employees who perpetrate these crimes. However, in addition, employers need to bring disciplinary proceedings against such employees. The latter is necessary because, even if the employees are successfully convicted in criminal court, such conviction does not automatically sever the employment relationship. If the employer wants to rid itself of a dishonest employee it needs, regardless of the outcome of the criminal trial, to do so via an internal disciplinary process culminating in dismissal.
Posted on: Tue, 27 Aug 2013 09:17:02 +0000
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