FCA’s bullying and harassment conduct rules come into effect

Bullying, harassment and violence within the workplace will now fall within the scope of the FCA’s individual conduct rules, as new requirements on non-financial misconduct (NFM) come into force today (1 September 2026).

The regulator said that serious and unchecked NFM can “harm individuals, firms and confidence in financial services” and, as such, it has expanded its code of conduct rules to govern said behaviours where there is a “sufficient work-related link”.

The new guidelines will not apply retrospectively and will only extend to the authority’s current remit of senior managers and certification regime (SM&CR) financial activities.

The move will also allow firms to consider relevant misconduct when assessing the fitness and propriety of new hires.

Paul Griffin, head of employment for Europe, Middle East and Asia at Norton Rose Fulbright, explained that “the FCA is placing greater emphasis on leadership accountability”.

He continued: “Senior managers are expected not only to address misconduct effectively when concerns are raised, but also to foster a culture in which concerns can be reported safely and escalated appropriately.

“Regulators are focused not only on whether misconduct occurred, but on how organisations and senior leaders responded. All stakeholders, including compliance and HR teams, should be aligned from the outset to mitigate implications down the line.”

Cultural conditions

Shaun Hurst, principal regulatory adviser at Smarsh, added: “NFM rarely announces itself. It builds over time and the early signals are rarely breaches in themselves – exclusionary behaviour, a manager who repeatedly talks over the same person, or misuse of authority that’s just about deniable each time it happens.

“A code of conduct can define what’s unacceptable, but it can’t identify the cultural conditions in which misconduct develops, or catch what a single formal complaint would miss.”

Jacqueline Girow, executive director at the London at International Insurance Brokers’ Association, said that her “concern for smaller members is that they’ll assume good culture is something only big compliance budgets can measure and deliver.”

“A broker with 30 staff must be able to demonstrate to a regulator what happens when somebody raises a concern and how effectively this is handled. The firms that will find September uncomfortable are the ones where nobody can give a straight answer about how their culture is viewed by their employees and how a complaint is managed and dealt with,” she added.