It鈥檚 February, and Valentine鈥檚 day is right around the corner. As the season of love spreads through the air, cheesy 鈥淚 love you鈥 cards are stacking the shelves, social media is brimming with declarations of affection and singles everywhere, watching chick flicks, are being convinced a card will fall through their letter box any minute. However, what if that 鈥榮ecret Valentine鈥 were to land in your office locker? It鈥檚 true what they say, you cannot help who you fall in love with, but the question I have is: should you fall in love at work?
In a society that鈥檚 promoting diversity, inclusion and equality, as well as one that鈥檚 experiencing the rise of the #metoo movement, I find myself questioning whether the office should only be a place of work or if, in fact, it鈥檚 a place where relationships can thrive. With a finding 65% of office workers had been involved in at least one workplace romance, it appears as if a lot of people are mixing business with pleasure, but what are the legalities of such relationships? Fudia Smartt, partner at Hine Legal, noted in an article for 成人影音 that there are 鈥榥o explicit laws governing workplace relationships in the UK鈥 but these relationships can 鈥榩otentially give rise to a host of employment law issues including: sex discrimination, sexual harassment, harassment under the Protection of Harassment Act 1997, breach of contract, and unfair dismissal claims鈥, among others.
When I think of office romances gone wrong, the most obvious example is Bridget Jones and Daniel Cleaver. After Daniel鈥擝ridget鈥檚 boss鈥攃heats on her, Bridget decides to leave the company. But not before Daniel tries to tell her that she would be breaching her contract as it says she must give 鈥榮ix week鈥檚 notice鈥, as well as telling her she has been 鈥榦verlooked [in terms of work opportunities] for personal reasons鈥. This example alone raises a whole host of issues which you should be aware of, such as:
There is a heart shaped silver lining to workplace dating; according to a in 2015, 30% of the reported office romances lead to a serious relationship or marriage. We鈥檝e all heard about teachers dating teachers and lawyers marrying lawyers, due to the benefits of having shared values and understanding of the work environment, but why are these relationships beneficial to the workplace? Well, office romances are said to, among other things:
However, the above isn鈥檛 always the case. Relationships aren鈥檛 always smooth sailing in or out of the workplace, so when asking yourself the question of passion or promotion, here are some things to consider:
From an employer鈥檚 perspective, to minimise risk, Fudia Smartt suggests:
Happy Valentine鈥檚 Day!
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Hannah is one of the Future of Law blog鈥檚 digital and technical editors. She graduated from Northumbria University with a degree in History and Politics and previously freelanced for News UK, before working as a senior news editor for 成人影音.
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