The chairman’s comments sparked a backlash from staff posting anonymous comments on an app during the meeting of the firm’s UK financial services division, which has 1,500 employees.Īccording to the FT, one employee wrote: “There’s no such thing as unconscious bias?! Are you joking? Please do your research before just making such statements. KPMG has previously offered unconscious bias training to its employees around the world. Staff were left astonished by the claim just days after the firm voluntarily revealed that staff from ethnic minority backgrounds are paid an average of 38.2pc less than white colleagues due to their underrepresentation in senior roles.Ĭity firms with a poor diversity record have been using programmes to fight unconscious bias - making assumptions about people based on characteristics such as gender or race. Insiders said he called the idea “complete crap”, according to the Financial Times, which first reported he had stepped aside. Mr Michael's remarks also included him dismissing the concept of “unconscious bias”, two people said. One insider said: “Once he came back from hospital, he wanted everybody back in the office and was raging about them not being back.” Mr Michael's frustration with staff’s response to Covid restrictions came despite his own hospitalisation with Covid-19 last year. But he temporarily relinquished his position on Wednesday as the fallout continued.ĭuring the event, he also told staff that he had been holding meetings during lockdown and urged them to follow his example, a source said. The Australian apologised to staff before the end of the online meeting and in a grovelling email afterwards. The boss of KPMG has stepped aside after a furious backlash from staff when he warned them to “stop moaning” and railed against the concept of so-called unconscious bias, which is said to play a key role in workplace racism.īill Michael, who has chaired the accountant’s UK operations since 2017, has stepped down while the firm launches an independent investigation into an outburst in which he told staff to stop “playing the victim card” and revealed he has been meeting clients during lockdown.

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