Lloyd’s of London has told its employees they can use their own judgement about whether to work from home as a fresh heatwave grips the capital.
Temperatures across the Square Mile are forecast to reach 33C this week, prompting the world’s leading specialist insurance and reinsurance marketplace to offer flexible arrangements.
Around 1,200 employees work at the Lloyd’s Building on One Lime Street, though the office will remain fully open and air conditioning will be available throughout.
The flexibility extends to the brokers and underwriters who use the marketplace, as the building continues to operate normally for all those who choose to attend.
Lloyd’s has also been treating staff to complimentary ice cream alongside Wimbledon and World Cup-themed refreshments in recent weeks, as temperatures have regularly topped 30C.
The marketplace is one of the City’s oldest institutions, tracing its roots back to 1688 when it began as a coffee house frequented by merchants and ship-owners.
This week’s heat is far from the first time City firms have been forced to adapt their working arrangements in response to record temperatures this year.
Last month, JPMorgan Chase, ING, and Deutsche Bank all dropped desk attendance orders during the June heatwave, according to previous reports.
JPMorgan, which employs more than 13,000 staff in London, relaxed its notoriously strict return-to-office requirements during that earlier period of high temperatures.
ING dropped its return-to-office requirements last month after the Met Office issued a red alert health warning, but the Dutch bank is not urging staff to stay home this week as no such warning is currently in place.
A recent report by ING warned that European heatwaves represent a serious and growing threat to the region’s broader economic output.
While the impact of extreme heat has traditionally focused on farmers, builders, and outdoor labourers, the bank cautioned that heatwaves are increasingly becoming a “new downside risk for the European economy.”