Fraud prevention toolbox

Our policies, procedures and other resources

Group policies are available on our website and can be viewed here.

These policies and supporting procedures form the Serco Management System (SMS). The SMS sets out for each policy area requirements by role so you can understand what is expected of you. It also provides supporting procedures and related documents. 

Access to these documents is for Serco colleagues only and you will need to log into MySerco to access them. If you have problems accessing them, please request a copy from your manager.

You can access the following here:

• Group Policy Statement

  • Business Conduct & Ethics

•  Function Policy

  • Fraud Prevention

• Procedure

  • Incident Reporting

Also review the following here:

• Group Policy Statement

  • Finance

• Function policy

  • Finance

  • Financial Model Review

Definitions

Fraud involves some form of deception, misrepresentation, dishonest act or omission by a person with the intention of making a gain for themselves or someone else, or someone else suffering a loss or risk of loss as a result. The intended gains or losses may be financial or non-financial. 

Fraud can take many forms. Behaviours amounting to potential fraud in the context of Serco’s business and operations could include the following: 

• theft; 

• misappropriation of money or assets; 

• making false representations such as untrue or misleading statements with intent to deceive;  

• dishonestly failing to disclose information when under a legal duty to disclose it;  

• fraud by abuse of position;  

• fraudulent trading or participating in a fraudulent business;  

• obtaining services dishonestly;  

• cheating tax authorities (for example by deliberately underpaying tax); 

• false accounting, including falsifying business records;  

• false statements by company directors; and 

• forging or falsifying documents including business records. 

Fraud may also include cases of misreporting, greenwashing, bid-rigging, cartels, bribery and corruption.  

Fraud may also occur through electronic means such as phishing, hacking, identity theft or manipulation of digital records.  

Attempting fraud, conspiring, colluding, helping, encouraging, asking or advising someone else to commit fraud can also break the law and are prohibited under our Fraud Prevention Policy and mycode.  

In some countries, Serco could also be liable for failing to prevent fraud. For example, in the UK, if an ‘associated person’ (which would include Serco staff and third parties) commits a fraud which benefits, or is intended to benefit Serco, or its customers, and reasonable procedures are not in place to prevent fraud, Serco could be charged with failing to prevent fraud. This may be the case even where the fraud is committed overseas but an action to do it, or a gain or loss from it, happens in the UK.  

If you're a manager

• Enable a culture within Serco in which fraud is never acceptable and reject profit or other financial gain or benefit based on, or assisted by, fraudulent activity.

• Encourage a culture of openness in which employees feel empowered to speak up about potentially fraudulent activities.

• Regularly communicate and endorse Serco’s policy on preventing fraud.

• Ensure that training is completed by your teams and that appropriate resource is given to fraud detection and prevention.

• Make sure your team understands what fraud looks like and how to spot red flags.

• Ensure that appropriate management information is in place to monitor and assess fraud prevention measures.  

• Ensure your team follows all fraud control processes. 

• Notify the Divisional Ethics and Compliance Lead (DECLs) of any suspected fraud raised to you within 48 hours and support any investigation.