Following consultation, the FCA will extend rules that say that serious bullying and harassment in financial firms qualifies as misconduct.
Currently, it is often unclear when these types of behaviours would amount to a conduct rules breach in a firm other than a bank. On 1 September 2026, the rules will be extended beyond banks to around 37,000 other regulated firms, with the aim of increasing consistency across financial services. However, the rules won't apply to payments and e-money firms, regulated investment exchanges and credit ratings agencies. The Senior Managers and Certification Regime does not apply to such firms.
The FCA also says that serious, substantiated cases of poor personal behaviour will also need to be shared through regulatory references, in the same way financial misconduct currently is, making it harder for individuals to avoid consequences by moving from firm to firm.
The FCA is now consulting on draft guidance covering how firms should consider non-financial misconduct when assessing whether an individual is fit and proper to work in financial services. This includes how firms should consider use of social media and the relevance of behaviour in private and personal life. The FCA has taken on board feedback on its previous draft and has already decided not to proceed with guidance which is not necessary to achieve its aims. It is also not seeking to duplicate existing legal obligations on firms under the Equality Act and the recent preventative duty to protect workers from sexual harassment.
The guidance is open for consultation until 10 September 2025. The FCA says that it will only proceed with the guidance if there is clear support for it.
We will be following up shortly with a more detailed analysis about what this means for firms and individuals.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
