Is an HCPC Probity Course Enough for an Honesty Concern?

Written and reviewed by Dr Shehzad Iqbal, MBBS, MRCS, MRCGP, Postgraduate Certificate in Healthcare Law and Ethics · Updated 7 November 2026

Why a probity course is not enough on its own

An honesty concern is judged on conduct and trust, not on knowledge. The HCPC’s account of a final hearing says the panel considers whether you have insight, which it describes as understanding of the harm you have caused, and whether you have taken action to correct your behaviour. A certificate records that you completed a course on a date. It does not show that you accept what happened, understand why it fell below Standard 9, or will not repeat it; those three points decide an honesty case and can only be shown in your own words and your conduct since. The HCPC also treats honesty as a serious category: its guide for registrants says serious or sustained dishonesty goes straight to the Investigating Committee, without the initial investigation. The course is still the right first step, because it gives you the standard and a structure for the reflection; the reflection carries the weight.

What HCPC Standard 9 says about honesty

The HCPC’s ten standards of conduct, performance and ethics took effect on 1 September 2024. Standard 9 is “Be honest and trustworthy”:

• 9.1: your conduct must justify the public’s trust and confidence in you and your profession;
• 9.2: be honest about your experience, qualifications and skills (a CV, an application, a title);
• 9.3: promotional activity must be accurate and not likely to mislead;
• 9.4: declare issues that might create conflicts of interest;
• 9.5: tell the HCPC as soon as possible about a police caution, a charge or a conviction, a finding by another health or social care regulator, or a restriction, suspension or dismissal by an employer over your conduct or competence;
• 9.6: co-operate with any investigation into your conduct or competence.

Two neighbouring standards sit beside an honesty concern: Standard 10, Keep records of your work (full, clear, accurate records, completed promptly), and Standard 8, Be open when things go wrong (be open, honest and candid, apologise, and give a helpful and honest response to anyone who complains). A reflection that names the sub-point engaged, by number, reads differently from one that speaks of honesty in general.

Where the course and your reflection count in the HCPC process

The HCPC’s guide What happens if a concern is raised about me describes the stages. The HCPC decides whether the concern is something it can deal with, gathers information in an initial investigation, and checks it against its threshold criteria; if the threshold is met, the case goes to the Investigating Committee (serious or sustained dishonesty goes there directly). It sends you the allegation and gives you 28 days to respond, with an extension of up to 28 days available, and suggests your response include a timeline and “any evidence of learning and any action you have taken to improve your practice”. This is where the certificate, your reflection and your evidence of change belong. An Investigating Committee Panel of at least three people, including a registrant from your profession and a lay person, reads the papers in private and decides whether there is a case to answer: whether the HCPC has a real prospect of proving the facts at a hearing. The HCPC aims to reach this stage within eight months of the concern meeting the threshold.

If there is a case to answer, the HCPC aims to hold the final hearing within nine months; you are expected to send your evidence at least 28 days before it. The panel decides whether the facts are proven, whether they amount to the grounds alleged and whether your fitness to practise is impaired, and here insight and action to correct your behaviour are weighed. Outcomes run from no further action to a caution order (one to five years), conditions of practice (up to three years), suspension (up to one year) or striking off. Where you admit the allegation in full, the case can close by consent order. An interim order can be sought at any stage where public safety would otherwise be at risk. Our guide to being told by the HCPC to complete a course covers the hearing in more detail.

What to send alongside the course

• A written reflection that acknowledges the conduct fully, explains why it happened without excusing it, and names the sub-point of Standard 9 engaged. “I accept it looked that way, but” reads as a defence, not insight.
• Evidence of changed practice: a new routine for declarations, a corrected CV, a manager’s statement about your conduct since.
• Your CPD record, with the course as one activity among others.
• Nothing altered after the event. Do not amend a record; add a new, dated entry if something must be added, after taking advice.

What the HCPC probity course covers

The course has six sections and 16 lessons, with a reflective quiz after each of the first five and a post-course assessment. It opens with what probity is and why regulators treat a probity concern differently from a clinical one. Its core section covers truthfulness in documentation and communication, financial integrity, academic honesty, transparency in clinical care, and managing declarations and disclosures. A section on regulatory expectations names the HCPC’s Standard 9 as the clause to cite, and the section on insight, reflection and remediation shapes your written response. It is written for all UK registered healthcare professionals, HCPC registrants included.

When a different course fits better

If the concern is about money (claims, invoicing, timesheets), Financial Integrity for Healthcare Professionals goes deeper than the probity course’s single lesson. If it began with a record written late or corrected without saying so, Professionalism in Documentation answers Standard 10; our record-keeping guide explains what to show. Which course fits which HCPC concern is set out in our HCPC courses guide.

Counting it as HCPC CPD

The HCPC’s five CPD standards ask for a continuous record of your CPD, a mixture of learning activities that relate to your practice, CPD that aims to improve your work and benefit your service users, and, if you are picked in the random sample for audit, a written profile with evidence covering the previous two years, the length of a registration cycle. Our course gives 2 CPD hours and a dated certificate, and the reflection you write for it is the evidence a profile asks for. The HCPC warns that a plagiarised profile leads to a fitness to practise investigation, so the reflection must be your own words.

Also read: Face-to-Face Probity Course: What Happens on the Day and How It Helps With a Dishonesty Allegation.

The course for an HCPC honesty concern, and for CPD

Courses that sit beside it

Bulk Buy covers the £79 courses: 3 for £200, 5 for £300, 10 for £500. Not sure what to take? Book a free 15-minute call or see which course do I need.

This guide is part of our Professional Misconduct hub, which brings together every Probity & Ethics guide and course on the subject.

The CPD courses linked from this guide, Probity for Healthcare Professionals, Financial Integrity for Healthcare Professionals, Professionalism in Documentation for Healthcare Professionals and Module on Insight, are by Probity & Ethics, written by Dr Shehzad Iqbal, CPD certified and accredited by The CPD Certification Service (provider no. 13197) and offered since 2020.

Questions and answers