We spend so much time in the workplace, it is hardly surprising that many relationships begin there. But after a string of high-profile office relationship scandals, many companies are trying to make it harder to find love, a relationship, or a fling at work.
Research by the TUC, the unions umbrella body, from 2016 found that one in five (22%) people in the UK who are married or in a civil partnership met their other half at work.
Despite the pandemic lockdowns and the normalisation of working-from-home policies at some organisations, the No 1 answer to how people in the UK have met their partner is still “through work”, according to research by YouGov. It remains more common than “through friends”, “in a real world venue” and “apps and internet dating”.
While many workplace relationships work out successfully and do not interfere with either parties’ work, that is not always the case. Problems particularly arise when the couple try to hide the relationship from their superiors – especially if one of the pair happens to actually be the boss.
Bernard Looney was sacked as chief executive of the oil company BP and told he would not get about £32m in salary and bonuses after the board found he had committed “serious misconduct” by failing to disclose past relationships with colleagues.
The company’s directors said they expected everyone at BP to behave in accordance with its “strong values”, while requiring its leaders to “act as role models and to exercise good judgment”.
Its workplace code warns employees that conflicts of interest may arise if their “interests or activities affect, or appear to affect, your ability to make objective decisions for BP”. This includes “having an intimate relationship with someone whose pay, advancement or management you can influence”.
ITV has introduced stricter rules on workplace relationships after Phillip Schofield’s undisclosed relationship with a younger colleague. He quit as This Morning presenter after admitting he had lied about an “unwise, but not illegal” affair. ITV bosses denied accusations that they had ignored there was a relationship.
A refreshed “personal relationships at work policy” subsequently sent to all staff says they are now required to declare all relationships with colleagues including “a person living in the same household” and “anyone involved in a sexual, romantic or close relationship or friendship (whether short or longer term)”.
ITV said those who breach the policy, which extends to freelancers, consultants, contractors, apprentices, agency staff, volunteers and people on work experience, could face disciplinary action or even lose their job.
HR experts reckon companies may be “overcompensating” and creating “data protection nightmare[s] of epic proportions” by logging staff relationships.
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Martin Williams, a partner and the head of employment at the law firm Mayo Wynne Baxter, said: “When reacting to scandalous circumstances there is a pressure to make amends and a tendency to overcompensate. ITV managed to do this in a way that created another very serious problem. The consequences should not take them by surprise because the problem is of their own making.
“The idea of compelling staff to report on their in-work relationships may have seemed like a good one in the panic to be seen to be doing something. However, you need to do the right thing and not compound any errors by making more.”
This article was amended on 26 January 2024. An earlier version said that research by the TUC had found that one in five people in the UK are married or in a civil partnership with someone they met at work. In fact the survey had discovered that one in five (22%) people in the UK who are married or in a civil partnership met their other half at work.
