Bank of America Merrill Lynch interns have decided to keep working in their placements rather than leave early, after the death of 21-year old intern Moritz Erhardt amid claims that he had been working punishingly long hours.
Merrill Lynch's offer to its London banking interns came as Erhardt's death sparked concerns about the intense workplace culture of the City of London.
The German business studies student was found dead last Thursday, a week before he was due to finish his internship at the bank. It has been claimed he had been working until 6am for three days in a row and suffered an epileptic fit. Merrill Lynch declined to comment on these reports.
The bank said it was not aware of any interns taking the London office's offer to leave before their internships were scheduled to finish. Interns are paid around £2,700 a month.
Chris Roebuck, a visiting professor of leadership at Cass Business School, said bank bosses had a "moral and legal duty" to ensure staff were not working more than they could manage.
Erhardt was an exchange student at the University of Michigan's Stephen M. Ross School of Business until May, before attending WHU Otto Beisheim School of Management in Vallendar, Germany.