Kenyans Free To Date Their Coworkers After Court Ruling

When called to a disciplinary hearing, the company said that the man admitted to the relationship, to which the company maintained that engaging in a romantic relationship with a subordinate violated its Sexual Harassment Policy.

In his judgment, Justice Rika acknowledged that the security firm failed to distinguish between a consensual relationship and sexual harassment, emphasising that not every workplace relationship amounts to harassment.

“As long as there are employees of different genders [or even of the same gender] working in the same space, romantic or sexual relationships are inevitable. These relationships start naturally, through the law of attraction,” the court determined.

The court further ruled that although there was evidence of a relationship between the two, there was no convincing evidence to suggest it constituted sexual harassment. The judge also noted that no proof was provided to show that the female guard secured her transfer by offering sexual favours.

The court found the security company’s conclusion that the claimant had engaged in sexual harassment to be puzzling, given that the firm had accused the woman of engaging in the relationship for personal gain and of failing a test of integrity by falsely claiming that the man was the father of her child and repeatedly blackmailing him for money.

Having found her guilty of these, the company terminated her employment. These actions, the court noted, were classic examples of a woman sexually harassing a man for personal benefit.

Additionally, the court declared the company's Sexual Harassment Policy unconstitutional, criticising it for interfering with employees' private lives. “An employee is entitled to the right to pursue a romantic relationship at the workplace, a right which falls under privacy rights in our Constitution,” the judge said.

Justice Rika noted that workplace relationships should not be policed unless they directly impact work performance or violate clear, legal standards of workplace conduct, and noted that some workplace romances also prove to be beneficial to the employer’s business when they blossom and result in a family. 

The court ultimately concluded that the former manager's termination was unfair and awarded him Ksh3.2 million in compensation as the security firm was ordered to issue him a certificate of service.

Dating At The Workplace

Psychology experts reveal that one of the reasons coworkers fall for each other is that they spend a tremendous amount of time at work and, if one puts people in close proximity, working together, having open, vulnerable conversations.

Before you act on your feelings, it’s important to think through the risks, and there are quite a few. Of course, there’s the chance that the relationship won’t work out and that there will be hurt feelings on one or both sides.

There are also potential conflicts of interest, a dual relationship principle referred to as an “ironclad rule” in psychotherapy that therapists cannot have any relationships with patients beyond their professional ones. 

The same rule however does not apply between coworkers given that many people are close friends with colleagues, for example, but having multiple relationships with someone creates potential conflicts of interest that can be hard to resolve.

A man and woman at an office. /FILE

Rules of Dating Coworkers

1. Take it slow by being friends inside and outside the office before you make any moves
2. Know the formal policy by checking the company handbook to find out if there are any policies related to interoffice relationships. Even if there are no explicit policies against it, find out how upper management feels about office romances.
3. Avoid your boss or direct reports, especially if you're thinking about pursuing an office romance, consider your rank or position, as well as theirs. Dating your boss or your direct report can be particularly dangerous for a variety of reasons.
4. Keep things quiet early on. People either don't care, will think it's obnoxious or inappropriate, or will get jealous.
5. You and your new partner need to agree on some ground rules and come up with a plan for how you will keep it professional and stay within written or unwritten rules.
6. Be professional at all times as you may have the burden of overcompensating with professionalism and keeping an artificial distance, which can be an awkward strain
7. Be sensitive and respectful to others. Focus on work and do your job especially if you want to mitigate gossip.