By Robert Smithson 

Employment lawyers commonly advise employers who are asking how to eliminate personal relationships between employees.  That result is likely one which is unachievable, both legally and practically.

As adults, many of us spend the majority of our waking hours at work – the workplace is our primary venue for social interaction.  Surveys have indicated that over one-half of employees have been romantically involved with a co-worker and almost one-fifth of employees met their spouse at work. 

So, an employer seeking to totally prevent personal relationships between employees may only succeed in forcing them to be carried on in secrecy.  And, at least generally speaking, there is neither a law nor any sort of moral authority directly giving employers the right to restrict employees’ personal relationships.

An employer embarking on a broad campaign to stamp out workplace relationships may find itself the subject of a variety of complaints and actions.  These could take the form of a human rights complaint or a civil claim of constructive dismissal.

There are circumstances, however, when an employer can lawfully impose restrictions on office romances. 

It would, for instance, be perfectly acceptable for an employer to take disciplinary action when the activities of couples stray over into misconduct.  This may be especially noticeable in the event of a breakdown in the relationship, when residual hostilities tend to manifest themselves in ways which are destructive to workplace harmony.

The most important context in which employers may regulate office relationships is between supervisors and subordinates.  It is well established that the employer has a legitimate interest in knowing about, and taking reasonable steps to control or prevent, these situations.

The key problem arising from the supervisor-subordinate romance is the existence of a power imbalance between the two.  The prospect that the supervisor will abuse his or her authority in the course of the relationship is of great concern to employers.

For example, a supervisor who is in the position of assessing the partner’s performance, affecting his or her salary, or making decisions about promotions is a supervisor who is not able to act objectively.  And there is always the real prospect that this position of power will be used in a negative way if the relationship ends.

Acting preventively, the employer can (and should) establish a policy, guidelines, and training on appropriate workplace relationships and conduct.  This can be a core component of the employer’s ongoing management training regimen and might comprise three primary elements.

First, the boundaries of appropriate workplace conduct should be defined in a policy.   It can be useful for the policy provide examples of appropriate and inappropriate forms of conduct.

Supervisors should be made to understand that they (more than the subordinate) are ultimately responsible for ensuring their conduct does not cross into inappropriate territory.  They should be educated on how such inappropriate conduct can, and likely will, form the basis for a complaint of harassment.

Second, ongoing attention can be given to the policy by way of periodic training sessions simulating real life situations.  This will provide supervisors and subordinates alike with situational experience of what is, and is not, appropriate workplace behaviour.

The objective is to establish a broad awareness of the boundaries of acceptable conduct.  Empowering the employees to recognize the early signs of such a situation will equip them to take evasive measures.

Third, supervisors and subordinates must be made to understand that the most important step is early disclosure of potentially inappropriate relationships.  Disclosure allows the employer to assess the situation before any damage has occurred and to implement measures to resolve concerns of inappropriateness.

As with many aspects of the employment relationship, establishing conduct guidelines and taking early steps to deal with inappropriate relationships is the best approach.

Robert Smithson is a partner at Pushor Mitchell LLP in Kelowna practicing exclusively in the area of labour and employment law. For more information about his practice, log onto www.pushormitchell.com. If you have a labour or employment question for him to answer in a future Legal Ease, email him at smithson@pushormitchell.com. This subject matter is provided for general informational purposes only and is not intended to be relied upon as legal advice.