Episode 6: Corporate Criminal Offence – How does it affect employers?

For this edition, we are joined by Karen Riley (Tax Director) from our National Tax Risk team. Karen and John discuss the latest updates on all aspects of Corporate Criminal Offence (“CCO”) legislation. The Corporate Criminal Offence (CCO) legislation means that if an “associated person” of a business criminally facilitates tax evasion, and the business is unable to demonstrate that it had reasonable procedures in place to prevent such facilitation, the business is guilty of a criminal offence. An “Associated person” is defined widely and includes any person (individual or corporate) who represents (or provides a service for or on behalf of) the business - employees, contractors, agents, and in certain circumstances external suppliers. As supply chain models get more sophisticated, clients as engagers must keep up with their employer obligations and ensure that not only are they compliant but their suppliers are too. This has meant the usual obligations for an employer have become more complicated and often the lines appear blurred between the obligations of a traditional employer and those of an engager choosing alternative resourcing solutions to fill the void of employees. Now is the time for organisations to understand the accompanying risks and implement robust mitigation strategies. BDO’s CCO Toolkit can help your organisation take the first steps towards remaining compliant. Download our latest podcast to understand the risks and how the CCO can link to your employee strategy for the year ahead.