Navigating the risks of Valentine’s Day

Cards and gifts - whilst an employee sending a romantic card or gift to a colleague on Valentine’s Day may seem harmless, if it’s unsolicited and unwanted it may make the recipient feel uncomfortable, awkward or pressured, particularly if there is a power imbalance, e.g. it’s come from a manager or someone more senior. It might even amount to sexual harassment, depending on the particular circumstances of the case, i.e. if it constitutes unwanted conduct of a sexual nature which has the purpose or effect of violating the employee’s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for them. Given your new positive duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment, you may therefore wish to remind staff that workplace professionalism requirements continue to apply, so employees must respect boundaries and should not send unsolicited cards or gifts on Valentine’s Day to colleagues, regardless of whether those are intended romantically or as a joke, or whether they are sent anonymously or signed.

Date invitations - Valentine’s Day can bring an increase in colleagues inviting each other out for a drink or dinner but, if the invitation is unwelcome, the same considerations apply as above. So, you might also wish to remind staff that, if there is any doubt about how an invitation to socialise outside the office will be received, they should not ask. Plus, “no means no” and, if a colleague declines an invitation, the issue should not be raised again.

If you have any employees who are already in consensual personal romantic relationships with colleagues, you could remind staff that public displays of affection, grand gestures or intimate behaviour in the office between such individuals on Valentine’s Day can be disruptive and make others feel uncomfortable and so are prohibited. You can also refer staff to the provisions on your personal relationships at work policy (if you have one).