On Wednesday 17th June, 2020, Julie Pardy, Director of Regulation & Market Engagement (Worksmart) joined Employment Partners Marian Bloodworth and David Williams from Kemp Little LLP for an in-depth look at the current HR implications for firms around Covid-19 and the on-going requirements of the SM&CR regime.
Peter Griffiths

Recent Posts
“Home working is likely to increase the risk of conduct related issues"
Topics: SM&CR
The team at Worksmart are delighted to announce that we have won in four categories at the 2020 ACQ5 Global Awards.
Topics: SM&CR, complaints, regulation
Part of the City of London Group (COLG), Recognise was formed to provide financial services to the UK SME sector and the retail and business deposits market. Recognise will target an under-served but growing business customer population seeking greater human contact, better speeds of response and execution, flexibility of structuring and continuity of management.
Whilst still in the process of gaining a banking licence from the regulator, Recognise are confident of being granted one. With that in mind, the exec team have been actively planning operational processes, including the implementation of SM&CR.
Topics: SM&CR
How Moneybarn Developed Their Accredited Staff Induction Programme
Moneybarn began life in 1992 after recognising the need to help everyday people get the vehicle finance they need to live their lives, even if they’ve had difficulties getting loans elsewhere. Applying a clear focus on fair and responsible lending helped Moneybarn grow steadily until, in 2014, it was acquired by Provident Financial Group. Since then, growth has accelerated with progressive year-on-year increase in headcount.
‘Final call for SM&CR’ – Are you sure your preparations are taking you in the right direction?
Read “Rising to the challenge of the Certification Regime”, by Julie Pardy to help ensure your SM&CR journey ends up at the right destination!
Topics: SM&CR
45 individuals interviewed across 15 Banking institutions
In what has been described by the FCA as an SM&CR “Stocktaking Report” in the Banking Sector, the most recent FCA publication gives us an insight into what they found across the sector.
Topics: SM&CR
Is your Certification Regime all planned out? - Part #2
It is always interesting to learn from those that have gone before. In 2015, when planning for the introduction of new Senior Managers Regime (SM&CR), most banks at the time focused their efforts almost entirely on their plans for the Senior Manager Regime (SMR) aspect and tackled the challenges of Certification separately.
Topics: SM&CR
Is your Certification Regime all planned out? - Part #1
It is always interesting to learn from those that have gone before. In 2015, when planning for the introduction of new Senior Managers Regime (SM&CR), most banks at the time focused their efforts almost entirely on their plans for the Senior Manager Regime (SMR) aspect and tackled the challenges of Certification separately.
Topics: SM&CR
7 Pillars for Managing SM&CR Records Effectively | Worksmart
Literature and philosophy is laden with theories and principles that rely on seven pillars. In this blog, I won’t attempt to reconsider the seven pillars of wisdom, life or anything that highbrow, (believe me, it wouldn’t be that insightful a piece!). Instead I will focus on something far more down to earth, but no less important for those given the responsibility of preparing an organisation for the implementation and management of SM&CR and its associated records.
Managing SM&CR records, why I should be concerned and what are my options?
When firms first start planning for the implementation of the new SM&CR regime, they seldom prioritise the ongoing challenge and risks associated with how well systems and processes will support things after it goes live and becomes business as usual. The challenges of managing a consistent approach across the various workflows; the difficulty of joining together what are often disjointed or siloed processes; how to ensure a robust and consistent approach to the related procedures across the firm, and crucially; future-proofing of your systems and processes and maintaining an comprehensive and accessible audit trail.