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Corporate Responsibility Policy Templates

These Corporate Responsibility Policy templates help UK organisations demonstrate ethical, legal and sustainable business practices to staff, customers, suppliers and regulators. Together they support compliance with key UK legislation (including the Bribery Act 2010, Modern Slavery Act 2015 and environmental regulations), and provide ready-made wording for staff handbooks, websites, ESG reports and tender submissions. All the templates have been drafted and kept up-to-date by experienced HR Professionals and solicitors.

Environmental Policy Statement Template

The Environmental Policy Statement sets out your organisation’s commitment to managing and reducing its environmental impact and complying with relevant regulations (such as waste, pollution and hazardous materials rules). 

Key points:

  • States your overall environmental aims (e.g. reducing waste, improving energy efficiency, controlling pollution).
  • Signals compliance with relevant environmental legislation and guidance. 
  • Provides a short, public-facing statement that can be displayed on websites, staff handbooks, noticeboards and tender responses.

It’s not legally mandatory to have an environmental policy, but it is widely seen as good business practice and is increasingly expected in supply chains and ESG reporting.

Whistleblowing Policy

The Whistleblowing Policy explains how employees can raise concerns about serious wrongdoing and be protected when making a protected disclosure in the public interest.

Key points:

  • The types of issue that can be reported (criminal offences, breaches of legal obligations, miscarriages of justice, health & safety dangers, environmental damage, or deliberate concealment of any of these). 
  • How staff can raise concerns internally, and when external disclosure may be appropriate.
  • Protection from dismissal or detriment for making a qualifying disclosure, even where the worker was mistaken or acting in bad faith (with potential impact on compensation where bad faith is found). 
  • A focus on reporting corruption-related activity, reinforcing the Anti-Bribery and Ethics Policies.

This policy underpins a speak-up culture, helps uncover issues early and demonstrates to regulators and stakeholders that the organisation takes compliance seriously.

Anti-Bribery Policy

The Anti-Bribery Policy is the central document for managing bribery risks under the Bribery Act 2010. It explains what bribery is, the offences under the Act, and the standards expected from employees, agents and other associated persons. 

Key points:

  • Zero-tolerance statement and scope (employees, agents, contractors, intermediaries and other “associated persons”).
  • Rules for gifts and hospitality, political and charitable donations, facilitation payments and high-risk interactions (e.g. with public officials). 
  • Guidance on identifying and managing bribery risk, including conflicts of interest and red flags in sales or procurement. 
  • Links to supporting documents, including the Ethics Policy, Hospitality and Gifts Policy and Expenses Policy, to create a joined-up anti-corruption framework.

Implemented with training and internal controls, this policy helps show that your organisation has “adequate procedures” in place, a key defence under the Bribery Act. 

Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement

The Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement template helps organisations comply with section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, which requires certain businesses to publish a statement each financial year describing the steps taken to prevent modern slavery in their business and supply chains. 

Key points:

  • Your structure, business and supply chains.
  • Policies relevant to modern slavery and human trafficking (e.g. CSR, supplier codes, recruitment, whistleblowing).
  • Due diligence and risk assessment processes, especially in higher-risk sectors or regions.
  • Actions taken to manage and mitigate risk (e.g. supplier vetting, contract clauses, audits).
  • Training, performance indicators and continuous improvement measures.

While the statutory duty applies to organisations meeting the turnover threshold, smaller businesses also use this template to demonstrate ethical supply chain management to larger customers and stakeholders.

Ethics Policy

The Ethics Policy template sets out the organisation’s broader principles of corporate ethics and responsible behaviour. It goes beyond one specific law, covering how you expect your business and people to act in areas such as: 

  • Human rights and workers’ rights – fair treatment, non-discrimination, freedom of association, safe working conditions.
  • Environmental responsibilities – managing environmental impact and complying with environmental laws.
  • Conflicts of interest – avoiding situations where personal interests conflict with the company’s interests.
  • Information and confidentiality – handling confidential and personal data responsibly.
  • Suppliers and partners – ethical expectations for third parties in your value chain.
  • A clear stance on bribery and corruption, linking to the Anti-Bribery and Hospitality & Gifts policies. 

This helps embed an ethical culture internally and provides a high-level policies you can reference in tenders and on your website.

Hospitality and Gifts Policy

The Hospitality and Gifts Policy provides detailed rules for offering and accepting gifts and corporate hospitality, aligned with the Anti-Bribery Policy and Ethics Policy. 

Key points:

  • When gifts and hospitality are acceptable, with thresholds, approval routes and special rules for higher-risk situations (e.g. public officials, procurement, live tenders).
  • When they are prohibited (e.g. cash or cash equivalents, lavish or disproportionate hospitality, anything that could be seen as an inducement). 
  • Recording requirements and the use of the Hospitality and Gifts Register Form. 
  • Consequences of non-compliance, including disciplinary action.

This policy helps protect both the company and individual employees from accusations of unfair treatment or corruption and reassures clients and suppliers that dealings are fair, transparent and consistent.

Hospitality and Gifts Register Form

The Hospitality and Gifts Register Form is a practical tool for logging all gifts and hospitality given or received. Used systematically, it provides a clear audit trail, demonstrating that gifts and hospitality are monitored, proportionate and properly approved.

Key features: 

  • Captures essential details for each entry: date, recipient/host, nature and value of the gift or hospitality, business purpose and authorisation.
  • Supports the requirements of both the Hospitality and Gifts Policy and the Anti-Bribery Policy as part of your “adequate procedures”.

Together, these Corporate Responsibility Policy templates give organisations a clear, practical and defensible set of templates to manage ethics, compliance and sustainability in a way that’s easy to adapt to sector, size and risk profile. They have historically been widely downloaded to support tender documentation, ESG reporting and on corporate websites as evidence of corporate responsibility credentials. A set of Environmental, Social & Governance templates are available in Corporate at Environmental, Social & Governance.

Please click on the links below for full details on each of these templates and to download:

Corporate Responsibility Policy Templates is part of Employment. Just £38.50 + VAT provides unlimited downloads from Employment for 1 year.

Frequently Asked Questions

My business has no written anti-bribery procedures. Are we at risk under the Bribery Act 2010, and what should we put in place? +
Yes. Under section 7 of the Bribery Act 2010, a commercial organisation can be criminally liable if someone associated with it (an employee, agent or contractor) bribes another to obtain or retain business, the only defence being 'adequate procedures' to prevent bribery. A written Anti-Bribery Policy is essential, covering scope, zero-tolerance, gifts and hospitality rules, facilitation payments and reporting. Use the Simply-Docs Anti-Bribery Policy template, paired with the Hospitality and Gifts Policy and Hospitality and Gifts Register Form. Procedures must be proportionate to your risk, backed by top-level commitment and supported by training.
We are approaching a public sector tender and the buyer wants evidence of a whistleblowing policy. What legal protection does a whistleblowing policy need to cover? +
A whistleblowing policy must reflect the protections in Part IVA of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (inserted by the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998). A qualifying disclosure is information (not just an allegation) made in the worker's reasonable belief that it tends to show statutory wrongdoing (criminal offences, breaches of legal obligation, miscarriages of justice, health and safety dangers, environmental damage, deliberate concealment of these or sexual harassment from 6 April 2026) and made in the public interest. Workers making a protected disclosure must not be dismissed or subjected to detriment. The Simply-Docs Whistleblowing Policy Template sets out these qualifying categories, internal and external reporting routes and the protection from detriment and dismissal, making it suitable for staff handbooks and tender submissions.
Does our organisation legally need to publish a modern slavery statement, and what must it cover? +
Under section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, you must publish a slavery and human trafficking statement if you are a commercial organisation supplying goods or services, carrying on a business (or part of one) in the UK, with total annual global turnover of £36 million or more (including subsidiaries). Publish one per financial year within six months of year-end, board-approved and director-signed, on your website with a prominent homepage link. It should cover structure, business and supply chains, policies, due diligence, risk areas, effectiveness measures and training. Smaller organisations below the threshold need not publish but many do voluntarily to satisfy larger customers and ESG reporting. Simply-Docs provides a Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement template covering all recommended disclosure areas.
We want to set clear rules on receiving gifts and corporate hospitality without falling foul of anti-bribery law. Which templates do we need and how do they work together? +
To build a defensible 'adequate procedures' framework under the Bribery Act 2010, combine three Simply-Docs templates. The Anti-Bribery Policy is the overarching document, linking to the Hospitality and Gifts Policy and the Expenses Policy. The Hospitality and Gifts Policy sets the rules: when gifts and hospitality are acceptable (with monetary thresholds and approval routes), when they are prohibited (cash equivalents, lavish or disproportionate hospitality, anything during live tenders or procurement) and the consequences of breach. The Hospitality and Gifts Register Form provides the audit trail, logging each item with date, parties, value, business purpose and authorisation. Together they protect the organisation and employees from accusations of corrupt dealing and help demonstrate compliance to regulators and clients.
We are compiling an ESG report and need a set of corporate responsibility policies to include. What does this sub-folder cover and how do the templates fit together? +
Choose templates to match the three compliance areas ESG reports and tender questionnaires commonly require. The Simply-Docs Corporate Responsibility Policy Templates sub-folder holds seven: an Environmental Policy Statement (environmental commitment), Whistleblowing Policy, Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement and Ethics Policy (social responsibility and speak-up culture) and Anti-Bribery Policy, Hospitality and Gifts Policy and Hospitality and Gifts Register Form (governance). For broader reporting, Simply-Docs also offers Environmental, Social and Governance templates in the Corporate section. Each can be adapted to your sector, size and risk profile.
I want to embed ethical standards across our organisation beyond just anti-bribery rules. Is an Ethics Policy the right document, and what does it cover? +
For embedding ethics beyond anti-bribery, the Simply-Docs Ethics Policy template is the right document. It sets out broader principles across six areas: human rights and workers' rights (fair treatment, non-discrimination, freedom of association and safe working conditions); environmental responsibilities; conflicts of interest; confidentiality and data handling; expectations for suppliers and partners; and a stance on bribery and corruption linking to the Anti-Bribery and Hospitality and Gifts Policies. It is not a statutory requirement but provides a high-level statement for tenders, your website and ESG reports, and reinforces the whistleblowing policy. Where specific legislation applies (such as the Bribery Act or Modern Slavery Act), use the individual policy templates alongside it.
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