A Love Contract- what is next??

We have had numerous posts on the implications of a Love contract…various perspectives both from an employer as well an employee’s point of view. But what is less understood is whether a Love contract is the key to solving all potential problems resulting from the relationships and bonds formed at the workplace. Although this contract does relieve the company of any liability during in the event that a relationship of the dating couple ends, it cannot possibly end all litigation issues. Firstly, in order for this contract to come into effect, a disclosure needs to be made to the Human Resources such that they draft an appropriate agreement. This is a huge task in itself as people generally attempt to keep their relationships away from public scrutiny and are unlikely to either disclose or accept such an affiliation. Consider the case of a married individual having an affair with a Co-worker, or a person dating someone too young or too old for him/her. Also, should a contract also be in place for a married couple who may eventually file for a divorce which could seriously affect their workplace relationship. Shouldn’t there also be contracts in place for any and every form of relationship that could exist between co-workers which may result in favoritism? Most likely such a proposition will not be either feasible or even remotely acceptable.

Thus, are such contracts really necessary and do they offer complete legal protection? In fact, the signing of a love contract is entirely voluntary and employees cannot be either coerced or penalized for refusing to do so. Employees can always claim that they were pressured into signing the contract and it was against their free will to avoid negative consequences or to save oneself from termination. Moreover such a contract will have limited utility in the absence of broad policy guidelines and training. Most employees are not even aware of the Company Policies that exist with regards to personal relationships in a professional setup, workplace ethics and consequences one might have to face if the rules are not adhered to. Thus even though it may make sense to enforce a love contract when the employees are in a direct reporting relationship, stricter regulations, workshops or sessions explaining the consequences and implications of harassment at work may be a more effective and acceptable way of dealing with such an issue. Employees should be educated about what type of conduct would violate the company policy, the seriousness of the issue and the responsibility of the managers and workers to take the right steps at the right time to ensure things do not get way out of hand.