A complete guide to the HCPC Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics — what each standard requires across all 15 HCPC professions, how they are assessed in fitness to practise proceedings, and how to demonstrate ongoing compliance.
Every HCPC-registered professional must meet the Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics. These standards are the benchmark against which all HCPC fitness to practise assessments are made.
The HCPC Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics set out the professional values and behaviours expected of all health and care professionals registered with the HCPC. They apply across all 15 HCPC-regulated professions: from physiotherapists to speech therapists, paramedics to psychologists.
All HCPC fitness to practise assessments are conducted against these standards alongside the profession-specific Standards of Proficiency. The guide to HCPC investigation process explains how both sets of standards are applied.
The nine Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics cover: promoting and protecting service users' interests; communicating appropriately and effectively; working within the limits of knowledge and skills; delegating appropriately; respecting confidentiality; managing risk; reporting concerns about safety; being
open when things go wrong; and being honest and trustworthy. Each is assessed in the specific context of the profession and the conduct under scrutiny.
Standards 1 (promoting and protecting interests), 3 (limits of competence), 6 (managing risk), and 9 (honesty and trustworthiness) are the most commonly invoked in HCPC fitness to practise proceedings.
Standard 9, honesty and trustworthiness: is the most serious category, encompassing dishonesty in all professional contexts including falsified CPD records, inaccurate clinical documentation, and fraud. Dishonesty under Standard 9 is treated with particular gravity and frequently leads to the most serious HCPC outcomes.
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Standards 6 and 7, managing risk and reporting concerns: are increasingly relevant in cases involving patient safety culture. A registrant who identified a risk to patient safety and failed to report it appropriately can face a Standard 6 or 7 concern regardless of the seniority of the people who should have been informed.
The HCPC Standards include a duty of candour. the obligation to be open and honest with service users and their carers when something goes wrong.
The duty applies to all HCPC registrants. It requires: telling the service user or carer that something has gone wrong; apologising; explaining what happened and the implications; and describing what will be done in response.
Failing to be candid after an adverse event is both a breach of the Standards and an additional fitness to practise concern in its own right. The guide to informed consent in healthcare provides relevant context on the obligations of openness in professional practice.
CPD that specifically addresses the HCPC Standards, professional ethics, professionalism, insight, probity, provides documentary evidence of active engagement with the professional values the Standards require. This evidence carries weight both in routine professional development and in any fitness to practise proceedings.
The guide to what HCPC CPD evidence counts explains how CPD addressing specific standards is assessed in proceedings.
The guide to HCPC insight and remediation evidence explains how compliance with professional standards is demonstrated in the complete evidence file.
UK-registered HCPC professionals can access professional ethics training through Healthcare Ethics Courses.
Professionals with connections to Ireland can consult ethics training in Ireland.
Those with connections to Canada can review professional development in Canada.
10 CPD-certified courses for £500. HCPC-specific ethics and professionalism CPD — demonstrating active engagement with the Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics in both routine practice and any fitness to practise proceedings.
Bulk Buy 10 Courses →The primary professional standards document for all HCPC registrants — covering nine standards of professional values and behaviour. All HCPC fitness to practise assessments are conducted against these standards alongside the profession-specific Standards of Proficiency.
Nine Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics — applying across all 15 HCPC-regulated professions.
Standard 9 — be honest and trustworthy. This is the most serious category in fitness to practise proceedings, encompassing dishonesty in all professional contexts.
The obligation to be open and honest with service users and their carers when something goes wrong — disclosing what happened, apologising, explaining the implications, and describing what will be done.
Against the specific standard most relevant to the concern — whether conduct met the standard expected of a competent HCPC registrant in the same circumstances.
Yes — the Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics apply to all HCPC registrants. Profession-specific Standards of Proficiency set out the clinical and technical standards specific to each profession.
Standard 3 — work within the limits of your knowledge and skills. This includes recognising when to refer, seek supervision, or escalate.
Standards 6 and 7 — manage risk and report concerns about safety. These apply to all HCPC registrants regardless of seniority.
Yes — CPD specifically addressing the Standards, with reflective notes, provides documentary evidence of active professional engagement.
Standards 1, 3, 6, and 9 are most commonly invoked — promoting interests, limits of competence, managing risk, and honesty.
Yes — all professional conduct requirements apply to HCPC registrants' conduct on social media and in all professional contexts.
Falsifying CPD records is a breach of Standard 9 — be honest and trustworthy — and is treated as fundamental dishonesty in HCPC fitness to practise proceedings. It frequently leads to the most serious outcomes.
The HCPC reviews and updates its Standards periodically. All registrants have a professional obligation to stay current with the most recent version.
This guide is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal or regulatory advice. Seek independent advice from a specialist regulatory solicitor.
