City firms race to prepare for FCA crackdown on bullying and harassment

Подробности

From next month companies must report bad behaviour – including racism, sexual harassment and violence – to any possible future employer. Photograph: Jason Alden/Bloomberg/Getty View image in fullscreen From next month companies must report bad behaviour – including racism, sexual harassment and violence – to any possible future employer. Photograph: Jason Alden/Bloomberg/Getty Financial Conduct Authority City firms race to prepare for FCA crackdown on bullying and harassment Rules will require hedge funds, insurers and pension firms to report all non-financial wrongdoing

Prefer the Guardian on Google The City’s largest hedge funds, insurers and pension funds are racing to prepare for sweeping rules that will stop nearly 40,000 companies from hiding bullying and harassment cases from the financial watchdog.

From the start of next month, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) will expand a crackdown on bad behaviour in the banking industry to a wider group of City investment firms and brokers.

Under the rules, companies will be expected to report any serious cases of non-financial misconduct to the regulator. The firms will also be required to pass on reports of bad behaviour – including racism, sexual harassment, violence and intimidation – to a manager’s prospective future employer. It is hoped that the rules will prevent cases of “rolling bad apples”, where rogue bosses move to new firms without facing consequences.

The FCA’s expanding crackdown beyond financial crime has so far focused on the banking sector. However, with new rules looming for thousands of additional firms, experts say hedge funds, investment managers, insurers and brokers are racing to train their staff and to wrap up any internal investigations before the rules come into force.