HCPC sets out new measures to help professionals tackle discrimination

The Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) has launched a suite of new resources aimed at helping health and care professionals better recognise, respond to and challenge discrimination in their workplaces and education settings.

Published on 13 April 2026, the materials form part of the regulator’s wider work to promote a respectful, fair and safe environment for both service users and registrants. The HCPC said discrimination and abuse remain persistent issues across the sector, affecting professionals from a wide range of backgrounds.

Supporting registrants facing discrimination

The HCPC noted that many professionals continue to encounter discrimination or abuse from colleagues, service users or carers. The regulator reiterated that no registrant should feel unsafe or intimidated at work, and that personal values or beliefs must never compromise the care provided to service users.

To support professionals navigating these situations, the HCPC has created a “one‑stop” set of resources explaining how to apply its standards of conduct, performance and ethics, as well as standards of proficiency, when responding to discrimination or abuse. The guidance also outlines what registrants and learners can expect from employers and education providers.

The regulator emphasised that service user safety must remain the primary consideration, and that registrants should act in line with employer policies and professional guidance.

What the new resources include

The materials offer practical advice on using HCPC standards in challenging scenarios, alongside short case studies showing how registrants, learners and education providers have handled discrimination in different contexts. They also reinforce registrants’ duty to challenge discriminatory behaviour when they witness it.

Additional pages provide tailored guidance for those experiencing or observing discrimination in workplace or education settings.

The HCPC said it is committed to taking decisive action where discrimination occurs within the professions it regulates. In response to rising antisemitism, Islamophobia and other racially or religiously motivated discrimination, the regulator has published new examples of conduct that has previously led to regulatory action.

Internally, the HCPC is strengthening staff awareness and training, including work with the Community Security Trust and Tell MAMA to improve understanding of antisemitism and Islamophobia. This builds on sexual safety training introduced last year and ongoing equality, diversity and inclusion training.

The regulator is also enhancing support for decision‑makers in the fitness to practise process to ensure greater consistency, following the publication of its revised sanctions policy earlier this year. Updated guidance makes clear that all forms of discrimination are unacceptable and sets out factors panels should consider when assessing cases.

The HCPC said it will continue working with employers, policymakers and the wider sector to protect both registrants and service users from discrimination.

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