Yorkshire’s financial sector is growing. But so are it's HR compliance risks with FCA expansion in Leeds.

Yorkshire is one of the most significant financial hubs outside of London

Yorkshire is no longer just a regional player, it’s a rising force in UK financial services. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) first opened its Leeds office in 2022 where they expected to employ 100 people. In just three years, it has expanded rapidly, now home to over 300 employees, with an additional 100 expected in 2025 as it took on an extra 5,000 square feet of office space in January 2025.

Leeds City Council, HM Treasury, and West Yorkshire Combined Authority have all hailed the expansion this year as a symbol of the region’s growing clout in finance, regulation, and innovation.

And this growth is matched by diversity in the kinds of businesses regulated here. Beyond high street banks and asset managers, FCA-regulated firms in Yorkshire span automotive retail, automotive finance, consumer credit, insurance, investment platforms, and debt services, for example. All of these businesses and others that are FCA regulated in Yorkshire are subject to the same cultural and conduct expectations, irrespective of size and function. These expectations span in to newly introduced legislation around the prevention of sexual harassment at work.

What is the Worker Protection Act?

In force from October 26, 2024, the Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 introduces a new legal duty on all UK employers to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace.

This marks a shift from reactive compliance to an anticipatory, preventative responsibility. Under the new law:

• Employers must anticipate and prevent sexual harassment from happening, not just respond after harm occurs.

• If a tribunal finds that an employer failed to take reasonable steps, compensation can be uplifted by up to 25%.

• The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is empowered to enforce the duty, including through investigations, compliance notices, and legal proceedings.

Enhanced scrutiny in Yorkshire's financial sector

The FCA has already shown it views non-financial misconduct, especially sexual harassment as a regulatory issue. In its most recent cultural survey, it reported a 70% rise in such incidents between 2021 and 2023, with 64% resulting in formal action.

The FCA now has the authority to compel firms to disclose data on sexual misconduct, even where non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) have been used. That means hiding problems is no longer an option, transparency, accountability, and proper handling are essential.

The FCA has been issuing notices to businesses ordering this information to be divulged, and with the strengthening of numbers in the Yorkshire office, and the evolving nature of the Worker Protection Act, it can only be assumed they will continue to roll this out at mass.

Sexual misconduct is a red flag for other worrying behaviours

Sexual harassment doesn’t happen in isolation, it’s often a symptom of deeper issues like weak governance, lack of oversight, and unethical behaviour. The FCA recognises this, noting that firms which tolerate non-financial misconduct are more likely to suffer from broader compliance failures, including fraud and market abuse.

This makes sexual misconduct not just a legal or HR issue, but a regulatory red flag, and one that the FCA is paying close attention to as part of its cultural reviews.

What Yorkshire based businesses can do now

With the FCA cementing its presence in the region and intensifying its scrutiny of culture and conduct, FCA-regulated firms in Yorkshire must act now to comply with both the new law and regulatory expectations:

• Review and update workplace policies on harassment and misconduct.

• Deliver robust training for all employees, including managers and senior leaders.

• Engage leadership teams in driving inclusive and respectful cultures.

• Audit historical cases, especially those managed informally or hidden by NDAs.

Whether you’re a fintech startup in Leeds, a car dealership in Sheffield offering finance, or a Bradford-based investment firm, the expectations are the same: get proactive or get in to so some serious bother. To avoid scrutiny Yorkshire's financial sector needs to act now.

Regulated Yorkshire businesses need to go beyond the basics

In a recent video I posted on LinkedIn I talked about the differences between deterrents and preventative measures. Deterrents being a reliance on consequences so severe that we hope people will choose not to engage in specific behaviours. That’s what workplace policies generally are. We tell people we have a zero-tolerance policy, and so if they commit acts of sexual misconduct, they will lose their job and income and livelihood. Deterrents generally are very ineffective and this is demonstrated through representation of sexual misconduct in society and in criminal law beyond sexual misconduct.

Watch the video on LinkedIn

For interventions to be truly preventative and effective, they need to focus on the deeper behaviour roots of sexual misconduct. This doesn’t mean delivering the whys and what fors of the law to employees, nor does it mean talking about what is and isn’t inappropriate behaviour, which often can be infantilising at best and demeaning at worst. It means training your employees very specifically in:

• The psychology of sexual misconduct

• Bystander intervention

• Power dynamics

• The psychological theories of victim blaming and self-blame

• Addressing sexual misconduct with trauma informed principles

That’s where I can help. I am a trauma informed accredited HR consultant specialising in prevention of sexual harassment, with unique accreditations and experience in the psychology of sexual misconduct.

These accolades combined with my extensive experience of front-line HR within regulated and non-regulated organisational settings sets the impact of my learning solutions apart from everything else on the market right now.

In fact, our learning solution won the Business Awards UK, 2024 HR Award for Learning and Development Provision of the Year.

Final thoughts

As a consultant working with financial services firms across Yorkshire as well as in London, I see a clear trend, those who treat culture and conduct as a regulatory priority, not just an HR concern, are the ones building resilient, future-proof organisations. The Worker Protection Act is more than legislation, it’s a cultural turning point. And with the FCA expanding its presence right here in Leeds, the message is clear:

Yorkshire matters. Culture matters. And the time to act is now.

If you want to talk about any of this, drop us an email at help@onesourcehr.co.uk or call on 01709 460500.