We're providing guidance to support firms to tackle bullying, harassment and violence in financial services, after they asked for additional support.
In July, we changed our rules[1] – setting clearer standards for how financial services firms should address non-financial misconduct.
This more closely aligned the rules for banks and non-banks. We wanted to give firms the confidence to act against serious misconduct, drive consistency and make it clearer when non-financial misconduct is a breach of our rules.
When we changed our rules, we asked firms if they wanted additional guidance to help them take action – and said we would only publish this if they did. 95% of those who responded to our consultation agreed, so we are now providing this final guidance[2].
The guidance covers how firms can apply our rules on minimum standards of behaviour for financial services employees, and the factors they should take into account when assessing whether someone is fit and proper for their role.
We have made some small changes to address the main areas of feedback:
- New examples and flow charts to support the application of the new rule.
- Clearer alignment with employment law.
- Clarification that managers' accountability is relative to their knowledge and authority.
- Clarification that firms are not expected to investigate trivial or implausible allegations or breach privacy law.
Some firms asked us to go further, with more detailed examples. We can't provide guidance for every situation - firms will always need to exercise their judgement. The primary responsibility for preventing and dealing with non-financial misconduct lies with firms.
But our new rules, supported by this guidance, will help drive higher and clearer standards across industry from 1 September 2026.