People will meet at work, date, and perhaps even marry. Banning inter-office relationships is unrealistic. You best strategy will be to put in place a policy and culture that can keep things under control and help prevent work-place disruptions, favoritism, and potential sexual harassment claims. The Team at HR Stories developed this Checklist to help with some best practices for dealing with Romantic Relationships in the Workplace.
- Create a Formal Policy.
- Include the policy in the Employee Handbook.
- Refer to the Employee Dating policy in your Sexual Harassment policy.
- Don’t allow romantic or sexual relationships between Supervisors and Direct Reports.
- Consider if the dating couple has a direct impact on each other’s work.
- Consider restricting or prohibiting the dating of clients and customers.
- Tailor your Policy for your company culture.
- Require disclosures of romantic relationships.
- Encouraging open communication will help prevent relationships from being hidden/driven underground.
- Document everything – in case there is a sexual harassment claim.
- Be clear the next step procedures for handing the relationship. Some options include:
o One employee transfers so that couple no longer works together
o One employee leaves the company
o A “Love Contract” is developed to formally acknowledge the relationship and the terms of behavior expect in the workplace.
- Don’t allow obvious public displays of affection in the workplace – flirting, handholding, kissing, etc.
For more Checklists and other helpful Resources, be sure to check out our new reference guide - The Ultimate Book of HR Checklists – Getting HR Right: Your Step-by-Step Reference for Avoiding Costly Mistakes. Go to https://hrchecklists.com/ for more information, download a free sample, and watch our webinar on the Secret Power Behind Successful Businesses.
For a good policy example, check out his one from The National Institute of Health Office of Human Resources.
When romantic relationships fail in the workplace they can lead to sexual harassment claims – add a burden to the organization – and create other issues. Go to the HR Stories Podcast and check out the episode - "I want to go to bed with you", said her boss. - Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson...the original Sexual Harassment Supreme Court case. Plus on Tuesday, February 14th we will be uploading a new episode with a workplace romance story!