Why do you need SMCR Screening and how does it work

What is the SMCR (Senior Managers & Certification Regime)?

The SMCR is a regulation put in place by the FCA (Finance Conduct Authority). This regulation applies to all firms authorised by the FCA as part of the FSMA (Financial Services & Markets Act). The SMCR's focus is to set an expectation for employees to be ‘fit and proper’ when handling their business. The aim is to reduce the harm caused to customers by holding individuals accountable and responsible for their actions.

What does SMCR involve?

The FCA SMCR covers 3 categories of regimes and rules.

The Senior Managers Regime

Senior managers are higher individuals that carry out key roles. The FCA or PRA must approve these people through the Senior Managers Regime. Senior managers are assigned a statement of responsibility, so it is clear what their role carries out. The company must check to see if they are ‘fit and proper’ for the role.

The Certification Regime

This is for the employees that can impact and cause harm to customers or the business. Without being approved by the FCA or PRA, they still have to be deemed ‘fit and proper’ for their job at least once annually.

The Conduct Rules

These rules are a new set of rules to set an expectation for good conduct. These rules are for employees to help form the company’s culture and policies. The rules will also encourage employees to have good behaviour. There are 2 tiers of rules. The first tier applies to all staff and the second tier is for senior managers.

Tier 1- individual conduct rules:

• You must act with integrity
• You must act with due care, skill, and diligence
• You must be open and cooperative with the FCA, the PRA and other regulators
• You must pay due regard to the interests of customers and treat them fairly
• You must observe proper standards of market conduct

Tier 2- senior manager conduct rules:

• SC1 - You must take reasonable steps to ensure that the business of the firm for which you are responsible is controlled effectively
• SC2 - You must take reasonable steps to ensure that the business of the firm for which you are responsible complies with the relevant requirements and standards of the regulatory system
• SC3 - You must take reasonable steps to ensure that any delegation of your responsibilities is to an appropriate person and that you oversee the discharge of the delegated responsibility effectively
• SC4 - You must disclose appropriately any information of which the FCA or PRA would reasonably expect notice

Why should you be carrying out FCA SMCR Screenings?

The main reason for carrying out screening is protection. Employment screening is a way to filter out people who can be reliable and have a trustworthy background. With screening different roles have different requirements. Senior managers will have more screens to go through and different screens than other staff members because they are at a higher level with more responsibility.

How does Complygate SMCR Screening work?

Complygate's screening offers you a variety of checks to go through depending on the candidate's role. You will need to check what screens you will have to carry out because of the different levels of security needed for the roles required. Complygate offers many

Conclusion: Employee Screening under the SMCR Senior Managers Regime is complex, but companies like Complygate can save you time and costly errors.

It can be difficult to decipher what screening checks have to be done for each job role, and it can also be challenging to find out where to get this information. We will guide you with a company like Complygate by offering a short description of the screens and which ones you are more suited to the role. We can also save you some money by offering packages rather than paying for each check which can add up. Visit Complygate.co.uk to know more.