For employers, the notion of their workers becoming romantically involved with one another can pose issues if they are not managed appropriately and could have a detrimental impact on the business. For example, if a relationship ends badly, it could result in a situation becoming untenable, especially where one person is responsible for managing the other.
Below, we have outlined some important things for employers to bear in mind when it comes to workplace relationships and why it’s important to have a workplace relationship policy in place.
Workplace relationships – considerations for employers:
- Professionalism – Employers need to emphasise the importance of professionalism and set clear expectations for behaviour in the workplace. This includes promoting respectful communication, avoiding discriminatory or harassing behaviour, and creating a culture of inclusivity.
- Consistency – Consistent policies and procedures regarding workplace relationships need to be in place. Further guidance on this is below.
- Disclosure and transparency – If workers become involved in a consensual romantic relationship, employers should encourage them to disclose the relationship, preferably to a supervisor or HR representative. This allows the employer to take appropriate steps to mitigate any conflicts of interest and ensure fairness in the workplace. Further, workers should be encouraged to disclose any potential conflicts of interest that may arise from romantic relationships so it can help address any concerns and allow employers to take appropriate action if required.
- Anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policies – Robust policies should be in place to address issues of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation to create a safe and respectful working environment where employees feel comfortable reporting any concerns.
- Power dynamics – It is important to be aware of power dynamics within the workplace, particularly when it comes to relationships between those in senior and junior working roles – such as the story involving Philip Schofield. Relationships, where there is a power imbalance, can create ethical and legal concerns, such as favouritism and/or abuse of authority.
- Confidentiality and privacy – The privacy and confidentiality of employees’ personal relationships must be respected by employers unless there is a legitimate business concern or potential conflict of interest. It is vital that employers strike a balance between respecting privacy and addressing any organisational concerns.
- Training and education – Training and education should be provided to employees about appropriate workplace behaviour. This includes how to navigate workplace relationships professionally and can help prevent misunderstandings, promote healthy communication, and create a respectful workplace culture.
- Consistent enforcement – Policies need to be consistently and fairly enforced. If any policy violations occur in respect of a workplace relationship, employers should address them promptly and take appropriate disciplinary or corrective action.
- Employee well-being – The well-being of employees should always be a primary consideration for employers. This includes providing resources for support, such as employee assistance programs, counselling services, or conflict resolution mechanisms, to help employees navigate any challenges that may arise from a workplace relationship.
Overall, employers should aim to create a work environment that supports healthy and professional relationships while mitigating potential conflicts of interest or ethical concerns. By establishing clear policies, promoting respectful behaviour, and providing appropriate support, employers can foster a positive workplace culture.
Workplace relationship policies
As mentioned above, it is advisable for all employers to have in place a relationship policy for the sensitive topic of workplace romances that can help employees understand what is expected of them when entering into a romantic relationship with a colleague and provide safeguards for businesses.
Below, we have answered several questions concerning workplace relationship policies, including how difficult it is to put in place a policy and what to include in it.
How difficult would it be to set up a workplace relationship policy?
In most organisations, it would be unrealistic to try to ban employees from becoming romantically involved with colleagues. In fact, past statistics have shown that a significant percentage of relationships start in the workplace.
There can be real risks though – from workplace romances such as conflicts of interest to perceived favouritism. There is also a danger that romantic attention might be unwanted and that could then become an issue of sexual harassment.
It is therefore a good idea for employers to mention these issues in their policies and to have procedures in place. This can be easy to set up as policies do not need to be long and complicated and once in place, employees need to be briefed on them in outline.
Would a relationship policy contravene human rights?
Banning relationships outright would not be fair. However, having a sensitively worded policy that seeks to balance the rights of employees to have a private life, with relevant organisational interests is unlikely to be an infringement.
What could be included in a workplace relationship policy?
We would recommend that policies set out what would be sexual harassment and give those who feel they are receiving unwelcome sexual or romantic attention a route to get this dealt with.
As noted previously, for consensual relationships, we recommend that the policy includes a requirement for this to be reported to the employer so that consideration can be given to any conflicts of interest and if necessary, line management responsibilities or work can be reallocated if necessary or appropriate.
How might this impact employee engagement, how staff feel about work, etc?
If reported relationships are treated sensitively and in confidence, where possible, employees should not feel disgruntled about the requirement to report. In fact, in our experience, bad feeling most often arises in these cases where other employees are affected by the relationship between two colleagues because they feel that there is favouritism or some conflict of interest at play. Having a policy and taking steps to address this will help to avoid these issues in the future.
How can we help?
If you would like any advice or information in relation to the subject discussed in this article, please contact a member of our expert Employment Law team in Derby, Leicester, or Nottingham on 0800 024 1976 or via our online form.
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