The oil company BP has introduced new rules requiring all employees to disclose intimate relationships with colleagues. This measure follows the spectacular departure of former CEO Bernard Looney last year, who resigned after it was revealed that he had not fully informed about previous personal relationships with colleagues.
Bernard Looney, who was classified as "summarily dismissed," thereby lost salary, pension, and other payments amounting to over 40 million dollars. BP's board reviewed anonymously submitted information about Looney's personal relationships with colleagues last year. Looney disclosed a few past relationships that took place before his tenure as CEO. BP later determined that this information was incomplete and inaccurate.
The new policy marks a shift from the company's previous stance, which only required employees to disclose office romances if they believed these could present a conflict of interest. Now, BP employees must disclose all "familial and intimate relationships" in the workplace, regardless of whether they present a conflict of interest or not.
BP explained that the changes are the result of a recent review of the company’s policies on conflicts of interest in the workplace, which should be “disclosed, documented, and – if necessary – mitigated.” The stricter disclosure rules for executives – disclosing intimate relationships from the past three years – affect approximately 4,500 executives worldwide, from a total workforce of 90,000 employees. According to BP, refusal to comply with the new rules could lead to disciplinary action. Executives have three months to comply with the new disclosure requirements.
BP emphasized that it regularly updates its compliance policies and that after revising its code of conduct in January 2023, it has planned a review of its conflict of interest policy for this year. The last update was made in 2018. BP further stated that the review includes a comparison with similar companies and organizations, as well as an evaluation of best industry practices.
The tightening of guidelines aims to ensure transparency and integrity within the company and to strengthen trust in corporate management.
