The Financial Conduct Authority has confirmed that serious bullying and harassment can constitute a Conduct Rules breach as non-financial misconduct, and has finalised rules to extend the approach beyond banks to most FSMA-authorised firms. From 1 September 2026, the same treatment will apply across around 37,000 additional regulated firms with a Part 4A permission, addressing previous uncertainty outside the banking sector. The changes also require serious, substantiated cases of poor personal behaviour to be shared through regulatory references, in the same way as financial misconduct, to reduce the scope for individuals to avoid consequences by moving between firms. Alongside the final rules, the FCA is consulting on draft guidance on how firms should assess non-financial misconduct when determining whether an individual is fit and proper, including the relevance of social media use and behaviour in private and personal life. The regulator has decided not to proceed with guidance it considers unnecessary, including proposed guidance linked to Threshold Conditions and the Senior Management Arrangements, Systems and Controls sourcebooks, and it does not intend to duplicate duties under the Equality Act or the preventative duty to protect workers from sexual harassment. Consultation on the draft guidance runs until 10 September 2025, and the FCA will only proceed with the guidance if there is clear support for it.

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