special feature - Australian Automotive Aftermarket Magazine

HR MATTERSDEALING WITHOFFICE ROMANCESIt is not surprising that romance springs up at the office. We spend athird or more of our lives in the office or other places of work.It is a non-threatening environmentwhere we have an opportunity to meetpotential dating partners and learn moreabout them than just what they look like.Yet romantic involvement betweenemployees is loaded with dangers for boththe employees and for their employer.In the past, many companies tried toban dating among their employees. Mosthave since abandoned that plan, becauseof legal restrictions and recognition of theinevitable. Instead, most now try to restrictsuch activities that are harmful to thebusiness.Risk of harassmentcomplaints/legal claimsIf you are going to allow employees‘coming on’ to other employees, you haveto first make very clear the company policyon harassment. If an employee is notinterested in, or receptive to, an advancefrom another employee, it should endthere. Failing to do so may constitutesexual harassment. Playing around, verbalsparring, etc. are appropriate preludes todating, but only if the receiving party iscomfortable with them.In most cases, mutually-agreeablerelationships between employees pose nodanger to the company. However, there areinstances where they are inappropriate andmay be harmful to the company and itsinterests. For instance, it is never a goodidea for a manager to be romanticallyinvolved with a subordinate in their ownorganisation. Situations such as thisshould be clearly spelled out in thecompany policy as inappropriate andsubject to corrective action.Effect on IndividualsOffice romances do not generally havepositive outcomes for an employee's careeraspirations. People who are truly seriousabout their career normally wish to be seento be thinking about business first,especially whilst at work. By having aromantic relationship in the office, itclearly demonstrates that the person wasnot 100 percent focused on their job.Types of office romanceThe two types of office romance thatshould be of a concern for employers are:• On site relationships – Office romancescan become a problem when they areconducted overtly on site. Interludes inthe office can distract and disturb otheremployees. If this is occurring withinyour workplace the best way to deal withit is by quashing any kind of behaviourearly and implementing a clear stafffraternisation policy;• Supervisor/Subordinate – This kind ofDO YOU HAVE A QUESTION YOU REALLY WANT TO ASK?For more information and assistance phone: AAAA HR Hotline on 02 8448 3211 or e-mail hr@aaaa.com.auThe material contained in this publication is general comment and is not intended as advice on any particular matter. No reader should act or fail to act on the basisof any material contained herein. The material contained in this publication should not be relied on as a substitute for legal or professional advice on any particularmatter. Wentworth Human Resources Pty Limited (the publishers), the editor and the authors expressly disclaim all and any liability to any persons whatsoever inrespect of anything done or omitted to be done by any such person in reliance whether in whole or in part upon any of the contents of this publication. Without limitingthe generality of this disclaimer, no author or editor shall have any responsibility for any other author or editor. © Wentworth Human Resources Pty Ltd 2009David WilkinsonAAAA Industrial, Relations ManagerPhone 02 8448 3211 Fax 02 9993 9709Email hr@aaaa.com.auromance is potentially the mostdamaging for a business. When thesekinds of romances finish, complex legalissues can arise as the subordinate mayclaim that they were forced into therelationship. In addition relationships ofthis nature are the most likely to lead toresentment amongst co-workers inregards to favouritism.If you are going to allowemployees ‘coming on’ toother employees, you haveto first make very clear thecompany policy onharassment.What you need to doYou need to develop a fraternisationpolicy, publicise it, and then enforce it.The policy should outline what is and isn'tconsidered acceptable behaviour amongststaff and propose action that will be takenwhen a breach occurs.Finally, once you publish the policy, youmust enforce it. Be careful to be evenhandedin your enforcement of the policyso that you don't get accused of genderbias. Look at each situation on its ownmerits. Don't arbitrarily assume that themore senior individual is more valuable tothe company.A well written, publicised and enforcedpolicy will not prevent office romancesfrom occurring. It will make life a lot easierand less litigious for the company when ithas to be dealt with.Before acting on any of the information in theabove article, please contact David, Jill,Amanda or any of the friendly team at theAAAA HR Advisory Service on:phone: 1300 232 462, fax: 02 9993 9709,or email: hrhotline@ada.org.auThe ADA HR Advisory Service is available from8:30 am - 5:00 pm, Monday to Friday. Theanswer could be just a phone call away!32 AU T O M O T I V E A F T E R M A R K E T M AG A Z I N E M A RCH 2 0 0 9 www.aaaa.com.au