The issue of non-financial misconduct continues to pose challenges for FCA and PRA-regulated firms. The enforcement action taken by the FCA in 2020 and into 2021 has concerned cases of severe and/or criminal misconduct, but the treatment of these cases offers little guidance to firms dealing with internal conduct issues, such as bullying, harassment and other inappropriate conduct. Whilst there are suggestions in the recent D&I Discussion paper from the PRA, Bank of England and FCA that some guidance may be forthcoming from the regulators around what constitutes non-financial misconduct, the current lack of guidance and precedent means that firms frequently find themselves debating whether such misconduct triggers a breach of the Conduct Rules, undermines fitness and propriety and/or should be reported on a regulatory reference. The consequences for employees of such decisions can be significant.

In a recent webinar, experts from the Deloitte Legal Employment Law and FS Regulation teams were joined by specialists from Deloitte’s FS Risk Advisory and FS Reward teams, to discuss:

• common challenges and issues in managing conduct-related cases;
• regulatory implications including regulatory references and remuneration; and
• practical tips and approaches.

To find out more about the topics we discussed, you can watch the webinar on demand.

Our teams in Employment Law, FS Regulation, Risk Advisory and Reward are here to help. Please get in touch with us if you are interested in finding out more.