Romantic relationships in the workplace can be a tricky issue for some employers—balancing the right to privacy while ensuring that any impact or difficulties arising from a romantic relationship, or its breakdown, are professionally and sensitively managed. Most relationships at work tend not to cause significant issues. However, if problems do arise, employers ought to be prepared to address them, as they could result in tribunal claims.
Employers may be facing challenges and complaints from the wider team or workforce regarding favouritism or unfair treatment, particularly where a manager is in a relationship with a more junior colleague and unfairly grants them preferential treatment, effectively abusing their power or position.
This could range from smaller day-to-day benefits and perks—such as not being challenged on timekeeping and productivity—to more significant decisions, such as being chosen over others for promotions or avoiding disciplinary action for misconduct.
The relationship could also cause issues around conflicts of interest, confidentiality breaches, and inappropriate behaviour including physical contact in the workplace. When a workplace relationship breaks down, any resulting tensions, poor communication and avoidance will impact productivity and disrupt team morale. More seriously, it can have detrimental consequences—particularly if one party continues unwanted contact or attempts to rekindle the relationship. If an employer does not adequately protect employees in such situations, matters can quickly escalate to litigation for sexual harassment, discrimination, or victimisation claims.
What can employers do?
Everyone has a right to respect for their private and family life under the Human Rights Act 1998, so if employees choose to form relationships with those they meet at work, then they cannot be prevented from doing so. Therefore, trying to place an outright ban on workplace relationships would not be a reasonable solution for an employer to attempt to enforce, and it could result in an infringement of their rights.
However, employers can outline a policy or include it in their staff handbook, requiring employees engaged in workplace relationships to disclose them to the company. This allows the employer to implement appropriate measures identified following a risk assessment. This allows the employer to assess and implement appropriate measures following a risk assessment. The purpose of such an assessment would be to evaluate the potential impact on the business and workplace dynamics. For instance, if the individuals work in different offices or departments, their relationship may have little to no impact, meaning no additional measures are necessary.
However, if the relationship involves a direct line manager or colleagues who work closely together, measures may be required to prevent favouritism or disruptions in communication and team morale should the relationship end. This could include reassigning one individual to a different team or appointing a different line manager.
The Law, and the New Legal Duty
In October 2024, the Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act came into force. This created a proactive duty on employers to prevent sexual harassment of their staff.
This goes beyond the protections previously in place, such as discrimination based on sex, or sexual harassment, by requiring employers to take reasonable steps to prevent harassment from happening. Failure to show compliance with this duty means that an Employment Tribunal Judge has the discretion to increase compensation in a sexual harassment claim by up to 25%.
Most employers are likely to already have an anti-harassment policy on which they can expand to account for any additional measures they will put in place to comply with this duty. This could include undertaking risk assessments and implementing adjustments to mitigate identified risks, regular training,
What should employers have in place?
It would be beneficial for employers to establish a workplace relationship policy that clearly sets out expectations and boundaries. This policy would provide a framework for addressing issues should they arise, ensuring transparency and fair procedures.
Key elements to include in the policy:
- A clear definition of the workplace relationships covered by the policy.
- A requirement for disclosure.
- Guidelines on how and when employees should disclose a relationship, and to whom.
- A statement that the company may reassign one party to a different team, reporting structure, or role to protect business interests, including confidentiality.
- A process for meeting with involved parties to discuss any necessary adjustments.
- Clear expectations regarding appropriate workplace behaviour, with reference to disciplinary, anti-bullying, and harassment policies.
- A procedure for reporting inappropriate behaviour, referring to the company’s grievance or anti-harassment policies.
Employers should also ensure that managers and leadership teams receive training on implementing and enforcing the policy, as well as handling potential issues within their teams.
If you have concerns about managing these sensitive issues or would like to update your policies in light of recent legal developments, please contact Phoebe Gogarty at pgg@swinburnemaddison.co.uk or call our employment team on 0191 384 2441.
