Employment lawyer on Ottawa city council disclosing personal workplace relationships

Interview Summary

Ottawa city council is proposing a new policy that would require all city councillors to disclose their personal workplace relationships. Any staff member who is a part of a romantic relationship with another member of staff would have to divulge this information to the integrity commission. What will this policy mean for employees in the workplace? Are there potential disadvantages to this motion?

Alex Lucifero, an Ottawa employment lawyer and Managing Partner at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP joins CTV’s Morning Live to discuss the policy and employee rights.

Interview Notes

• Disclosing personal relationships policy proposed for council members: Most workplaces should and do require policies with respect to romantic relationships. Ultimately this is a fundamental policy that employers should have in place to ensure that when there is an imbalance of power between staff members, and a relationship does occur, all parties are behaving in an appropriate manner.
• The usual standard for workplace relationships: There should not be a ban on all workplace relationships but instead a policy requiring the disclosure of relationships.
• Privacy issues for employees when disclosing relationships: Employers have an obligation to maintain a healthy and safe work environment, free from any unsafe practices or bullying and harassment. Employers are potentially breaching the terms of employment if a relationship between a senior employee and a subordinate member of staff is allowed to continue without taking into consideration the power imbalance.
• Party responsible for failing to disclose the personal relationship: In some cases, if there is a serious conflict of interest, or the business interests of the employer are put in jeopardy, termination might be required. The severity of the incidents related to the relationship will decide disciplinary action.
• A common policy for elected officials in the workplace: Political settings and environments are a workplace like any other and in fact, there could be even more emphasis placed on the importance of maintaining a balance of power among all staff.