SIFA 4.6 Rules and guidance
As explained more fully in the Reader's Guide the provisions in the Handbook do not all have the same status. The difference between Rules and Guidance is important. The Rules in the Handbook (marked with an 'R') create binding obligations on firms. If a firm breaches such a rule, it may be subject to enforcement action and in some circumstances to an action for damages.
Guidance in the Handbook (marked with a 'G') is general Guidance given to more than one firm or individual. Guidance is not binding on a firm. But where a firm follows Guidance that indicates a possible way to comply with a rule or recommends a course of action or arrangement, we intend to proceed on the basis that the firm has complied with the relevant Handbook rule. A small firm may find that Guidance is a helpful indication of how compliance with a Rule may be achieved without devising its own approach to that Rule.