07 July 2003

Will new company policies on staff relationships change the whole nature of working a ski season?

"Tell your boss if anything develops"
Thomson are introducing a new policy that requires staff to inform their immediate bosses of any 'out-of-work interaction' between staff, to protect confidentiality and prevent claims of favouritism.

HR resources manager Philipa Deller said the company needed to clarify the responsibilities of staff. "We feel we need set out what is expected of staff should a relationship develop," she said. "There could be a problem if a manager developed a relationship with a member of their staff," said Deller. "We are asking those people to let their manager know if anything develops."

'Amount of contact' a key factor
Disciplinary action would only follow, she stressed, if the individuals failed to report the romance and examples of favouritism emerged. "It depends how much contact there is between the couple."

Policy to apply to overseas staff?
The policy relates to Thomson's entire workforce, which suggests in the UK and overseas.

However, a spokesperson from SHG has confirmed that "At present TUI UK does not have any such policy and this will in no way affect the number of couples and partners we recruit during the winter ski season." They added that "in certain parts of the business such as Lunn Poly some restrictions apply, but these do not affect Thomson Ski, Crystal Ski or Simply Ski."

All of which is just as well, as based on our knowledge of the overseas activity (see the last sex survey), many a senior manager ends up dating one of their staff. The question of when to 'declare' a relationship, or come out, as it were, would be certain to be an issue for some this winter.

Thomson not alone
MyTravel also has a policy requiring amorous couples to reveal all - but at the discretion of the individuals involved.

First Choice leaves it up to managers to "do the right thing" if love blossoms. Human resources director Jackie Robinson said: "We don't have a written policy and simply trust managers not to show favouritism or divulge sensitive information. If you have good, respected managers, which we do, there should not be a problem."

[Source: Travel Weekly]

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