Personal Relationships
The University's Personal Relationships PolicyLink opens in a new window was introduced as a preventative measure to protect members of our University community. The policy sets out the expectations and obligations of the University with respect to intimate relationships between students and staff and between colleagues.
In summary
The policy prohibits intimate relationships between staff and students where the member of staff has some form of direct or indirect responsibility for the student and intimate relationships between staff and students who are either under the age of 18 or who are 18 and over and classified as an adult at risk.
While intimate relationships between staff/students outside of this context are not prohibited, they are strongly discouraged by the University due to the inherently unequal power dynamics, the potential for actual or alleged abuse of power or conflict of interest and the difficulty of establishing that the student has freedom to consent to the relationship.
A disclosure will be required in the following scenarios:
- if a staff member is in an intimate relationship with any student, they have an obligation to disclose it;
- students who undertake any form of paid role at the University are included in the definition of staff and must disclose an intimate relationship with any student if there is some form of professional connection.
- if a staff member is in a staff/staff relationship, then both parties should consider whether it should be disclosed in line with the criteria listed in 4.1 and the Personal Conflicts of Interest Policy;
- if you have any doubt about whether a relationship should be declared it is often best to be cautious and make a disclosure.
Please read the policy for full details and take any appropriate action accordingly.
Advice and support
Individuals who are concerned about disclosing a personal relationship can seek further advice and support from their HR Business Partner (for staff) or the Student Support and Wellbeing Team (for students).
The following documents may also be useful:
The development of this policy supports our University Principles that state that we do not tolerate sexual misconduct, violence or abuse (Principle 3). They also make clear that we are committed to providing a working environment in which all members of our community feel safe and are respected.
You may also find it useful to find out more about our staff and student sexual misconduct policies.