Sanctions catalogue for unethical behaviour
Collection of penalties for disobeying ethical conduct.
DESCRIPTION
A catalogue of sanctions for unethical behaviour is a collection of threatened penalties that employees face for disobeying ethical conduct.1
PURPOSE & LINK TO INTEGRITY
In addition to providing incentives for integrity, sanctions should be formulated and enforced to discourage unethical behaviour.2
Sanctions against staff members, partners, or contractors where unethical behaviour was uncovered are a key element to deter dishonesty such as corruption and fraud.3 Sanctions are further believed to curb bribery, embezzlement, and collusion.4
KEY REQUIREMENTS
- Does your organisation have adequate anti-corruption policies and procedures in place upon which non-compliance can be sanctioned? (Also check tools Anti-corruption policy, Anti-corruption commitments and Code of conduct)
HOW TO
In order for sanctions to be effective, they should be:2,3,5
- Credible, proportionate and dissuasive
- Detailed and clear
- Announced, publicised, and disseminated
Sanctions can be …
… of a commercial and operational nature:
- Termination of relationships
- Debarment from future opportunities
- Assignment of unfavourable conditions
… of a legal nature:
- Fines and penalties
- Compensation for damages
- Confiscation of proceeds
- Judicial proceedings and imprisonment
… or reputational:
- Punishment through case publication
- Punishment through analysis of comparative performance.
KEY GUIDING DOCUMENTS
Humboldt-Viadrina School of Governance , 2012, Siemens Integrity Initiative. Best Practice on Anti-Corruption Incentives and Sanctions for Business, Executive overview, Humboldt-Viadrina School of Governance, Germany
U4, 2009, Good Practice in addressing corruption in water resource management projects, U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre (U4), Norway, http://www.u4.no/publications/good-practice-in-addressing-corruption-in-water-resource-management-projects/downloadasset/405, accessed 07.12.2015
UNDP, 2011, Fighting Corruption in the Water Sector, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), USA, http://www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/library/Democratic%20Governance/IP/Anticorruption%20Methods%20and%20Tools%20in%20Water%20Lo%20Res.pdf, accessed 07.12.2015
FURTHER READINGS
Garoupa and Klerman, 2004, Corruption and the optimal use of nonmonetary sanctions, International Review of Law and Economics
NHS, 2007, Applying appropriate sanctions consistently, National Health Service (NHS) Counter Fraud Service (CFS), UK
WASREB, 2011, Water Action Groups (WAGs) – Implementing the Human Right to Water and Sanitation in the Kenyan Urban Setting by Empowering Consumers and the Underserved, Water Services Regulatory Board (WASREB), Kenya
FULL REFERENCES
- Oxford Dictionaries, no year, Sanction, Oxford Dictionaries, http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/sanction, accessed 03.12.2015
- Humboldt-Viadrina School of Governance , 2012, Siemens Integrity Initiative. Best Practice on Anti-Corruption Incentives and Sanctions for Business, Executive overview, Humboldt-Viadrina School of Governance, Germany
- U4, 2009, Good Practice in addressing corruption in water resource management projects, U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre (U4), Norway, http://www.u4.no/publications/good-practice-in-addressing-corruption-in-water-resource-management-projects/downloadasset/405, accessed 07.12.2015
- UNDP, 2011, Fighting Corruption in the Water Sector, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), USA, http://www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/library/Democratic%20Governance/IP/Anticorruption%20Methods%20and%20Tools%20in%20Water%20Lo%20Res.pdf, accessed 07.12.2015
- Boehm, F., 2010, Fighting Corruption? How Regulation can foster Transparency, Participation, Accountability and Integrity in the Water Sector – Lessons learned from Zambia, IRC Symposium, The Netherlands