Dating in the Workplace

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GERMAN court has upheld the right of Wal-Mart staff in Germany to flirt at work, a spokesman said overnight, showing that Germany's restrictive labor laws also have their permissive aspects.The court rejected parts of Wal-Mart's code of conduct relating to employees' love lives, alcohol and drug use and a requirement for staff to report code violations via a so-called ethics hotline, the spokesman said.
He could not immediately confirm the grounds on which the Wuppertal employment court had ordered the clauses to be removed for German staff, saying the judge's opinion was still in the process of being written.
The Financial Times Deutschland said the court had found the clauses, including one banning "any kind of communication that could be interpreted as sexual," contradicted German labour law, in its ruling on the case brought by Wal-Mart's works council.
Wal-Mart Germany, which is based in Wuppertal and can appeal against the decision, had no immediate comment.
The ruling could have far-reaching effects for U.S. companies with staff in Germany. Such restrictions are increasingly common in U.S. corporate culture as firms seek to prevent scandals that could damage their reputation.
An affair with a female executive led to the downfall of Boeing's chief executive in March. The company fired Harry Stonecipher when the affair came to light, saying his conduct broke company rules and damaged his ability to lead.

I found this article today whilst surfing round. I truly am surprised at the courts ruling. Here in Oz, many many companies have strict rules on couples working together, infact couples at Stores such as KMart,Safeway etc are made well aware that they must work in different stores, especially those who are married. For those who are dating other employees, management & companies frown upon these types of relationships as they feel they cause nothing but slow productivity and problems in the work place. I have never seen a court matter here relating to this type of conduct been successful.
So folks, does your employer frown upon this type of conduct?

till next time, Michelle.