BP has tightened its policies surrounding personal relationships at work following the dismissal of its ex-boss, who didn’t disclose specifics about an intimate relationship with a colleague.
From now on, employees of the energy giant are required to declare any “familial and intimate relationships” with co-workers or potentially face dismissal, according to the firm’s newly updated policy. The rules state that upper management must register any intimate ties with other employees that have occurred within the last three years.
Ignoring these freshly policies could result in disciplinary measures or even job loss. Previously, BP staff were only to reveal if they were in an intimate relationship if a conflict of interest seemed likely. This new rule follows the departure of Bernard Looney from his chief executive position within the FTSE 100 company, sparked by his failure to disclose detailed information about personal relationships.
Communicating with shareholders, BP expressed that he “did not provide details of all relationships and accepts he was obliged to make more complete disclosure”. Subsequently, the firm “formally dismissed” him, citing his behaviour as “serious misconduct”.
Additionally, he was also denied £32million in potential salaries and share rewards. Mr Looney voiced disappointment at how this matter unfolded.
On Monday, BP revealed that it had an audit of its conflicts of interest policy lined up for the year and that this newest revision was born out of that process. The updated policy officially coming into effect at the beginning of June. The company declared: “The policy requires conflicts of interest to be disclosed, recorded and where appropriate mitigated.”
“Familial and intimate relationships at work can constitute a conflict of interest. Employees were previously required to disclose and record such relationships if they felt there could be a conflict of interest. Now they are required to disclose intimate relationships at work, whether or not they feel they represent a conflict of interest.”
The corporation, with around 90,000 employees on its payroll, specified that its top 4,500 management staff are obliged to report all of their intimate relationships from the last three years within a span of three months.