Employment Law: Managing Romantic Relationships in the Workplace | February 2025
It is Valentine’s Day this month and romance is in the air.
Since 26 October 2024, employers have been under a legal duty to take reasonable steps to prevent the sexual harassment of their workers. This includes preventing sexual harassment during work and in circumstances where the worker is not working but that relate to work, such as a staff party or a social gathering connected to work.
Recent reports indicate that ‘every year relationships exist within the workplace that are causing organisations difficulties. This may involve breakups that neither party can escape from, as the (ex) couples must work together. Whatever the reason, relationships between co-workers are not always positive and it is important to carefully consider how as people professionals we support mangers and advise the about the best way to approach this.
What does the legislation say?
The Equality Act 2010 defines sexual harassment as ‘...where a person is subjected to unwanted conduct of a sexual nature where this has the “purpose” or “effect” of violating that person’s dignity, or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for them’. It can also occur where a person is treated less favourably because they have either submitted to, or rejected, sexual harassment which has this purpose or effect.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission’s (EHRC) Sexual Harassment and Harassment at Work: Technical Guidance provides an example of how a relationship at work can lead to sexual harassment and how it could result in the employer failing in their duty. As an example, a worker has a brief sexual relationship with their supervisor, but breaks it off, telling them they think it was a mistake and does not want the relationship to continue. Later, the supervisor touches the worker from behind inappropriately. Although originally the sexual relationship was consensual, the supervisor’s conduct after the relationship ended is unwanted conduct of a sexual nature and therefore would be regarded as potential sexual harassment.
What should your organisation do?
The EHRC guidance explains that to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace, employers should:
- Evaluate the risks of sexual harassment occurring in the course of employment
- Identify what steps it could take to reduce those risks and prevent sexual harassment of its workers
- Consider which of those steps it would be reasonable for them to take
- Implement those reasonable steps.
Considering this legal duty, employers should establish clear rules for employees, provide them with a policy outlining the organisation’s expectations and the consequences of breaching them and train all employees on what sexual harassment is and what to do if it happens to them or they witness it.
Workplace morale
Issues can arise with the colleagues closest to the employees involved in a workplace romance, especially where one of the parties in the relationship is in a more senior position. This can lead to an increase in complaints or grievances alleging favouritism and bias. All issues which the employer needs to effectively manage.
What about Confidentiality?
Employee’s will speak to their partners about their working day and that might be fine, however, where both parties work on the same business, there is a risk that the information that they are sharing should be kept confidential. Whether intentionally or not, these discussions will be a breach of an employee’s express, and implied, terms of confidentiality. This may lead to difficulties within a business, e.g. where details of a grievance are revealed, which may cause a further breakdown in relationships between co-workers.
As a result of the risks outlined above, some businesses take a zero-tolerance approach to workplace romances. However, a total ban on relationships could breach employees’ overarching right to privacy, lead to relationships happening in secret and could give rise to discrimination or constructive unfair dismissal claims. Banning romances within the workplace are unlikely to be enforceable and a tribunal are likely to deem these unreasonable, except in limited circumstances. They also make workplace romances harder to manage.
Alternatively, employers may use a workplace policy on personal relationships to set out the rules and obligations for those in a workplace romance. This could include a requirement for those in close personal relationships to inform their line managers and outline rules around appropriate behaviour, and areas such as confidentiality.
Where there is a rule on moving employees out of teams if they form a romantic relationship with another team member, and this poses a risk to impartial management decisions, care must be taken as it could lead to claims of less favourable treatment due to sex. Ensure that all alternatives are considered beforehand, and it should be confirmed that the individual being moved is not being punished or demoted.
Inevitably romantic relationships between colleagues will happen but if they are managed sensitively, alongside a clear set of workplace rules, there is likely to be little or no impact on the organisation’s operations.
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