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True Romance - The Pitfalls Of Office Affairs
What employee has never been tempted by the possibility of a salacious office romance at one point in their career? Employers need to be cautious of the office affair because it can cause problems for both participants and the employer if things get out of hand. Below we outlined some of the potential pitfalls of the “office affair”. 1. Sexual Harassment: An office affair could be a direct breach of a sexual harassment policy (which all employers are recommended to have in place). Further, when an office affair ends the participants could be exposed to an allegation of workplace sexual harassment. Sexual harassment is not limited to the confines of the workplace; it can take place on business trips, the Holiday Party or after work drinks. Even if the relationship was consensual (if its not consensual there are bigger problems), the relationship could lead to discipline up to and including a just cause termination. Therefore, employers are reminded to have a sexual harassment policy in place and outline what is permissible and what is prohibited behaviour amongst employees. 2. Personal Consequences: On a personal level all office affairs will ultimately end and employers may have disappointed and non-productive employees as a result. The “dumper” and the “dumpee” may not want to see each other at work or interact after the affair has fizzled? This will no doubt hurt the organizations productivity and it can be a career limiter for an individual employee. Further, if the affair was between married employees it can also be disastrous to the employees reputations both in and outside the workplace (especially if the employee’s partner finds out). 3. Avoid the Superior/Subordinate Power Imbalance: Employers must be vigilant to monitor and prevent office affairs between superiors and subordinate of any level. The alleged power imbalance can lead to allegations that the subordinate was pressured into the relationship by the superior (whether its true or not is immaterial – the damage is done). Employers may be held to be vicariously liable for the conduct of their superiors and management employees. Therefore, the sexual harassment policy must address this issue of potential relationships between superiors and subordinates. 4. Be Careful Before you Text: E-mail, texting and Facebook are increasingly prevalent forms of communication both in and outside of the workplace. However, the messages sent on these services can easily be misinterpreted (a compliment could be interpreted as sexual harassment) or they can take on the form of harassment in and of themselves. Therefore, employers are reminded to establish clear policies on proper company communication and to be cognizant of the dangers associated with modern communication. If you have any questions regarding this article please do not hesitate to contact me at:
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Simon Heath |
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Human Resources Law |
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