When you put people together in a work place you can be pretty sure that relationships will develop. This might be great for the couples, but not always good for your business.

According to Kate Jenkins, partner with legal firm Freehills, personal liaisons at work present many business issues, some with legal implications.

Jenkins says that issues include sexual harassment claims when the relationship goes sour. Also stalking claims, applications for restraining orders and resignations.

“WorkCover claims are made when someone feels distressed at work because the relationship’s goes wrong. Performance issues arise where people’s performance is impaired.

“Whether they are in love or not, there could be conflict of interest issues where someone more senior is making decisions about the pay, for example, of a junior person with whom they are in a relationship, or giving confidential information to someone they should not be giving it to,” she says.

Jenkins makes reference to a blackmailing issue where one of the co-workers was in a relationship and was also married. Another one of the workers said, “If you don’t do this, I will tell your husband you’re having this relationship”.

Causes for complaint
She refers to one situation where a woman employed on a probationary period had her employment ended. The woman then brought a claim against the company saying she was being treated in a disadvantaged way at work.

Her boss had been dating a good friend of hers and through that relationship had been given a lot of information about discussions at a higher level about her employment. She said she had been bullied and harassed in the workplace. She’d only been aware of those things going on because of the concealed relationship.

Another common example was of a senior person who had a relationship at work with a more junior staff member. She thought he was separated because he was working in a different state to where his wife and family lived. Ultimately she learned he was proposing to go back to his wife.

A number of months of emotional turmoil followed between them. For her, just seeing him at work caused an occupational health and safety risk and unsafe working environment. She brought a sexual harassment complaint and the issue was whether it was sexual harassment or simply the remnants of ‘star crossed lovers’ who had a bad relationship.

Women, says Jenkins, are often in more junior roles in many cases and that probably matches workforce statistics. “It’s the more junior person who feels vulnerable, particularly when the relationship goes wrong. Maybe that person gets the advantages when it’s going well,” she says.

Legal implications
Apparently these cases often end up as legal issues, rather than in court although they do come up in sexual harassment and stealing confidential information cases. Jenkins says that business should address rather than ban them, putting conflict of interest policies in place to try to get full disclosure about office relationships and make sure their sexual harassment polices are clear.

Jenkins believes a manager needs to know if a relationship affects the business, not as a matter of gossip, but for its impact on the business. Organisations need to create an environment where it is clear that the relationship won’t cause a problem at work.

The best policy
Jenkins says that companies should have a written policy making it clear that people should disclose personal relationships that might impact on the workplace.

“Safeguards need to be put in place. For example, if a senior person is in a relationship with someone who reports to them, put in place safeguards to ensure that they are not the sole decision maker about pay or appraisal because they would have difficulty giving an unbiased view.

“Employers and managers should be proactive if they identify a relationship issue at work. They should discuss it at appropriate level and identify if it could be a relationship that could impact on the business,” she says.

Right to know
Do managers or business operators have the right to know what’s going on between employees? Could that infringe on the privacy of those employees?

“To the extent that it impacts on the business, the privacy laws wouldn’t prevent learning about the relationship. It is looking at this to the extent that it impacts on the business, not what people are doing outside of work hours,” Jenkins says.

Policy on love
Does your organisation have a policy on love? There are a number of ways a company can plan for potential problems with relationships in the workplace:

• Companies should have a written policy that makes it clear that people are required to disclose personal relationships. This allows the organisation to put systems in place that will act as damage control if a relationship turns sour.
• Companies should be willing to slightly shuffle work arrangements so that a relationship at work does not affect the business. For example: if two employees have offices or desks next door to each other, it might be smart for the company to re-do the seating arrangement.
• Employers and managers should be proactive if they identify a relationship at work. They should discuss with the people involved how the relationship could impact the business.

By Peter Switzer, published on 17/11/2008

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