Low effort comment, reported.
It may not be a good idea, and I'm inclined to agree, but I don't think it warrants being a sackable offence.
I don't think these policies should be legal.
Why not?
I don't think a business has any right dictating who their employees can and cannot have a relationship with. If it's between two consenting adults then there really ought not to be a problem.
You can't help who you fall for, and as long as nobody i.e a child is being harmed then it's up to the two adults to make it work within the business, making sure conflicts are avoided etc. People at work date all the time, my partner of 18 months I work with. It would be weird for it to be illegal for a select group of people because they happen to have certain positions but not others who are free to do as they please. If it goes sour and work gets affected, well that's on those guys. Be adults about it or leave at that point if you can't do your duties.
The problem is the power dynamics in relation to managers and subordinates, especially at his level.
I met my wife at work and we work together now, but if the firm had a notification policy we’d have followed it.
Ok but what about the impact said relationship has on other employees? How do they know they are being treated fairly?
Well there are legal avenues you can go down if you start being treated unfairly, but two adults should be capable of being in an adult relationship and not letting it affect their work. If that does happen then remove them from their position by all means. Firing them for simply being in a relationship however is wrong.
Sure, but if your work had a no relationships policy then you wouldn't be married right now. Or you'd have had to leave your job way in advance without knowing if it was even going to work out.
True, a straight up “no relationships” rule does seem impractical. I know lots of places have them though.
Yes imagine if he drove up to the window and she refused to make him go large anymore.
If there was a policy and he didn't follow it then I understand the firing. The issue isn't being in a relationship, it's leaving the company open to claims of discrimination because "she's sleeping with the CEO, and that's why she got a promotion".
The argument from the business' side would be that they aren't - they're only affecting the part of your life that inolves them.
Any individual agreement or disagreement is a moot point. As I understand, this is written into McDonald's management contracts, which they all sign and agree to abide by. I'm sure Easterbrook knew what he was doing was against company policy and a sackable offence.
I also did the same, but it wasn't an issue at that firm during those days. Don't work there now, so it might have changed in these millennial times.
If its stated in the contract, surely then the person can choose not to work for that employer?
Pretty much this.
Is that reasonable in practice, though? Many people can’t even choose to find other work.
