The workplace has always been a breeding ground for romance – research by careerbuilder.co.uk even suggests that 55 per cent of employees have slept with a colleague. You may think it’s none of your business, but relationships can harm performance and even lead to tribunals. Simon Wicks looks at how you can handle love in the workplace.

We spend so much of our lives at work and share so many experiences with colleagues that love is bound to blossom in some corners. But, although many couples who meet through work stay together, it’s not always wine and roses for employers.

Staff flirting when they should be working – or worse, having a secret cuddle in the stationery cupboard – can present you with all sorts of HR dilemmas; managers dating junior staff expose themselves to accusations of favouritism; and unguarded pillow talk can lead to leaks of confidential information.

When a romance collapses, it can be even worse: an acrimonious breakdown can divide colleagues, erode morale and undermine individual and team performance. In extreme cases, jilted lovers have been known to harass their ex at work – a scenario that could lead to legal action being taken against the company under sexual harassment laws.

Laws, bans and love contracts

If any of these things happen, you need to be able to act in the best interests of your company – moving someone to a different department to reduce friction, for example. But it’s not easy to act without appearing unduly intrusive or falling foul of rights and employment laws. Moving one partner but not the other may give rise to a challenge under sexual discrimination laws and any change in conditions could provoke a claim for constructive dismissal.

Some firms in the USA have gone as far as trying to ban workplace relationships, but this policy has proved unworkable in practice. Another American innovation is the ‘love contract’, which obliges staff to tell their employer when they embark on a workplace romance and inform them of significant developments, such as moving in together.

In theory, a love contract gives you the right to information that will enable you to make changes affecting the couple without your decision being challenged. But in practice, such a contract is unlikely to be enforceable under European law; it will more than likely be viewed as an attempt to get staff to sign away statutory employment rights.

A reasonable solution

There are ways, however, to balance your need to know with your employees’ right to privacy without resorting to flimsy contracts. It is reasonable to expect your employees to act in the best interests of your firm. You can strengthen this implied duty by introducing an obligation in your staff handbook or code of conduct to maintain appropriate and professional behaviour while working.

Spell out what you consider inappropriate behaviour – including canoodling at work – and remind employees of harassment and discrimination laws. Next, draw their attention to your equal opportunities, bullying and harassment policies. You might even consider organising some training around these themes.

This policy-based approach needs to be backed up by sensitivity in the workplace. You can’t regulate human chemistry, but you can informally encourage employees to let you or their team leader know if they embark on a relationship. Explain that you respect their privacy, but there are clear business reasons behind your need to know. Establish a friendly consensus about the decisions the company may consider it appropriate to make should two of your employees become involved with each other.

Getting involved in people’s personal lives –however lightly – is always awkward. But should it come to any kind of legal claim or dismissal procedure, you will need to show that you have taken practical steps, both formal and informal, to manage the situation fairly and sensitively.

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