ITV’s Relationship Disclosure Policy – What Should I Be Doing As An Employer?

According to reports, ITV has recently requested that employees disclose any close relationships, including friendships, to managers. 

As reported in the Sunday Times, the new rules state:

The email forwarded to employees followed an intense couple of months for the broadcaster. Earlier this year, This Morning presenter Philip Schofield left ITV after confessing to bosses that he had lied about an “unwise but not illegal” affair with a colleague who was much younger than him.

Following this, ITV Chief Executive, Carolyn McCall, ITV appeared before the Commons Culture, Media and Sports Committee in June after further allegations arose that there was a bigger toxic working culture at the programme.

However, since then the Sunday Times has quoted sources where employees believe the edict is “a step too far”, and several employment experts have questioned the practicality and legality of pulling together lots of information on all employee relationships in the office.

It could be argued that the business is protecting itself – forewarned is forearmed – as the Worker Protection Bill comes into force next year. The legislation will ensure that employers take “reasonable steps” to stop sexual harassment against staff and focus on employers adopting a more preventative culture rather than one of redress

Potential issues of workplace relationship policies

As an employer, it is vital to consider the potential data protection issues. For ITV, one of the first things they would need to establish is clarity on the purpose of such a policy if you keep records for no reason then this could end up being a data protection nightmare. For this to happen there would need to be a purpose.

It could also be argued that the policy could end up hindering some of the positive effects of friendships at work. In many environments, for a culture to be good at the business, friendships are needed.

According to Gallup, having a ‘best friend’ at work contributes to a better employee experience at work and improved communication and commitment, this has increased even more since the pandemic. It found that having a close friend at work meant people were much more likely to engage with customers and partners. Employees would be happier at work and would be more inclined to work hard, if someone is in a healthy happy working environment with a strong culture, then they are more likely to work harder and not look for other employment.

Statistics show in 2022 that the percentage of employees who stated they were extremely satisfied at work and who also had a ‘best friend’ at work was 32%. However, with that being said it could be argued that there are situations where close relationships cross a boundary and confidential information is shared.

What should I be doing as an employer?

As an employer, it is advisable to keep a close eye on employees having personal relationships at work but as long as friends don’t become cliques or there is a conflict then friendships are an important part of having a strong work culture. If there are any issues, then that is when managers could step in.

An employer should support their employee’s personal choice to where having friendships adds value rather than creates issues. So many employees leave workplaces where there is a toxic culture or an unfriendly environment, friendships should be embraced at work, as long as it doesn’t cause problems for your staff or company.