London insurance company penalized £1 million for harassment, bullying, and excessive drinking.

• Atrium Underwriters was fined £1.05 million ($1.38 million) by Lloyd's of London.
• Atrium is facing three charges of "detrimental conduct" brought by Lloyd, specifically related to bullying and excessive drinking.
• Atrium agreed to pay Lloyd's £562,713.50 in costs in addition to the fine.

The U.K. insurance giant, Lloyd's of London, fined one of its member firms a record £1.05 million ($1.38 million) for misconduct, including allowing an annual inappropriate "boys' night out" for several years.

Atrium Underwriters, a syndicate member firm of Lloyd's, was found guilty of three charges of "detrimental conduct" in a notice of censure published on Wednesday.

During the years leading up to 2018, some male staff members, including two senior executives in leadership positions, engaged in unprofessional and inappropriate conduct during an annual 'Boys' Night Out' that was sanctioned and tolerated by the organization.

The behavior included initiation games, excessive drinking, and making inappropriate and sexualized remarks about female colleagues.

‘No adequate steps were taken’

Atrium was charged by Lloyd's because it did not inform the insurer about the misconduct of one of its employees, referred to as "Employee A," as stated in the document.

Atrium was aware of Employee A's behavior, but failed to take appropriate action.

Lloyd's stated that Atrium failed to safeguard a junior employee who was subjected to a systematic campaign of bullying by Employee A over several years.

According to Lloyd, Atrium did not recognize or challenge Employee A's behavior, "driven in part by the need of senior managers to safeguard Atrium from negative media exposure."

The employee who lodged a complaint against Employee A was also directed not to discuss Atrium's investigation into the misconduct or the accusations made.

The Lloyd's Enforcement Board accepted a 30% discount on the fine imposed on Atrium, which would have been £1.5 million, because Atrium settled the proceedings at the "earliest opportunity." However, Lloyd's stated in a separate statement that this was still the largest ever fine imposed in its 336-year history.

Atrium agreed to pay Lloyd's £562,713.50 in costs in addition to the fine.

John Neal, CEO of Lloyd's, stated that the company was "extremely dismayed by the behavior brought forth in this case" and emphasized that "discrimination, harassment, and bullying have no place at Lloyd's."

All Lloyd's employees should anticipate working in a culture that fosters feelings of safety, esteem, and respect, as stated by him.

In September 2019, an independent survey of workers in the "Lloyd's market" revealed that 8% had experienced sexual harassment in the previous year, but only 45% felt comfortable raising their concerns.

Reports of sexual harassment in the business led Lloyd's to commission a survey that discovered 22% of respondents had witnessed colleagues ignore inappropriate behavior.