The University has approved and published a new Personal Relationships Policy and guidance which introduces some changes to how some Personal Relationships between parties at the University should be disclosed and recorded. The Policy sits alongside the new, recently published, Conflict of Interests policy.
The Personal Relationships Policy aims to reduce or remove the risk of actual or perceived conflicts of interest in intimate or personal relationships where there is a professional connection. This could be for a staff/student relationship or a relationship between two members of staff.
Disclosing relationships is intended to help to protect both parties in the event of any dispute arising, and any disclosures will be handled confidentially.
What do I need to do?
All staff should disclose and discuss any work-related personal relationships, which cause a conflict or potential for conflict, with a Disclosure Manager (Head of Department/School or Director) and record them on a Declaration Form. This form will be uploaded and stored on the employee’s secure Human Resources record.
A summary of when and what type of relationship should be disclosed can be found in the Guidance.
Staff should also notify their Disclosure Manager when a recorded relationship ends.
Staff who are concerned or worried about the personal impact of disclosing a relationship should contact AskHR for confidential advice.
If the Disclosure Manager determines that there is a potential for a conflict of interest or one exists, the employee will be required to agree and complete an action plan within the declaration form, to remove or mitigate the conflict, and adhere to any actions agreed.
Guidance on how conflicts may be managed is also available.
Further Information
The Policy and associated Guidance has been published on the new Personal Relationships Policy and Guidance site.
If you have any questions, please contact Ask HR by emailing [email protected].
