Whilst flowers, cards and chocolates are the universally accepted presents for your loved one or love interest, romance in the workplace is not always as Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds have led us to believe.
Before you present a Valentine’s Day gift to a colleague (whether it be given anonymously or not), employees should be mindful of whether the intended recipient would truly like or appreciate this gift. If the intended recipient may potentially feel uncomfortable in receiving a Valentine’s Day gift or unwanted actions from a colleague then delivering the gift/acting in that manner anyway may potentially constitute harassment if it is linked to a protected characteristic.
The current protected characteristics, as defined by the Equality Act 2010, are as follows:
- Age;
- gender reassignment;
- being married or in a civil partnership;
- being pregnant or on maternity leave;
- disability;
- race including colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin;
- religion or belief;
- sex; and
- sexual orientation.
An example of potential harassment in relation to a protected characteristic could be using pet names when speaking to female colleagues (‘sweetheart’). Another example can be seen on an episode of The Big Bang Theory when Sheldon Cooper gives a black female colleague a box set of the TV show Roots as a gift.
Without wanting to kill the spirit of Cupid, it may be an idea to remind employees of your equality policy and/or anti-bullying & harassment policy prior to 14th February and reiterate that all employees are expected to continue to act: a) in a professional manner at all times; and b) in accordance with the aforementioned policies.
Romantic relationships aside, Valentine’s Day should also be a day for you to think about the working relationship between you and your employees.
In carrying on with the above scenario, if an employee does raise a grievance in relation to receiving unwanted conduct and/or gifts on Valentine’s Day from a colleague then you should look to deal with this promptly under the designated Grievance policy, particularly if there is a link between the unwanted conduct and/or gift and any of the above protected characteristics. Otherwise, your failure to sufficiently deal with an instance of potential harassment within the workplace could lead to a potential breakdown of the ‘mutual trust and confidence’ between you and the individual employee or upset amongst the wider workforce.
Where a ‘breakdown in trust and confidence’ has occurred, this can sometimes even give rise to a constructive dismissal claim. For example, in the event an employee feels that the circumstances at work have left them with no other choice but to resign in direct response to your failure to treat their grievance appropriately. To raise such a claim would require the relevant employee to have at least two years’ continuous service, however, the possibility of this kind of claim should not be taken lightly.
Our employment team have a vast experience of assisting employers with queries on their employee matters. If you need some bespoke advice about a specific situation please do not hesitate to get in touch!
