Much has been made of recent scandals arising from sexual
relationships in the workplace and in most cases the relationships
are said to have been 'personal and consensual'. While not
a new issue, we have seen changes to the way organisations have
responded to the relationships, perhaps as a reflection that our
culture is less accepting of the conduct.
Is it ever appropriate for a senior executive to conduct a
sexual relationship with a workplace colleague, whether they are an
employee, a representative of a client or customer, contractor or
consultant to the business?
When these matters become public, the relationship and if it
constituted misconduct or was otherwise inappropriate is generally
not the issue itself. What is questioned is the potential
misuse of corporate resources and engaging in decisions
without disclosure of the conflict of interest, such as decisions
about the other relationship participant's remuneration or
promotion. In other cases, the
