- A group of ANZ employees were fired for drug-taking at a work-related function
- Another worker was sacked for making unwanted sexual advances to a woman
- The company was informed in an email that called the behaviour ‘unacceptable’
- A representative said that whistleblowing at the company was up by 80 per cent
A ‘small’ group of employees have been fired from ANZ Bank for taking illegal drugs at a work-related event, it was revealed on Monday.
In a separate incident, another member of staff was fired for sexually harassing a woman while at an industry event after they made ‘unwelcome sexual comments and advances towards a female from another bank’.
ANZ revealed the terminations in an email sent to all staff members by the bank’s group executive talent and culture Kathryn van der Merwe, according to the Brisbane Times.
ANZ CEO Shayne Elliot (pictured) told managers a ‘small number of people’ had taken drugs
‘Earlier this year Shayne (Elliott, chief executive of ANZ) shared with line managers a true story where a small number of ANZ people used illegal drugs at an out-of-hours work-related event,’ the email read.
‘We took swift action and the people involved are no longer employed by ANZ.’
She also described the behaviour as ‘unacceptable’ and ‘outside of the bank’s standards’.
Ms Mewe also noted that there had been a ‘massive surge’ in whistleblower cases at ANZ, rising by 80 per cent over the past year.
Staff are encouraged to speak up and report bad behaviour, she said, noting that it has recently become clear that ‘speaking up about unacceptable behaviour can have a powerful impact and help generate important change’.
ANZ exec Kathryn van der Merwe encourages staff to ‘speak up’ about unacceptable behaviour
Whistleblowing within ANZ has risen 80 per cent after the process became ‘more transparent’
A ANZ spokesman said that the bank had recently taken steps to endure the whistleblower process was ‘more transparent’ so that staff knew that there were safeguards in place.
‘Sometimes you might see or hear about unacceptable behaviour in the ANZ workplace – and if you don’t hear about the consequence, it’s easy to think there wasn’t one,’ Mr van der Merwe told the Sydney Morning Herald.
‘This year, some of our people have been dismissed, others have received verbal and written warnings and we have reduced remuneration for senior leaders who were rated inconsistent.’
News of the termination of the ANZ employees comes as pressure mounts on the federal government to establish an inquiry into the entire financial services sector.