Answers to tricky HR questions: Can we have a no-dating policy?
April 21, 2009 by Jim GiulianoPosted in: Answers to tricky HR questions, Behavior, Communication, In this week's e-newsletter, Latest News & Views, policies
Our team of experts fields real-life everyday questions from HR managers and gives practical answers that can be applied by any HR pro in the same situation. Today’s question: Is it practical to implement a no-dating policy in the workplace?
Question:
We’ve had some problems arise out of employees’ dating each other. Can’t we simply implement a no-dating policy for employees?
Answer
Most companies have given up on the idea, says business consultant Hunter Lott. Such policies smack of “babysitting,” and that’s the last thing employers want to get involved in.
Instead of instituting no-dating policies, a lot of companies are going to what are called “relationship” policies. For instance, such a policy might read: “If your relationship with other employees hampers our ability to do business – or your ability to do your job – you’ll be subject to disciplinary action.”
That ties the issue to strictly business matters and doesn’t unnecessarily attempt to monitor employees’ personal lives.
April 21st, 2009 at 3:46 pm
Keep in mind that several states specifically prohibit the firing of employees for legal off-duty behavior. For example, California, Colorado, New York and North Dakota prohibit firing workers based on lawful outside activities. If you’re in one of these states, or if you’re subject to similar laws in your jurisdiction, you may want to think twice unless you can definitely show that the termination was based solely on work performance.
April 27th, 2009 at 2:41 pm
Please remember different management levels receive different company information; confidential data. This does cause a problem by telling one person; the other person in the relationship whom does not keep the secret, a secret. Many issues may occur with company relationships, either on or off site.
April 28th, 2009 at 7:03 am
We must also keep in mind the different employee levels and how the relationship could impact our harassment policies, if (or when) a relationship ends.