NO SEX PLEASE, WE’RE WORKING

The news John Prescott is being investigated as he may have broken the law by having sex with his secretary in his office illustrates the potential dangers of workplace relationships. Employment law specialist Sally Laughton examines the pitfalls of office romance for both workers and employers.

John Prescott is not the first politician to get caught out having an affair and will probably not be the last.

If the humiliating publicity wasn’t bad enough he now faces an investigation into allegations that he had sex with his secretary in his ministerial office when he was supposed to be working.

Mr Prescott’s predicament is a high-profile example of the kind of issues that can arise from an office relationship.

In extreme cases the initiation of a sexual relationship by someone who holds a position of power or responsibility can become a matter for the criminal courts. A policeman who had sex with a woman he’d been sent to help lost his job and was given 200 hours community service for misconduct in a public office.

Most of us don’t hold public office and so aren’t under such strict restraints. But even so there are huge dangers for inappropriate behaviour at work.

From an employee’s point of view, although there is no law as such against having sex at work, it could be seen as gross misconduct and grounds for dismissal or at least a warning, particularly if the employer has written policies in place about office relationships.

Even if there is no policy on Workplace Relationships, the employee might be in breach of the implied term of good faith that says staff should conduct themselves to suit the best interests of their company. This term is implied into all contracts of employment.

Whether or not it would justify instant dismissal would depend on the circumstances. For example, holding hands or briefly kissing might be inappropriate behaviour but may not justify dismissal whereas more explicit behaviour may well do so.

Employers would have to assess each case individually. Over reacting to a relatively minor indiscretion could be seen as unfair dismissal and so prove costly.

The employer may also face problems if a senior manager has a relationship with a junior colleague and the relationship then breaks down. It’s quite possible that the woman could then claim her boss took advantage of her. There could even be claims of sexual harassment, bullying or even a criminal matter.

The woman often in such scenarios resigns, claims constructive dismissal and sex discrimination and sues.

American firms tend to counter these dangers by introducing written policies banning relationships at work. This is largely in response to the high level of damages often awarded in the U.S. so the same approach might appear heavy handed in Britain.

Never the less around a fifth of British companies have policies on workplace relationships but very few go so far as to try to impose an outright ban.

Most offer guidelines about how couples should behave if they start a relationship. The important point is to make it clear that such relationships should not encroach on work, either in the couple’s behaviour towards each other or in the way it affects their duties and their relationships with other staff.

Some firms shy away from introducing such policies for fear of intruding into people’s personal lives. But when more and more relationships start through meeting at work the boundaries can become blurred.

One way round this is to introduce the policies at the same time as other changes, such as a new policy on age or new arrangements for smokers. This way it won’t appear quite so intrusive.

Employers are right to be sensitive to these issues but with employees becoming ever more ready to take legal action, it pays to take preventive measures.

Sally Laughton is a Employmetn Law expert at Andersons Solicitors in Nottingham and can be contacted on 0115 947 0641 or email: info@andersonssolicitors.co.uk

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