BP employees will have to disclose intimate relationships with colleagues or risk losing their jobs, according to a new policy brought out after the dismissal of former boss Bernard Looney for failing to tell the board.
Employees must disclose “familial and intimate relationships at work” without exception, the FTSE 100 oil company said on Monday. That is a tougher stance than before, when they only had to disclose relationships if they thought there was a a conflict of interest risk.
The top 4,500 managers, out of a workforce of 90,000, have three months to report all of the intimate relationships they have had in the past three years.
Looney left the company in September after failing to disclose relationships with colleagues to the board, which was investigating after a tipoff from a whistleblower. The company later formally dismissed Looney, saying that the failure to disclose amounted to “serious misconduct”.
BP said it had made the change, which was first reported by Reuters, after a review of its conflicts of interest policy. The policy applies to all employees, the company added.
BP said: “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.
“As a policy that forms part of BP’s code of conduct, non-compliance with the policy could result in disciplinary action.”
The emphasis on senior leaders having to disclose past relationships reflects the influence they have, BP said.
In Looney’s case, BP investigated claims about him in 2022, but received assurances from the then chief executive about his conduct. However, he shocked City investors the following September with an abrupt resignation less than four years into his tenure.
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Murray Auchincloss replaced Looney. Auchincloss’s partner also works for BP, but the company has said that this was disclosed when he was promoted to chief financial officer.
Looney’s failure to report his relationships proved costly: BP denied him more than £32m in pay and share awards for knowingly misleading the board. About £25m of that sum related to share awards.