The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has committed to speaking to staff to turn their feedback into action as it continues to face fallout from its labour dispute this year.
It was responding to a question at its annual public meeting last month about a lack of employee confidence in the regulator’s chief executive Nikhil Rathi (pictured).
In a year in which FCA staff backed strike action twice over changes to pay and conditions, the question cited that 60% of staff had no confidence in Rathi and the executive committee, according to a recent staff survey.
It asked: “Why should the board and the public have confidence in you? What immediate and tangible steps have you taken to restore confidence and justify your continued tenure as CEO?”
In response, the FCA conceded it had been going through a significant period of fundamental and necessary change, which it said would help it become a more “innovative, assertive and adaptive” regulator so it can deliver its vital objectives long into the future.
“This means raising our standards of performance individually and collectively, backed by clearer outcomes and metrics,” the regulator continued.
“We recognise that this period of change has been unsettling for some of our colleagues. This is a challenging, but not unexpected, set of results and we are taking what our colleagues have told us seriously.
“We are always looking for ways in which we can foster stronger two-way engagement with our colleagues and partners.
“We are now looking forward to continuing a conversation about how we can turn colleague feedback into action, including as part of work underway to make sure that all the diverse views we’re proud to have at the FCA are properly heard.”
In April, more than three quarters of Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) staff backed industrial action at the regulator.
This was the second time FCA workers backed strike action this year. February’s earlier vote was a non-binding indicative ballot, but Unite confirmed April’s vote was a legal industrial action ballot.
The Unite Union, which represents staff at the FCA, revealed its ballot closed with more than 75% voting in favour of industrial action following the dispute around changes to pay and conditions. And 89.8% also voted to support industrial action short of strike action.