Insurance broker Lloyd’s of London has broken with City tradition by announcing the implementation of a strict 9am-to-5pm working day drinking ban.
In an internal memo, bosses at the insurance market told its 800 employees that the ban had been introduced after it found that over half of disciplinary cases were related to alcohol. A Lloyd’s spokesman confirmed the rule, saying that it brings the company “in to line with industry norms”.
Other companies in the City of London have also made moves away from the traditional ‘drinking culture’ associated with the finance world. Rival insurance group QBE have recently advised staff not to drink, but stopped short of implementing an outright ban.
The move prompted anger from Lloyd’s employees, who took to a staff intranet site to voice their concerns. The ban was labelled a “heavy-handed” approach, with many arguing that they were responsible enough to control their drinking during office hours.
According to the Evening Standard, staff said bosses should be “concentrating on more important things” and have turned Lloyds into the “the PC capital of the world”.
Many also wondered how such a rule could be enforced, with a Lloyd’s of London representative saying that should an employee be found to have been drinking, their manager would decide on the best course of action to take.