Lloyd’s of London plans clamp down on harassment and bullying
Lloyd’s of London plans to overhaul workplace culture following reports of sexual harassment and bullying at the 330-year-old insurance market.
The company intends to call an emergency meeting with senior staff members to set out ways to make it easier for employees to make formal complaints, the Sunday Times reported.
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Other proposed changes include appointing women to the currently all-male nominations and governance committee, and converting the pub beneath its Lime Street offices in to a coffee shop in a bid to curb excessive alcohol consumption.
The move comes after claims made in a report said the business suffers from a “deep-seated culture of sexual harassment” and bullying.
A Bloomberg report published last week said that 18 women had described an atmosphere of “near-persistent harassment” at Lloyd’s, with one former employee saying the exchange is “basically a meat market”.
Dame Inga Beale, Lloyd’s first ever female chief executive who stepped down in 2018 after five years, attempted to ramp up diversity in the business.
She was replaced by John Neal, the former chief executive of Australian insurance group QBE, in October last year.
“No one should ever experience harassment of any kind at work, and its distressing to hear that this is still happening,” Neal told Bloomberg.
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“We take it extremely seriously and will be talking to the Lloyd’s market to ensure that we stamp out these inappropriate behaviours.”
Morning Wire has contacted Lloyd’s for comment.