A third of UK SME’s (small and medium-size enterprises) have not heard of the Bribery Act, a UK government study has found

In total, only 66% of SME’s had "either heard of the Bribery Act 2010 or were aware of its corporate liability for failure to prevent bribery", according to the report. It added that only 26% of SME’s that were aware of the Bribery Act also knew of the Ministry of Justice guidance issued to help them comply with it.

As a firm that regularly handles bribery cases and has written extensive advisory pieces on the Act, this survey’s findings are a very worrying call for SME’s to seek legal help. Otherwise these findings could well be converted into Bribery Act convictions.

The report also said that more SME’s trading in "less developed" countries, such as in the Middle East, Asia, Africa and South and Central America, were aware of the Act  (68%) than SME’s exporting to Europe, the US, Australia or other developed regions (56%).

A third of UK SMEs have "assessed the risk of being asked for bribes" but 59% of respondents said their company had not made such an assessment.

Click here to read 'Insight into awareness and impact of the Bribery Act 2010 among small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs)'.